Friends, have you ever struggled with how to write a proposal? Sure you have, but I’m here to help. After years of reviewing written proposals from hundreds of marketing firms and about a dozen years of writing my own 100+ page proposals, I give to you, The Can’t-Miss, Killer Proposal. Read this before your competitors
It’s early January. My phone rings. It’s Sue, a former client I spoke with two weeks earlier. She had called to share she was leading a new firm and they were growing like mad. She needed our help again. I had always liked Sue. We did really good work for her and she’s a straight
But while I may be an expert, I’m far from a perfect salesperson. I let him distract me from the big picture with his incessant questioning. I miss one particularly potent chance to drive home our differentiation. I don’t handle the value conversation all that well, but instead, I jump right to the topic of prices. Oops.
If you want to predict your likelihood of winning new business (and therefore whether or not it makes sense to pour resources into the opportunity) just ask yourself this one question.
The moment in the sales cycle when a prospect who previously had you boxed into the vendor position in the relationship…
In simple terms, agency business development can be described as the polite battle for control. In this brief 20-point thesis on modern day business development philosophy for marketing communication agencies, I’ll make the argument for control as the goal.
When an entrenched specialist is invited to compete for opportunity outside of his area of expertise, his reaction is often something close to terror. The specialist believes that when an opportunity within his area of focus comes to him, there is nobody better qualified to help the prospect.
Some agencies have policies about not doing business with law firms. Some refuse to work with not-for-profits. Others steer clear of government and government agencies. The reason for all is usually the same: committees. Committees can be difficult to deal with in the buying cycle and even more difficult once the account is won. But
The lexicon of sales clichés is filled with words and phrases designed to convince people they have a problem that only the salesperson’s product or service can solve. Selling (facilitating the buying process) however, is rooted in helping, not convincing. It is something that requires empathy, understanding, and the knowledge of how to reassure the
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