Saturday 24 August 2013
The client/agency relationship blog: Why every ad agency needs a new business director
The client/agency relationship blog: Why every ad agency needs a new business director: The IAS is launching its "Winning new business" course for agencies in the next month and this has come about as a result of it be...
Why every ad agency needs a new business director
The IAS is launching its "Winning new business" course for agencies in the next month and this has come about as a result of it becoming more and more obvious to us that there is a need for dedicated senior people to play this role in the agency environment.
A phenomenon of the 80's and 90's, new business directors were tough, senior, often female executives, whose role it was to market the agency to prospective clients, lead and motivate the pitch team, manage the process. I wonder what happened to those individuals - there seem to be less and less of them now - and hardly any here in South Africa. I can think only of one individual - who happens to be female and senior - who has this dedicated role.
It is impossible for the day to day teams in agencies to also think about new business and most CEO's have full diaries of agency management issues along with existing client meetings. Sadly we see the new business role delegated to a level too low in agency management structures to be forceful. A junior marketing or PR person cannot lead the new business charge.
New business people are hunters of note - their key characteristics being:
* understanding that the odds of winning are stacked against them but see these odds as a challenge
* volunteering rather than waits to be drafted
* seeing the obstacles of prospecting as challenges around which to manoeuvre rather than as justification to abandon the effort
* understanding when to hunt alone and when a team effort is required to achieve the goal
* exalting in victory and recovers quickly from defeat
These characteristics are typically found in senior ad agency people who are resilient and able to motivate the people around them.
I am noticing more and more agency recruitment ads looking for new business directors as agencies start to recognise the importance of the role and why this cannot be part of the role of an account director or business unit director. These "farmers" are far more inclined to look after and grow their portfolio of clients and will often see new business as a distraction to be avoided.
Winning agencies recognise that the funding of a new business director is essential for external marketing and new client growth. We applaud and encourage this move.
A phenomenon of the 80's and 90's, new business directors were tough, senior, often female executives, whose role it was to market the agency to prospective clients, lead and motivate the pitch team, manage the process. I wonder what happened to those individuals - there seem to be less and less of them now - and hardly any here in South Africa. I can think only of one individual - who happens to be female and senior - who has this dedicated role.
It is impossible for the day to day teams in agencies to also think about new business and most CEO's have full diaries of agency management issues along with existing client meetings. Sadly we see the new business role delegated to a level too low in agency management structures to be forceful. A junior marketing or PR person cannot lead the new business charge.
New business people are hunters of note - their key characteristics being:
* understanding that the odds of winning are stacked against them but see these odds as a challenge
* volunteering rather than waits to be drafted
* seeing the obstacles of prospecting as challenges around which to manoeuvre rather than as justification to abandon the effort
* understanding when to hunt alone and when a team effort is required to achieve the goal
* exalting in victory and recovers quickly from defeat
These characteristics are typically found in senior ad agency people who are resilient and able to motivate the people around them.
I am noticing more and more agency recruitment ads looking for new business directors as agencies start to recognise the importance of the role and why this cannot be part of the role of an account director or business unit director. These "farmers" are far more inclined to look after and grow their portfolio of clients and will often see new business as a distraction to be avoided.
Winning agencies recognise that the funding of a new business director is essential for external marketing and new client growth. We applaud and encourage this move.
Tuesday 6 August 2013
Why chemistry sessions save clients and agencies time and money
Since we started the IAS in South Africa, one of the most frequently asked questions has been the role of chemistry in a pitch process. For us - as well as our UK partners - the chemistry session is arguably the most important part of the process.
Using chemistry as an elimination phase enables both agency and client to meet each other - at the agency's premises - and with a minimum agenda. This one hour meeting where the quality of the agency team and its questions to client will be the key components, will ensure that neither party goes any further in the "dating process" if there is not a good match.
Realising that this then saves time on both sides as it means that only those client : agency sessions with good chemistry will be worthwhile pursuing, means that unsuitable agencies will not be invited to pitch thus saving them an enormous amount of time and expense.
From a client perspective, the elimination process makes the final pitch decision simpler and faster PLUS there will be a limit to the amount of pitch fee compensation that the client will have to pay to the unsuccessful agencies. A three way final pitch therefore has huge benefits all round as there will only be two unsuccessful agencies after the final round and, in our experience, if the earlier chemistry sessions have been good, the client is still left with a favourable impression of the agency.
That is what makes chemistry a "winner".
Using chemistry as an elimination phase enables both agency and client to meet each other - at the agency's premises - and with a minimum agenda. This one hour meeting where the quality of the agency team and its questions to client will be the key components, will ensure that neither party goes any further in the "dating process" if there is not a good match.
Realising that this then saves time on both sides as it means that only those client : agency sessions with good chemistry will be worthwhile pursuing, means that unsuitable agencies will not be invited to pitch thus saving them an enormous amount of time and expense.
From a client perspective, the elimination process makes the final pitch decision simpler and faster PLUS there will be a limit to the amount of pitch fee compensation that the client will have to pay to the unsuccessful agencies. A three way final pitch therefore has huge benefits all round as there will only be two unsuccessful agencies after the final round and, in our experience, if the earlier chemistry sessions have been good, the client is still left with a favourable impression of the agency.
That is what makes chemistry a "winner".
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