Whilst the responsibility for new business has widened in recent years, to be successful it needs to be part of your cultural DNA. Everyone in the agency can contribute, it’s about equipping them with the knowledge and confidence in the role they play.
Not everyone can speak at an event, write amazing content, get on the phone and cold call. New business is a diverse skill set but everyone can contribute, even if its networking down the pub. It’s a team effort with everyone playing their part.
So, a simple first step is making sure every member of the team can articulate, in their own words, what you do and how you help your clients – their elevator pitch. It needs to be brief @30 sec, persuasive to spark the listener’s interest and human.
In my last role we had fun cascading this through the business. Many walks in the park and trips up and down in the lifts. The results were that everyone felt empowered to promote the agency in their own way, to new contacts with in your current client base or their personal network . This was a real win and the team felt empowered and involved in the new business effort.
Another way to embed new business is to make the team accountable. How about incorporating a new business-related objective into everyone’s KPI’s? This will not only devolve accountability across the organisation but develop capability in this critical discipline.
Here are 5 more top tips for imbedding new business into your company DNA:
1. Identify the different elements of marketing and new business and who is responsible for what. You will find gaps in the plan that you may need to resource internally or externally.
2. Play to people's strengths. Find out what motivates them and potentially reallocate roles and responsibilities in line with their interests. Sounds obvious but from my experience not always considered.
3. Agree on a responsibility matrix (RASCI) for each of these elements so that individuals understand their responsibilities and the required level of knowledge that they need. Put in place any training required and encourage a strong sense of curiosity.
4. Agree on new ways of working within the team and how you will measure KPI’s.
5. Most importantly communicate the responsibilities and new ways of working to the business. This is so vital to the success of the team and the recognition of the value new business and marketing deliver.
If you are considering developing a new business strategy, please get in touch for a chat.
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