How to win new business, by Alex Sibille, managing director of the Future Factory

In many respects, business development is similar to PR – it revolves around selling stories, building relationships and is more effective if used as part of a wider marketing campaign. However with around 3,000 PR agencies competing for business in the UK, it is difficult to differentiate yourself. If you’re not constantly building your client base, new business agencies are busy luring them away. Nonetheless, using personality, tenacity and a few tips, you will succeed in getting close to the brands you want to work with.

Who to target: First, it is important to decide what role you want your new clients to fulfil. While well-known clients will always boost your company’s credentials and revenue, branching out into a new sector can give you experience in a different discipline. Similarly, it is valuable to find areas of business that will motivate your team, giving them something that they can feel passionate about. Being focused is key to successfully targeting potential new clients. Make a list of 30 brands and be able to justify why you are contacting each of them.

Get organised: It is vital to set aside time for new business – put it in your diary! CRM systems can also prove to be invaluable, accessible by all team members for around £25 per month.

Target: Source three contacts at each of the brands you are targeting. Follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn, looking out for news from or about them. When you’re contacting brands, make sure your approach is targeted, relevant and personal. Emails should be short and to the point and not overly formal. If the objective is a meeting, don’t forget to ask for one. It takes approximately 10 calls to get through to a decision maker – don’t be put off if you don’t get through after five calls – perseverance is key. Be systematic. With each contact, call, email, leave a message then call, call, call. Celebrate the little victories and then move to the next contact.

Make new business the ethos of your agency: It is important to build looking for new business into your company mindset, making sure that your team is constantly on the lookout for new brands and opportunities. A good way of doing this is looking at the delegate lists and setting up meetings before you go to trade shows.

In-house new business manager: One option is hiring an in-house business development manager to generate leads for you. Having someone operating from within your company can be a cheaper option and means that they are likely to understand your business and be excited by it. On the flip side of this, it is often difficult to maintain motivation and a high level of work when working on one agency proposition day in day out, and many in-house new business staff burn out in less than six months. As a result, finding people who are great at this role is tough – look for someone with personality who isn’t scared of the phone.

Plan of action:

1. Carry out an agency experience audit
    
2. Get your team involved in suggesting brands
    
3. List approximately 30 companies to target
    
4. Get contacts through Google & LinkedIn
    
5. Put time in your diary for new business calls and emails
    
6. Call and email!
    
7. Follow up all emails with a call
    
8. Add anyone you meet on LinkedIn