OUR NEW BUSINESS AUDIT WILL HELP YOU GROW YOUR AGENCY.
The single-minded purpose of the New Business Audit is to help marketing communications agencies evolve from chronically struggling for new business to consistently executing a much more effective approach.
For home-grown agencies whose owners/senior people have not had the benefit of working elsewhere (such as at larger, more established firms), I’ll provide highly experienced and objective outside counsel to help you move away from the self-taught (and often self-defeating) rut of “This is how we do it here”.
The New Business Audit is designed to carefully examine every area of your business development efforts… or you can select the area(s) most important to you.
Working together, we will significantly increase your agency’s new business batting average.
SIX IMPORTANT BENEFITS FOR AGENCY OWNERS.
The New Business Audit will:
THE PROCESS.
The New Business Audit is comprised of three complementary parts (which we call “Focal Points”). Each Focal Point examines one area of the total new business development effort (as detailed below). You can select one, two or all three to be included in your audit.
In addition to providing our written comments/recommendations regarding the agency’s performance on the multiple elements within each Focal Point, we will rate each element as:
(NOTE: The “elements” are included below for each Focal Point.)
Based on the element-by-element ratings, we will also assign a summary rating to the agency’s overall performance on the particular Focal Point.
(We can review the online survey questionnaire for Focal Point 1 and provide the sub-items to be evaluated within each element with interested parties at any time.)
FOCAL POINT 1/Assessment of overall new business performance, perceptions within the agency, ownership’s commitment, strategy and plan.
Conduct confidential online survey among staff members (Provides candid, unfiltered internal feedback about the agency’s new business performance).
One-on-one discussions with leadership team (Ownership and 3-5 senior leaders/30-45 minutes each).
Actual new business performance/Past 2-3 years.
Ownership’s leadership, involvement and commitment to business development.
Strategic direction for new business development/Leveraging deepest knowledge.
New business development plan.
FOCAL POINT 2/Detailed review and evaluation of agency’s marketing materials and new business prospecting program.
New business marketing materials (Website, SEO, capabilities presentation, social media presence, examples of creative work and more).
New business prospecting program (Plan, targets and rationale, databases, outbound messaging and more).
FOCAL POINT 3/In-depth review and evaluation of how the agency develops, delivers and follows up on new business presentations.
Developing presentations (Critique of 2-3 recent presentations and responses to RFPs, decision making, materials presented and other factors).
Preparing and developing your strategic thinking/content (To win, you need to find and effectively communicate fresh insights and relevant “new news” at every stage of the process… especially in the final presentation).
Delivering presentations (Presentation team/experience and skills, developing less expected and more attention-getting flow and attitude, rehearsing and more).
Post-pitch follow-up (With prospects and internally/Re-purposing the thinking to reach out to other prospects).
DELIVERABLES.
For each Focal Point (see above), I will present (using PowerPoint via Zoom) a detailed summary of findings with specific recommendations for improvements/changes where needed. I will e-mail the PPT to you after the presentation.
I will also provide 1-2 page recap of the fundamental strategic and executional activities required to implement and sustain an effective new business development effort ongoing.
PRICING AND TURNAROUND TIME.
Pricing varies by Focal Point. Each one requires a different amount of time to audit. We will provide a price after you determine your Focal Point(s).
Turnaround time: After the appropriate materials/information have been made available, timing from start date to presenting findings and recommendations for each Focal Point will be:
This timing may vary depending on the agency providing needed materials on a timely basis, availability of ownership/leadership for one-on-interviews and other factors.
WHY ME? MY EXPERIENCE AND NEW BUSINESS TRACK RECORD.
My name is Mark Johnson.
I’ve been President, CEO and co-owner/shareholder of two well-regarded advertising agencies in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I have led and personally contributed much of the thinking to winning almost $500,000,000 in new business billings from blue chip clients such as Nestle, Target Corp., MGM Resorts International, PETCO, Disney, Blue Cross and other top marketers.
Each of these accounts was won in competition against much larger agencies including many of the biggest in the United States.
