The Irony Of New Business In the New Normal.

Yes we all live in the New Normal. The starting date was September 15^th2008 when Lehman Brothers went down. The largest bankruptcy filing in the U.S. as Lehman had a value of 600 billion.

I am not that good at Math but if you multiplied the 17 Million people that lost their jobs in the great recession by their average salary would you get 500 or 600 Billion? Probably close.

Everything stopped and changed around the world.

If you are 4 or 65 your life has been changed by this event.

What changed first was spending on marketing. That’s an old pattern but this time the changes were more than just cutting. The New Normal changed the way consumers and clients spend money for the immediate future, for sure, and maybe for a generation just like the Depression did.

Clients embraced the digital world because of its lower costs initially and metrics. ROI became even more important in the New Normal. The CFO couldn’t argue with Google Analytics.

Social media was more of a challenge because the CFO’s scoffed that it was for kids because their kids were on Myspace. What a shame.

Things are better now but in the Maelstrom of those years, New Business was like eating shoe leather.

Everyone was starving for revenue. Smart agencies that survived remember that.

Now we live in an accelerated world stimulated by technology, the constant migration to digital and the embrace of social media and the lack of perspective.

The first iPhone was launched on June 29^th, 2007. About 15 months before the world changed.

Apple today has a Capitalized Value of 544.6 Billion. When the iPhone first came out, people in Orange County lined up to buy them even if they had no money.

At one time Apple was kicked to the curb.

Because of that beautiful first smart phone we are all addicted to the rush of instant contact and connection.

Everyone in the Ad Game for sure because we sell the technology and digital platforms of the New Normal.

Because of the rush of life that extends into the working world, most agencies want New Business fast.

They think that New Business is short order cooking. Cheeseburger, cheeseburger.

“How many meetings can you get me in the next month? or What revenue do you estimate we will generate?”, your boss may ask on a Monday morning.

They don’t understand that In the New Normal, New Business is a marathon versus a sprint or a tweet.

You need a long runway to land the prize today.

Technology deludes many agencies about the speed with which they can acquire New Business.

Relationships take time to develop and if they have a solid relationship in place clients aren’t going to change that for a stranger.

You see after the world melted New Business is a different game.

It is not a hype game. It is not a smooze game. It is a trust game and trust takes time.

It is not a quick game, unless a pain point explodes. But you can’t buy a database of clients with pain. That comes from regular in person meetings which are tough to get.

But agencies can certainly inform clients about what they are good at that might address their pain points if they have a lot of content out there. But marketing takes time and involves work for agencies.

Most agencies just coast when it comes to their marketing and when you coast you can only go downhill and never uphill.

Hunting for New Business today is a daunting task even for the best intentioned.

That is why the average life cycle of a New Business person can be even less than a CMO at some shops that believe in magical Rolodexes.

In the New Normal, successful New Business is based on a strategy of smart pitching, aggressive marketing, and lots of meetings, time, changing constantly and patience.

Patience requires a commitment and an ability to quiet the mind and stopping the frenzy.

Quiet the mind, quiet the mind, quiet the mind.

I learned that a long time ago…

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