I have conducted the Jenny Craig, Villeroy & Boch, and Raley’s Supermarkets agency reviews and also spent years developing successful New Business programs for agencies.

Agencies ask me all the time to summarize what wins New Business.  I answer that it is simply relevant experience, chemistry and sweat equity.  We have all heard and read that before.

What really wins New Business is Pride. Pride leads to passion.  Pride insures that you are implementing a robust PR and Social media campaign for your agency because you are proud of what you do.  You want to broadcast it and get the news out.  You want to tell the world.

Pride leads to having great marketing and capabilities materials available and at hand in digital and hard copy formats.  You want to have great materials because you want to impress prospects and have them speaking highly of you even if you don’t make the cut. You want to turn your audience into advocates.

It does happen. I have heard clients say, “They aren’t right for us but they sure have nice stuff.”  Do you think that that client will remember that agency and maybe recommend it to other associates that may be looking for an agency sometime?  I think so.  It is key to create favorable word of mouth about your agency even if you don’t move on.

Pride leads to you going the extra mile when people visit you. You want the visit to clearly demonstrate lots of sweat equity and hard work and that everybody at the agency is wired for winning and would work really hard on your account.  Why? Because you want clients and consultants to be impressed by what you do after they visit your agency. You want the decision of which agency to pick to be really hard for them. You want them to be really thinking about you. You want to be in their brains.

Pride gets you to the altar and makes you a winner.

Pride turns your New Business efforts from an ordinary approach to New Business to a passion approach for New Business.

So are you proud? And do your have passion?

Your brand is your agency.  Your reputation is how you live it.  Live it with passion.

Besides conducing agency searches, Hank also helps agencies build effective New Business programs.  He frequently speaks to AAF Chapters on Why Agencies Don’t Want New Business and Networking Your Way to New Business.  You can contact Hank at hank@hankblank.com

He has two CD’s on his site about New Business Development that has helped many agencies win more New Business.