Based on more than forty years of experience, I know what works and what doesn’t. There is a proven approach to winning. I will show you and your team what it is… and also how to avoid the deadly mistakes that make you lose.
Finally, I’m digitally knowledgeable including 1) e-prospecting to increase awareness of and interest in the agency among target companies, 2) structuring and writing new business-friendly websites and 3) developing more effective SEO (vs. frequently used but worthless terms like “Home page”, “Capabilities” or “About us”) to drive more prospects to your site.
SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES TO BEST MEET YOUR NEEDS.
In-person presentation of findings and follow-up discussion – This facilitates deeper and more useful interaction vs. presenting via Zoom. Can also lead to more quickly identifying possible improvements or solutions to key challenges. (Pricing, time required and travel expenses will depend on agency location.)
Fine-tuning your next presentation - Your presentation is ready to go (or close to it). In two days, I can pare it down (90% of agency presentations are too long), enhance the flow, add strategic thinking/fresh insights and even (via Zoom) critique a rehearsal. After the presentation, you can then use this experience as a repeatable model moving forward.
Earlier and deeper involvement in developing (and delivering) your next presentation – By getting me involved at the beginning of the development process, I can be helpful in virtually any or all of the activities noted above in Focal Point 3. If you’re interested, we can define my role and expected contributions to meet your specific needs.
6-month/12-month check-in to assess progress and/or address any new issues.
All pricing and timing available upon request.
THIS IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF AGENCY PROBLEM SOLVER/MARK JOHNSON AND CANNOT BE USED, COPIED OR DISTRIBUTED IN ANY WAY WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF MARK JOHNSON.
The single-minded purpose of the New Business Audit is to help marketing communications agencies evolve from chronically struggling for new business to consistently executing a much more effective approach.
For home-grown agencies whose owners/senior people have not had the benefit of working elsewhere (such as at larger, more established firms), I’ll provide highly experienced and objective outside counsel to help you move away from the self-taught (and often self-defeating) rut of “This is how we do it here”.
The New Business Audit is designed to carefully examine every area of your business development efforts… or you can select the area(s) most important to you.
Working together, we will significantly increase your agency’s new business batting average.
SIX IMPORTANT BENEFITS FOR AGENCY OWNERS.
The New Business Audit will:
- Teach your team how to win higher quality (and larger) accounts… and win them more often.
- Provide a repeatable roadmap to follow for overall new business development, every presentation and specific “How to” for new business leaders and their teams.
- Make your business development program and pitches much more efficient by eliminating time-wasting reinvention of the wheel for each opportunity.
- Increase New Business ROI (and agency profitability) by winning more often while pitching less frequently.
- Institutionalize this knowledge within the agency so that it isn’t dependent upon people who may leave, retire or simply don’t share this critically important information with others.
- Help you to attract, motivate and retain talented people throughout the agency.
THE PROCESS.
The New Business Audit is comprised of three complementary parts (which we call “Focal Points”). Each Focal Point examines one area of the total new business development effort (as detailed below). You can select one, two or all three to be included in your audit.
In addition to providing our written comments/recommendations regarding the agency’s performance on the multiple elements within each Focal Point, we will rate each element as:
- Strong (Little if any improvement needed)
- Above-average
- Average
- Below-average
- Poor
(NOTE: The “elements” are included below for each Focal Point.)
Based on the element-by-element ratings, we will also assign a summary rating to the agency’s overall performance on the particular Focal Point.
(We can review the online survey questionnaire for Focal Point 1 and provide the sub-items to be evaluated within each element with interested parties at any time.)
FOCAL POINT 1/Assessment of overall new business performance, perceptions within the agency, ownership’s commitment, strategy and plan.
Conduct confidential online survey among staff members (Provides candid, unfiltered internal feedback about the agency’s new business performance).
One-on-one discussions with leadership team (Ownership and 3-5 senior leaders/30-45 minutes each).
Actual new business performance/Past 2-3 years.
Ownership’s leadership, involvement and commitment to business development.
Strategic direction for new business development/Leveraging deepest knowledge.
New business development plan.
FOCAL POINT 2/Detailed review and evaluation of agency’s marketing materials and new business prospecting program.
