Your competition is facing the same financial challenges you are… And I bet they are getting desperate.  It’s time to think outside of the “basket”.

Here’s what I mean…  If you’ve been making your bread-and-butter from the Automobile industry, and that industry falls victim to hard times, you need to “Get Smart, Fast” in some of the other 370+ business types out there.  You may be interested to know that, despite the recession, many industries are flourishing… Green Technology, Transportation / Warehousing, Aquaculture and At-Home entertainment are just a few of the recession-proof industries that have shown up on the radar in the past month.  These industries represent the untapped markets that surround us.

Maybe it’s because we haven’t had to prospect during recent, prosperous times, but all the signs are pointing to a future where referrals and networking may not be enough.  I’ve talked to agencies that haven’t heard the phone ring since November (with the exception of current clients delivering the “bad news”).

Experience can only take us so far.  A really experienced New Biz Hunter may be well versed in, maybe, 20 business categories.  However, with more than 370 business categories operating in the U.S., even the most seasoned Hunter needs to Get Smart – Fast, in about 350 industries.

Contact me at ajfox@ad-ology.net for an affordable solution to this common New Business hurdle.

We’ve all heard of six degrees of separation. Business consultant Jennifer Capella takes this idea and applies it to the professional world in her article “Leveraging The Six Degrees of Separation.” According to Capella, this concept can be powerful when it comes to professional networking, and that “the power lies not only in knowing about [the concept] but in leveraging it successfully.” Just by taking this concept into consideration, a whole new outlook on networking can be adopted: You may only be a few contacts away from a new, lucrative client!

She suggests that before seeking out who might be a friend of a friend of a contact, and so on, one should first get to know his or herself. Self-awareness is key, and she writes that success in leveraging The Six Degrees is not possible without self-knowledge.”

For her advice on becoming more self-aware, read her article here.

Even though the term “Sales” is a dirty word in the Ad Agency world, here are a few basic sales tips that will help your new business efforts this year.

1.    BE PROACTIVE
Referrals and networking are what I consider ‘reactive prospecting’… You don’t move until an outside source moves you.  Proactive prospecting involves the most dreaded duty required of every salesperson: Cold Calling.  I have some great tips on making Cold Calling less painful.  Let me know if you want them

2.    BE PROTECTIVE
Desperate times call for desperate measures… from your competitors.  Keep your finger on the pulse of your current clients.  Contact them, consult them, and coddle them.  Do all the crap you did to win their business and they will likely shun any uninvited suitors.

3.    BE SMART
Don’t waste your creative time on mundane tasks like research.  Outsource work that doesn’t interest you to companies that like to spend hours pouring over raw data for relevant insights (like Ad-ology.net)

4.    BE PERSISTENT
Lots of people try sales, for a while.  If they aren’t successful, they quit and move on.  Successful salespeople are persistent.  Persistent may actually be too modest of a description…Successful salespeople are like pit bulls.  It’s almost as if they can’t take the hint that you’re not interested.  They continue the conversation long after the prospect has said “No, thank you”.  They are not necessarily rude, or even pushy. In fact, they are quite often friendly, approachable and interested in talking about your favorite subject: You.

5.    BE PERSISTENT
Seriously!  Persistence is THAT important.  It’s human nature to stop asking for business after a few “No’s”, but a good salesperson will continue to pursue a prospect just past the point of politeness.  Try this exercise the next time you’re on the hunt… Call on the prospect until you feel it is a complete Dead-End… Then call on them 2 more times!

6.    BE RESPONSIBLE
Someone has to be in charge of the New Business process.  Don’t make the mistake of giving shared responsibility to the whole team.  Your receptionist and Art Director are not Salespeople… If they were, you’d have hired them to be the New Biz Hunter.

7.    BE EDUCATED
An overwhelming majority of the Small Business Owners who responded to a recent Ad-ology Research survey said the MOST IMPORTANT factor for any salesperson is to “Know MY business”.  Tire Manufacturers couldn’t care less about your 20+ years of combined experience with Snack Foods, your lofty awards or your sacrificial pro-bono project.  Do your homework on THEIR business and walk in the door with a base knowledge of  the challenges and opportunities THEY face everyday.

8.    BE INTERESTING
Which do you think people like better?  Hearing about you, or talking about themselves?  Being “interesting” is really nothing more than knowing what to say to keep them talking about their business.  Do number 7 and number 8 should come naturally.

9.    BE THE CLIENT
I don’t mean it like, “Be the ball” (Chevy Chase as Ty Webb in Caddyshack).  I mean, treat your agency like it’s a client.  For all the great ideas we have for others, we do a poor job of marketing ourselves.  It’s the “the shoe-maker’s kids go barefoot” syndrome.  Start promoting your services with the same zeal you usually reserve for your biggest client.  (To gauge how well you’re doing in this area, clear your Internet browser’s cookies & cache, then Google your agency’s name.  If you show up in the first few pages, you’re doing better than most Small-to-Mid sized agencies I’ve worked with).

10.    BE CAUTIOUS
Business will eventually get better and the recession will give way to fruitful days once more.  As eager and as desperate you may be for New Business now, keep in mind that you are entering into a long term relationship with the clients you pick up today.  If they are not the type of client that you normally work well with, you may consider taking a pass.  Don’t let a short-term gain turn into a long-term pain.

The Advertising Agency community refuses to acknowledge the term “Sales”.  It has long associated the word as something dirty.  After all, we don’t SELL our services; we partner with clients and provide revenue generation and imaging solutions.  For prospecting purposes, we refer to this activity as “New Business Hunting”, a term that inspires images of a crafty stalker, in a relentless pursuit of Big Game.  The fact of the matter is, many of us rely so heavily on referrals and networking that we’ve actually become New Business “Farmers” instead of “Hunters”.

I’m not sure when it happened, but soon after we stopped using the term “Sales”, we stopped ‘Selling”.  So now, we are a community with something to sell, without “Salespeople”… Which makes us a community with something to “Buy”.  I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that there are a lot fewer Buyers, out there.

I think we’ve spent so much breath justifying our fees by convincing the world that we are NOT an expendable line item that we actually started believing it.  It came as a cold, heartless, back handed, slap-in-the-face when our “Creative Partners” began cutting unnecessary expenses, because they didn’t accomplish this by lowering the thermostats in their office or cutting back on paper supplies… They cut US!?!?!  How dare they?  Don’t they realize how important we are?

I’m not saying that you have to adopt the term Sales, go ahead and call the process New Business, or whatever, but 2009 will be the year to adopt Sales tactics and be a Salesperson in sheep’s clothing.

Tomorrow, I’ll offer 10 basic sales tips that will help you survive, if not thrive, in 2009.

(to be continued…)