Now, more than ever, agencies need a bizdev plan (and here’s a canvas to help)
Ben Potter offers a canvas for helping agencies develop their business development and marketing plan and avoid yo-yoing revenue.
Ben Potter
Do agencies really need a ‘purpose’?
For agency owners, 2020 has been a mixed bag at best. But now that the worst is (hopefully) behind us and agencies are turning their attention to addressing important issues like positioning, Ben Potter takes a hard look at the nebulous concept of agency ‘purpose’ – and whether it’s really needed at all.
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Pitch candy & unicorns: Are you making biz dev harder than it should be?
Ask an agency owner to name their biggest challenge and, chances are, business development will be up there. According to the Wow Company’s most recent Benchpress report, 44% of agencies named it their number one challenge (up from 38% in 2018).
Agencies: How to avoid the trap of ‘feast or famine’
Last year, my young family and I relocated from Brighton to the Leicestershire countryside.
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Agency positioning – what does good look like?
Towards the end of last year, I explored how the same tired words and phrases are regurgitated and recycled by agencies, to the point where they have become pretty much meaningless. Yes, I was the one that ripped your agency proposition to shreds. Sorry about that.
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34 violently clichéd phrases that agencies mindlessly add to their positioning
I spend my days looking at agency websites, reviewing creds and asking agency owners to explain why a prospective client would choose to work with them. Sometimes people even pay me for this privilege.
‘Created value’: How agencies can increase client retention
We’ve all been there. The team have put together the monthly stats report. The numbers are all going in the right direction. In fact, since you started working with the client, results have been fantastic.
High fives all round. Head to the pub for much backslapping and a celebratory pint.
Agencies, do you win business by accident or design?
In the recently published Benchpress agency survey, 38% of agencies stated that winning business was their biggest challenge.
Whilst the specific reasons were not cited, I have a theory.
Three major biz dev challenges faced by small agencies
Inevitably, the resource, skills and processes for winning business differ greatly from agency to agency. However, I have found there to be three issues, common to many agencies, that impact their ability to win and retain the right clients (and therefore to grow).
10 things agency owners can do to help their Business Development Manager flourish
For many small agency owners there comes a day when investing in a business development manager (BDM) is not only financially viable but integral to the next phase of growth.
Speaking to agency owners over the years, their efforts at recruiting and managing a BDM often don’t work out. The solution was the right one but the execution failed.
Why your agency’s value proposition probably sucks (and what to do about it)
A while back, I shared 10 guiding principles to help small digital agencies win more business. The pop-pickers amongst you would have noticed that ‘proposition me’ came in at number two.
A relevant, compelling and credible value proposition is very much the foundation of a successful business development strategy, so let’s spend some time taking a closer look at what it is, why it’s important and how to go about creating one.
Ten guiding principles to help small digital marketing agencies win more business
If you’re a digital agency, business development is hard work.
Your average ecommerce manager or head of digital marketing is absolutely inundated with calls and emails making grand promises of ‘bigger this’ and ‘better that’.