Webinars and thought leadership
Our mission is to profoundly change business development. Below you'll find links to original industry thought leadership content, articles, blog posts by Todd Knutson, CEO of The List and more in an effort to enhance your new business prospecting. As a part of our commitment to ongoing professional development and training, in addition to the webinar sessions that we create and run, we’ve partnered with Thought Legion to bring additional thinking and diversity to the learning opportunities available to you.
Managing Your Firm in a Downturn
May 7, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by David Baker
Recourses
Recession highlights and magnifies the differences between firms that would not otherwise be apparent. Any downturn at all tends to hit firms harder who have incurred fixed financial obligations, who have recently faced high growth rates, or who have recently moved.
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More info on this session can be found here
How Agencies Can Create a Results-Only Work Environment
Live webinar: May 21, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Jody Thompson
Culture RX
The 1950’s work environment is colliding with the 21st Century. Everyone knows the workplace needs to change. Everywhere you look there’s another article about generations colliding, competing in global business markets, creating internal resiliency, adaptability and innovation engines, and surviving change. And the information is numbing. Where do you start? It’s time to move past the clutter and cut to the chase.
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More info on this session can be found here
The Four Questions That Define Agency Positioning
Live webinar: May 28, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Tim Williams
Ignition Consulting Group
Successful agencies do for themselves what they do for their clients: develop a distinctive brand. But they are usually so eager to be “full-service” that they try to stand for everything. This insightful webinar shows how your firm can build on success by defining a clearer, more relevant and differentiating positioning.
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More info on this session can be found here
Making Agile Work for Your Whole Agency
Live webinar: June 4, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Jack Skeels
AgencyAgile
Agencies and their clients are increasingly looking for ways to speed and improve delivery of all marketing services. Almost every agency is trying to apply “Agile” to their processes, yet few have been successful in extending it beyond the technology side of the house. Interactive projects present the greatest challenge, typically under-funded with short timelines that mean those lucky enough to get the competitive “win” may end up losing in the end.
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More info on this session can be found here
Client Disasters, Agency Meltdowns, and How to Fix Them
Live webinar: June 11, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Robert Solomon
Solomon Strategic
Shit happens. A schedule gets blown. A budget melts down. Copy goes awry. There are a countless ways to screw up, each with the potential to undermine a client relationship, or worse, end it.
How do you address these challenges, given there are few sources you can turn to for guidance? Opinions abound, but actionable answers are in short supply.
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More info on this session can be found here
How Project Management Drives Agency Effectiveness
Live webinar: June 18, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Dave Po-Chedley
Cambridge Consulting
Advertising campaigns have become increasingly more complex with the growth of digital projects where the work has become more technical, integrated, and sophisticated. Clients are continually looking for ways to cut costs and get more for less. And increasingly, clients are moving from retainer arrangements to fixed-price projects where the agency bears significant risk when unexpected problems arise. Given these realities, how can you ensure that your company maintains its profitability while keeping your clients happy?
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More info on this session can be found here
RFIs and RFPs that Punch Through and Convert
Live webinar: June 27, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Brent Hodgins
Mirren
Agencies invest a tremendous amount of time and effort responding effectively to RFIs and RFPs, which in actuality are key selling documents for your firm. And yet, clients still complain … the value isn’t coming through; agencies all look and sound the same; I can’t wrap my head around all this information they’ve included; they want how much?
With this as a backdrop, this insightful webinar looks at key principles that you can immediately apply to better structure, write and design RFIs and RFPs.
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More info on this session can be found here
How to Discuss Value With Your Clients
Live webinar: July 9, 2013 / 1:00 – 2:00 Eastern
Presented by Ron Baker
Verasage
Led by one of the foremost leaders in the field, this webinar will demonstrate a superior business model to price for professional services: selling intellectual capital with pricing based on the results and value it creates, not the cost or time it took to deliver. Clients don’t buy time; they buy value. Agencies with a better understanding of value have an enormous competitive advantage in attracting both clients and top talent.
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More info on this session can be found here
- Infographic: The Agency New Business Landscape
The agency new business landscape is constantly changing, and it's becoming increasingly important to wisely invest time and resources in a strategic, proactive business development program that includes category expertise and insights, a targeted prospecting database, relevant content, and consistent marketing and outreach.
