This article first appeared in LBB Online written by, Ben Reilly, Business Development Director from our London studio.
What was your first sale or new business win?
If I recall it was for the gaming company Empire Interactive – the reverse of an A2 poster with a give-away competition for about £6,000 – which at the time was considered to be a pretty big win for the agency. It was the days of commission, so it felt great to earn a few hundred pounds on a single deal.
This was probably the first time I really started to appreciate the value of building strong client relations.
What was the best piece of advice you got early on?
It pays to be tenacious – and grow a thick skin as most days will involve dealing with rejection.
How has the business of ‘selling’ in the creative industry changed since you started?
It’s no longer just about personal relationships. With the days of taking clients and prospects out for lunch every day long behind us, to win you now need to provide a crystal clear reason to buy, projected ROI and value to your clients.
Can anyone be taught to sell or do new business or do you think it suits a certain kind of personality?
I’d say it’s more about mindset, as the word ‘sales’ will make most people shy away – I’ve always tried to take a more consultative approach, which I believe has served me and the agency I’m working for well. Hard selling doesn’t work for me.
What are your thoughts about the process of pitching that the industry largely runs on?
I completely understand why brands and businesses need to pitch, especially when there are multi-million-pound budgets up for grabs and a marketer’s job may depend upon success. But I regularly see RFPs from clients who don’t appreciate the expense or amount of resource that goes into a pitch – it’s gradually getting better, but there are still plenty of clients out there that need to check their expectations.
Should businesses be paid to pitch? What are your thoughts about businesses completely refusing to engage in pitching? How can businesses perform well without ‘giving ideas away for free?
I think being paid to pitch is a good option, but one I very rarely see or hear of. I totally respect an agency’s choice to completely refuse to pitch. If they’re busy working on paid work, the team is already stretched or it’s for a brand/client or project they’re not really suited to, why bother taking the risk when it can be so costly – and not just in financial terms.
In terms of giving ideas away for free, this is why it’s important for agencies to make sure they include disclaimers and copyright protection in their pitches. I don’t think showing a prospect what your agency is capable of is a bad thing – if anything it will help keep you in mind for future opportunities if you’ve not been successful on that occasion.
How do you go about tailoring your selling approach according to the kind of person or business you’re approaching?
Having started my career on the other side of the fence I always try to put myself in the prospect’s shoes, thinking about what their pain points might be, or what’s going to help them. For example, marketing and brand prospects will want to see the big picture and creativity – procurement will want to see details – it’s really not that hard and shows you’re thinking about the individual.
New business and sales can often mean hearing ‘no’ a lot and quite a bit of rejection – how do you keep motivated?
This just makes the word ‘yes’ even sweeter! However, it can be demoralising, at which point I will go and look for the great work we’re doing and take inspiration from that and take what’s inspired me to market. Hopefully, that passion for great work will then rub off on a prospect and land you a win.
The advertising and marketing industry often blurs the line between personal and professional friendships and relationships… does this make selling easier or more difficult and delicate?
In my experience it’s made it easier, as being genuine and honest will only help improve your relationships with clients and their respect for you as an individual. It also makes it easier for the client to make a decision if you have trust and honesty – it cuts both ways, as there’s nothing worse than being told at the last minute budgets have been pulled or a competitor has taken your lunch.
In your view what’s the key to closing a deal?
Understanding what it is the prospect really wants, will often mean reading between the lines – not just what the brief says. Then it’s all about painting a clear picture of how you’ll achieve this with them – and that they can trust you to make it happen.
How important is cultural understanding when it comes to selling internationally?
Have good, trustworthy people on the ground in the territories you’re being asked to go into outside of your own. Teams that really understand the culture and local nuances (as well as the language!).
How is technology and new platforms changing sales and new business?
The latest tech and platforms are really just tools that make life easier and mean you can do things faster. How you do sales and drive new business hasn’t changed that much if you have a good nose for it.
There’s a lot of training for a lot of parts of the industry, but what’s your thoughts about the training and skills development when it comes to selling and new business?
I think the most valuable training sales and new business people can get at the moment is how to use tech and platforms effectively, speeding up the admin part of the job, which should in turn allow you to spend more time researching the right prospects or working on building better relationships with clients, existing and potential.
What’s your advice for anyone who’s not necessarily come up as a salesperson who’s now expected to sell or win new business as part of their role?
I’ve always recommended that they don’t look at themselves as a ‘sales’ person – whether they know it or not, everyone in a business is part of the sales process. I suggest they view it as being more of a consultant who’s focused on helping a prospective client succeed. If you can achieve that you’ll be truly valued by your clients as well as the business you work for.
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