Notes

How to Find a New Business Agency
It is essential to keep a good stream of customers and clients. It is very easy to get complacent when you have enough clients - but if one of those clients disappeared would your business have the effect? Or worse would it not crumble?? Working with a New Business Agency will let you win clients and grow your business. There is no denying that new business / lead generation can be time consuming, effort and expensive but overall it usually is worthwhile and cost effective.

Many Creative and Marketing Agencies use New Business Agencies; it is an effective way to really get your work in front of companies you wish to work with. I wrote this short article after to speaking to the Directors of Creative Agencies and other Business Development Managers. This article is for small Creative and Marketing Agencies new to new business and looking to work with a New Business Agency for the first time.

I think it fair to say in the world of home based business you do get what you pay for. You can get a telesales person to call thousands of companies and pay a minor fee, or it is possible to choose an agency that approach new business intelligently. The second will be costly but is it possible to afford not to?

New Business Agencies specialise to find you clients to be able to grow your business. Although agencies work in different ways, the long and lacking it is that, they'll phone companies in your stead with the view of establishing a gathering between you and the potential client. Sounds simple enough, but the home based business process is more than simply cold calling.

Before you jump in at the deep end there are several factors to bear in mind when choosing a New Business Agency. All of them are different and can all have diverse ideas concerning the way new business should be conducted. Here are a few questions to ask your brand-new business agency before you work with them?

Question 1 -Results or Numbers?

If a HOME BASED BUSINESS Agency promises to target 500 companies a week and guarantees you five meetings, take note. This is often a potential time waster for a few agencies. If a HOME BASED BUSINESS Manager is pressured to get you in front of x level of clients, they will. If the meeting is worthwhile or not, isn't their problem they just have to reach their targets.

If the individual handling your new business account is a really good sales rep with a hard sales technique they might be able to force a potential client to have a meeting with you if they have work, or you're suitable. They are good sales people, however they is probably not producing qualified leads.

For example, if you are a design agency who specialises in content managed websites for small businesses, you do not desire to end up at a gathering to rebrand Kellogs. Yes, this would be considered a fantastic opportunity, but in competition with top branding agencies do you stand a chance? If you only work for big brands similarly you might not want to arrive to a meeting to go over a �300 website.

A good New Business Manager should be keen and results driven but additionally able to evaluate a qualified lead. By giving too many targets you are ultimately pushing them right into a corner to create meetings. You do not desire to attend any old meeting. An ideal meeting is a potential client who's looking for a company for a particular project or seeking to change their roster of agencies. An excellent meeting is also a straightforward credentials meeting with among your wish list companies, who you intend to impress with solid ideas.

Rather than an agency driven by numbers, consider an agency driven by results. Unfortunately, but realistically, new business isn't always about getting work now. It is about developing a pipeline and raising your profile. If your Account Handler has a good conversation with a choice Maker in regards to a suitable project which is commissioned later that year, that is better than a credentials meeting. You can then keep in regular contact with the decision maker until that project arises. By enough time you have the meeting you may be talking about a particular project rather than running right through a portfolio.

Look at the pipeline around the quantity of meetings.

Question 2 - How Targeted is their New Business Approach?
Are you attempting to reach as much companies as possible to provide your services to? For a few businesses this may work but I doubt if this works for many. A New Business Agency which implies a highly targeted approach will probably receive better results. For example a design agency looking to build up a client list does not want to target 'any' business with "we do design" it truly is not going to stick out, and it simply becomes a casino game of chance.

A web site design agency who mainly works together with restaurants producing content managed website s could contact other restaurants with a similar offer. However, you don't need to limit yourself to restaurants, always turn to expand your market but take action with careful consideration. If you work with restaurants you can then aim at hotels, pubs, bars and clubs. Needless to say, you can always expand your market but showing a potential client experience in your field will be beneficial. (My next article will go further into this subject).

Consider the size of the business - if you have only ever caused SMEs build this up gently don't suddenly shoot for Coke. Consider the location of businesses, are you experiencing enough time and money to visit from London to Glasgow for a meeting or should you stay local. A good New Business Agency will generate a database tailored to your business capabilities. In order to tailor a database you should initially work with your brand-new Business Agency, they should be in a position to give advice to you. But you have to know which direction you're heading with your business, and where you sit, and would like to sit in the market place.