New business is the lifeblood of any organization yet few marketing services organizations consistently execute a holistic business development program. After more than two decades of agency lead generation research, we've curated seven of the most common methods agencies employ to win new business.
As budgets are stretched thin, it's especially critical to review the hours your sales and marketing team devotes to researching and appending new leads. Time is money as evidenced in this recent case study for a major media outlet.
Written in part by our Chief Marketing Officer, this article published in the New Business edition of PR Week examines challenges associated with business development in the PR industry. A must read for any agency discipline, this brief article outlines best practices when hunting new business. » Read the full article here
Check out these new business development blog posts from New Business Intel authored by Todd Knutson, CEO of The List.
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Misoneism and Ad Agency New Business
Change. Ever the volatile word, it conjures images of hesitation for some, and progress for others. But regardless of how we perceive change, the fact is: adaptation is a necessary quality for acquiring new perspective and new business. Whether forced into it by external forces, or motivated from within, change allows us to respond more deftly and grow. Want to know how to meet your personal and professional goals, and capture new business?
» Read Todd’s blog to find out!
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Tablets: A New Era for Clients and New Business?
Since the advent the tablet, beginning with Amazon’s Kindle, the tablet has become a powerful new force in technology and business. In the world of advertising, tablets provide a new medium for rich media ads. What exactly will this burgeoning field mean for new agency business?
» Read on to find out
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Innovation to Drive Ad Agency New Business
In order to remain relevant, businesses – ad agencies, most especially – must learn to innovate and adapt. Attracting the best and the brightest new talent to your doorstep can be much easier than going through the applicant pool, for example. Develop an internship program. Foster growth and intelligence from within, so you’ll remain cunning on the outside.
» To learn more about how your company can keep its edge, read Todd Knutson’s blog post from New Business Intel!
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Here's How to be Found by Corporate Marketers
Looking for a marketing, PR, or ad agency the 21st century way? Or are you simply looking for agency partners? Marketing Mind is your golden ticket. With thousands of listings, Marketing Mine allows you to list your business profile in a database where agencies are sure to browse on a daily basis. Take the stress out of looking for new business.
» Get your free trial of Marketing Mine today!
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How to Build Rapport, Before Talking New Business
Many of us excel at meeting and conversing with new people. For those of us who find face-to-face introductions more daunting, this post is for you. Todd Knutson offers his top five steps to connecting with your new business prospects. After all, you must establish a genuine, friendly connection before gaining a new client.
» To learn more, click here!
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Refine Your New Client’s Conflicts Clause to Really Win New Business
Deep industry knowledge will go a long way when it comes to your new client’s conflict clause. With a strong foundation, you can improve your industry language, know the key players, and develop more successful marketing strategies.
» To find out how – and much more valuable new business insider tips – visit Todd’s blog post!
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The Power of Speed on Ad Agency Organic and New Business
You’ve heard the saying, “Time is Money,” right? We all have. That’s because time actually is money. Take, for example, this little statistic: If you respond to an inquiry within the first 60 seconds of receiving that email or phone call, your chances of gaining a new client will increase by 391%. Staggering, isn’t it?
» Want to know how to increase your volume of new business leads in the next day, month, and year? Visit Todd Knutson’s blog post to read on!
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Execute On Client Expectations To Consistently Create Ad Agency New Business
We’ve all heard the term “well-oiled machine” thrown around flippantly and often misused. But the fact is, there’s truth to the saying. Say you’re promising your new clients results, deadlines, and new ideas, yet you constantly fail to deliver, not because you lack the capacity to produce, but because your management teams aren’t synchronized due to a lack of communication. This occurrence is all-too common, but also easily avoidable.
» To find out how to avoid hiccups, and keep thinks running smoothly, visit The Daily Vista blog to read on!
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Run Towards Your Greatest Fear for Ad Agency New Business Success
Fear can be our primary source of anxiety and inaction; it can also be a powerful motivator. Rather than retreat in the face of the most daunting of challenges, why not face those would-be deterrents with courage and grace? Whether you’re a salesperson or a little league coach, there’s more to learn about yourself so you can triumph in the midst of fear.
» Read on to visit Todd’s blog!
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Know Your Outreach Numbers to Win Ad Agency New Business
Reaching out for new business can be a tedious, grinding affair. It’s crucial to have specific goals and a method for achieving them. How many calls do you need to make a day? How many result in a meeting? How many first meetings result in second meetings? How many meeting eventually lead to winning the account? Knowing your numbers is a good way to stay focused on new business prospecting.