New business marketing materials (Website, SEO, capabilities presentation, social media presence, examples of creative work and more).
New business prospecting program (Plan, targets and rationale, databases, outbound messaging and more).
FOCAL POINT 3/In-depth review and evaluation of how the agency develops, delivers and follows up on new business presentations.
Developing presentations (Critique of 2-3 recent presentations and responses to RFPs, decision making, materials presented and other factors).
Preparing and developing your strategic thinking/content (To win, you need to find and effectively communicate fresh insights and relevant “new news” at every stage of the process… especially in the final presentation).
Delivering presentations (Presentation team/experience and skills, developing less expected and more attention-getting flow and attitude, rehearsing and more).
Post-pitch follow-up (With prospects and internally/Re-purposing the thinking to reach out to other prospects).
DELIVERABLES.
For each Focal Point (see above), I will present (using PowerPoint via Zoom) a detailed summary of findings with specific recommendations for improvements/changes where needed. I will e-mail the PPT to you after the presentation.
I will also provide 1-2 page recap of the fundamental strategic and executional activities required to implement and sustain an effective new business development effort ongoing.
PRICING AND TURNAROUND TIME.
Pricing varies by Focal Point. Each one requires a different amount of time to audit. We will provide a price after you determine your Focal Point(s).
Turnaround time: After the appropriate materials/information have been made available, timing from start date to presenting findings and recommendations for each Focal Point will be:
- 1/Assessment of overall new business performance, perceptions within the agency, ownership’s commitment, strategy and plan – 4-6 weeks.
- 2/Detailed review and evaluation of agency’s marketing materials and new business prospecting program – 2-3 weeks.
- 3/In-depth review and evaluation of how the agency develops, delivers and follows up on new business presentations – 3-4 weeks.
This timing may vary depending on the agency providing needed materials on a timely basis, availability of ownership/leadership for one-on-interviews and other factors.
WHY ME? MY EXPERIENCE AND NEW BUSINESS TRACK RECORD.
My name is Mark Johnson.
I’ve been President, CEO and co-owner/shareholder of two well-regarded advertising agencies in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. I have led and personally contributed much of the thinking to winning almost $500,000,000 in new business billings from blue chip clients such as Nestle, Target Corp., MGM Resorts International, PETCO, Disney, Blue Cross and other top marketers.
Each of these accounts was won in competition against much larger agencies including many of the biggest in the United States.
Based on more than forty years of experience, I know what works and what doesn’t. There is a proven approach to winning. I will show you and your team what it is… and also how to avoid the deadly mistakes that make you lose.
Finally, I’m digitally knowledgeable including 1) e-prospecting to increase awareness of and interest in the agency among target companies, 2) structuring and writing new business-friendly websites and 3) developing more effective SEO (vs. frequently used but worthless terms like “Home page”, “Capabilities” or “About us”) to drive more prospects to your site.
SUPPLEMENTARY SERVICES TO BEST MEET YOUR NEEDS.
In-person presentation of findings and follow-up discussion – This facilitates deeper and more useful interaction vs. presenting via Zoom. Can also lead to more quickly identifying possible improvements or solutions to key challenges. (Pricing, time required and travel expenses will depend on agency location.)
Fine-tuning your next presentation - Your presentation is ready to go (or close to it). In two days, I can pare it down (90% of agency presentations are too long), enhance the flow, add strategic thinking/fresh insights and even (via Zoom) critique a rehearsal. After the presentation, you can then use this experience as a repeatable model moving forward.
Earlier and deeper involvement in developing (and delivering) your next presentation – By getting me involved at the beginning of the development process, I can be helpful in virtually any or all of the activities noted above in Focal Point 3. If you’re interested, we can define my role and expected contributions to meet your specific needs.
6-month/12-month check-in to assess progress and/or address any new issues.
All pricing and timing available upon request.
THIS IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF AGENCY PROBLEM SOLVER/MARK JOHNSON AND CANNOT BE USED, COPIED OR DISTRIBUTED IN ANY WAY WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF MARK JOHNSON.