Although this might sound as if I am stating the obvious, a few of the home based business managers I spoke to told me stories of how their clients took little interest in the strategy and simply left to them to obtain meetings without direction. These clients then refused to leave London to attend meetings and refused any project under �5000 (although they had never completed a project for this much money).

Question 3 - Just how do they find the Decision Maker?
When your New Business Agency will send your information to the business, how are they likely to find the appropriate person? There is a lot of information available on the web these days on Marketing Directors of companies. Though it would be wonderful to gain a meeting with someone so high up in the business how likely is this?

The Marketing Director of Nike isn't generally likely to interview agencies for a microsite. In many instances it could be a waste of time and money trying to reach them on the telephone to set up a meeting. Aim lower. Nike is a huge corporation and it will take patience and careful research to get the person in charge of commissioning microsites also it won't be the Marketing Director.

Especially in recent years a growing number of new roles are appearing in companies, new media managers, advertising managers, mobile managers, interactive managers, account directors, creative directors - that are you looking to use? Shoot for less companies as research could be time consuming, but make sure your representative is speaking with the proper person. Letters simply addressed to the Marketing Director are hard to check out up with a phone call. Learn how and who your brand-new Business Manager will be trying to contact.

Question 4 - Who else may be the agency working with?

It is great to work with an agency that has skills in selling everything you are offering, even better to get a New Business Manager with these exact skills. But if your HOME BASED BUSINESS Manager is dealing with three Mobile Marketing Agencies can be your account being kept separate? What is your agencies ethics of sharing clients?

Your brand-new business account should be, if at all possible, separate to any companies. You don't want to paying for someone else's home based business. It could be all too easy for a fresh Business Manager to get details of an organization looking to rebrand all their marketing collateral... and keep two design agencies happy.

Question 5 - Who's your Account Handler?

Always ask to meet up the person handling your account. It is your business, plus they are representing you, make sure to just like the way they run into. Your New Business Manager shouldn't really read from the script and should be confident and knowledgeable enough to hold an in-depth conversation. If you are a fresh Media Agency does your brand-new Business Manager know their augmented reality from their rfId barcodes, and what lengths can they continue with this conversation?

In order to find common ground with a potential client it is good to know about their business before having a conversation using them. This means your brand-new Business Manager needs to be proficient in the sectors they are targeting.

New Business Mangers ought to be versatile. They must be good researchers, communicators and in a position to pick up information quickly. Providing a fresh Business Manager has had experience in marketing or creative agencies they will understand the processes and jargon and will generally adjust to other industries which have specialist interests. Someone on the other hand, who has no background in design, marketing or creative industries generally will probably think it is harder to learn everything from scratch and discover about niche markets.

If your New Business Manager has generated a relationship with a Decision Maker it could be a concept to take them along to the meeting as part of your company. Does your brand-new Business Agency allow this? Within an ideal world your Account Handler should feel they are a part of your team.

It is important that you go to meetings prepared and know very well what is expected from you at the meeting. It really is down to you to give your brand-new Business Manager all the details they need. You understand your market also it never does any harm to keep them updated together with your knowledge of industry events. Once you launch a fresh project let your New Business Manager know, keep them involved.

Question 6 - How will you prepare to utilize an HOME BASED BUSINESS Agency?

Be prepared to be engaged. Most New Business Managers spoken to because of this article said, "The closer they will have worked with clients the much more likely they are to achieve results." Usually do not expect a New Business Agency to start work and come back to you seven days later with lots of new work - it rarely happens like that. If your brand-new Business Agency is starting conversations with the proper people be sure to have the supporting materials. Many potential clients will ask for a contact with links to your projects, PDFs, show reels or brochures - it is down to one to provide these. When attending the meetings, which you have essentially paid a lot of money to get, ensure you are ready for the presentation. YOUR BRAND-NEW Business Agency can only take you so far. Remember that in the event that you run your business you need to really be the best person to attempt your new business as you know your organization inside out, your capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. If you fail to get hold of a �500,000 contract don't expect a new business agency to. Be realistic

Many creative agencies I spoke to had worked with at least a number of New Business Agencies before locating the one they felt they could work with, hence the reason behind this article. You can find obviously many questions to ask before undertaking the trouble of a New Business Agency but I am hoping this article covers several! Please see more suggestions about handling your own home based business on my website http://www.kerinewman.com.

Keri Newman - Freelance Web design and marketing for small businesses.
My Website: https://cutt.ly/pweUOnD1