» Learn more about the numbers behind new business outreach at Todd’s blog!
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Razorfish: How to Win a Formal Agency Review
Razorfish, one of today’s most cutting-edge interactive ad agencies, has a secret weapon when it comes to winning new business. He’s the President, and his name is Christian Juhl. At the most recent Mirren New Business Conference, Christian shared five essential strategies that he's learned throughout the years for gaining formal agency reviews and winning the most desirable clients in the world.
» Want to learn how? Visit Todd’s post to read on!
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Ads Worth Watching
The ad industry is full of creative, talented minds that can produce ads that go beyond selling a product and artfully tell stories and share ideas. TED assembled a group of ten powerful, inspiring recent ads.
» To check out this outstanding work, see Todd’s blog post.
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Salesforce.com + Jigsaw = Recipe for IP Violation, Bad for Ad Agency New Business
Attention ad agencies! The recent Saleforce.com acquisition of Jigsaw presents a few complications that you must know about. Sure, you can now export Salesforce.com contacts with greater ease, but there are a myriad of significant intellectual property issues caused by the merger. Are you aware of whose contacts now appear in your current Salesforce.com account, or your internal database? Do you have the permission to export these contacts to a third party? May that third party resell the contacts?
» To find out how this could affect your agency, visit the blog!
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Are Crowdsourced Contacts Good for Ad Agency New Business?
Crowdsourced contacts: you upload your contact list to a service like Jigsaw or NetProspex, and receive an equal amount of new contacts. Quick, easy, free. Sounds good, right? But think about how this works: users upload contacts with little or no guarantee of accuracy. Marketing lists are valuable, so it’s unlikely that you or anyone else will part with their quality contacts for free. Furthermore, sharing lists that you’ve acquired through a subscription service is likely a violation of your service agreement. Think twice about crowdsourcing contacts!
» To read more about the issues behind crowdsourced contacts, visit Todd’s blog!
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New Business Metrics - How To Measure Your Performance
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. A cliché, but a true cliché. Your efforts to win new business might include cold calling, email, direct mail, networking, hosting events, attending others’ events, and much more. It is crucial to accurately track the resources each of these consume and the results they deliver. With that data, you can determine which campaigns are most effective and what the best use of your marketing resources is.
» To learn more about what marketing metrics can do for your business, visit the blog!
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For CEOs: Creating an Ad Agency New Business Plan (Step 2)
You’ve decided that you need to win new business and you’re committed to launching a well-conceived and executed plan to do so. Where do you start? It’s important to remember that this is a full-on marketing plan; you’re doing for your own company what you usually do for your clients. All the usual rules apply: focus on what distinguishes your firm, define your goals and measure your progress, put the right people on the right tasks, and build quality relationships with prospects.
» For more details and advice, read the full post on Todd’s blog.
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For CEOs: Creating an Ad Agency New Business Plan (Step 1)
Commitment. It’s every ad agency CEO’s first step in the recipe for success when it comes to creating a new business plan. Most begin the same way, with an inspired idea that results in the thought: “New business is essential to our livelihood.” What happens next usually varies. Yet, the key answers are not statements. They’re questions that you, the CEO, must ask yourself.
» Read on to find out the 4 questions every CEO needs to ask in order to create a responsible new business plan.
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13 Questions Ad Agencies Should Ask Prospective Clients
Congratulations! You’ve identified a prospective client for your new agency. The tricky part is over, right? Wrong! Now it’s time to connect with your new business prospect to learn a little more about their goals, their blockers, and what your agency can do to help.
» Read on to discover 13 key questions every ad agency needs to ask their prospective clients to land new business.
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7 Voicemail Messages for Successful Marketing and Sales Lead Generation
It’s said that the average individual is besieged by 3,000 messages every day. And in case you haven’t heard, good voicemail messages are an essential component of any effective marketing campaign. The best messages will establish strong relationships with prospective clients to generate sales leads.
Since everyone is a consumer, and continuously bombarded, how are you supposed to rise above the clamor with an intriguing and compelling message that’s unique to you?
» Read Todd’s blog at New Business Intel to find out how to gain more clients through effective communication!
White Papers & Webcasts
- The Targeting Advantage (PDF)
For UK content, click here.
