The dire consequences of waiting too long to start winning again.

During the past several years, I've personally witnessed at least six formerly successful agencies closing their doors because they didn't act forcefully and decisively to address their inability to win new business. They had all once been very good at winning. However, each agency allowed bad habits to take over which eventually became chronic, overwhelming and fatal. 

They didn't differentiate themselves from the crowd... hired the wrong people... failed to keep up with what it takes to win today... refused to recognize that you have to prospect relentlessly among the right targets... and other serious mistakes.

If you're not winning, it's going to catch up with you. There is no escaping it. Just ask the former owners and employees of these six dead agencies including full-service firms in Phoenix, Sacramento and Harrisburg, PA, a once-leading direct response agency in Seattle, a media management company in Los Angeles and a digital agency in Southern California. 

​If this is what I've been seeing just in my corner of the agency world, imagine the carnage that's occurring all too often to hundreds of small-to-mid-sized agencies on a national basis. It's ugly. It's also avoidable.

​The choice is yours. Shake off the stupor and start fixing the problem now. Don't be too proud to get qualified help if you need it. Or... you might as well start packing up your stuff. It will save you time later.

Mark

---