When you sit across the table from a prospective client, you aren’t selling services; you’re selling belief. The modern pitch isn’t a laundry list of deliverables or a gallery of Instagram-worthy portfolio pieces. It’s an invitation to envision a future where conversation drives conversion, where proof validates possibility, and where emotion cements commitment. In my …
Learn how The Propinquity Principle™ reshapes business development in an AI world, as SEO and PPC lose impact in a zero-click, AI-driven era.
...Unlock the power of The Propinquity Principle™ to strengthen your agency business development plan. Build trust, credibility, and top-of-mind awareness to win new clients more predictably and efficiently.
...Master effective prospect follow‑up: the psychology behind failed outreach, overcome barriers, and use proven strategies to win more clients.
...Here’s the truth that too few agencies want to hear: if your agency business development strategy is focused on selling strategy, media, digital, creative, or PR services, you’re replaceable. Harsh? Maybe. But real. In today’s market, clients negotiate on execution. But they hire the agency they believe is most likely to deliver the outcome they …
Discover how Mardi Gras reveals key lessons in defining your agency’s value proposition—scarcity, convenience, and strategic advantage drive premium pricing.
...Business development is one of the most complex jobs in an agency. Period. It’s high-pressure, filled with rejection, and misunderstood by the very people who hire for it. How tough is it? The average tenure of an agency business development (BD) person is just under two years (RSW/US). Let that sink in. Twenty-four …
Discover a sales strategy that prioritizes quality over quantity. Learn how ‘The Power of One’ transforms your business development efforts.
...Discover why The Invisible Sale remains crucial in the AI era, and how strategic content marketing builds trust, fuels engagement, and drives agency business growth.
...In a recent conversation with Brent Weaver on the Digital Agency Show, I shared what I’ve learned in over 30 years as an agency business development consultant. From my early days knocking on doors selling greeting cards to becoming a trusted advisor for agencies looking to grow, I’ve seen how a clear strategy, resilience, and …
Go behind the scenes to learn how Jono grapples with prospect generation, evolving market dynamics, and the quest to create trust between his agency and prospects during the business development journey.
...Delve deep into the intricacies of Stuart’s unique approach to agency business development including his use of texting vs email and AI tools that have revolutionized his business development workflow.
...Paul discusses the importance of his 4-pillar approach to strategic planning, the evolution of digital marketing, and how he has successfully navigated the shifting digital landscape over the past 20 years to grow his agency.
...Are YOU a Repeater or Recreator? Did you know the answer is THE difference between content curation success and failure?
...A Referred Client Prospect left you a message indicating that one of your clients or friends, whom we’ll call a Referral Agent, suggested they should contact you. They may or may not reveal the reasoning behind the need to chat; usually, I find they don’t. Instead, they leave a phone number and a short message …
Converse Digital’s detailed analysis of the 2024 RSW/US Agency New Business Outlook Report & our 3-Step plan to help agencies overcome the hurdles uncovered by the report.
...Learn how to identify the best time to stop pursuing a lead that is unlikely to convert to maximize your business development efforts.
...Converse Digital’s detailed analysis of the 2023 RSW/US Agency New Business Report & our 3-Step plan to help agencies overcome the hurdles uncovered by the report.
...“Why don’t you write up a proposal to [deliver whatever a prospective client is about to hire you or your agency to deliver to them] with a budget and send it over to me to consider?” This one sentence creates more anxiety, angst, fear and self-doubt in the hearts and minds of freelancers, coaches and …
The human brain analyzes 11 million information inputs every second hence, why every moment of attention is a gift. We’ve all heard that the human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish (total BS, by the way, and here is the proof). Still, the truth is that humans today are overwhelmed with information, inputs, …
I recently listened to Barbara Winters, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, to discuss how Gen Z and Millennial B2B Buyers are reshaping the buying process and what companies should do to succeed with these buyers. And what she had to say, kind of blew me away. Honestly. Here’s why. When I wrote The Invisible …
Today’s post is the second part of our three-part series — LinkedIn Sales Prospecting for Introverts. If you missed the first post, Building Connections That Matter, feel free to read it before continuing on to today’s post, LinkedIn Content Marketing Strategies for Introverts. It’s ok, I’ll wait . As an introverted business development professional, …
The world of sales prospecting has changed dramatically over the past decade. Traditional prospect badgering approaches to business development are giving way to digital sales strategies, especially virtual selling skills-based tactics, forcing businesses to evolve to succeed in today’s fast-paced digital landscape. This guide will provide the tactics and insights necessary to master digital sales …
As a business development professional, your PowerPoint presentations should communicate more than just information. They should aid your efforts to build a trust-based relationship with your prospects. Only some salespeople have ever been taught how to design a PowerPoint pitch deck that not only delivers information but also fosters a genuine connection with their audience. …
Almost three years after the world shifted to remote and hybrid work, Zoom, Teams, and GoToMeeting continue as vital tools for agency owners and business development executives to connect with their prospects. However, presenting over these virtual presentation platforms continues to create agency business development challenges because agency teams still lack the vital virtual selling …
As we’ve discussed before, According to the WSJ, $250 million per day is wasted on bad, ineffectively designed PowerPoint Presentations. It still amazes us that companies continue to spend millions of dollars developing sales slicks, marketing campaigns, lead generation programs, etc., but spend little or nothing on the most utilized tool in their sales toolbox — …
My sons love to fish. I like to fish. The problem is, we don’t know how to fish — or better stated, we don’t know how to FIND where the fish are hanging out. And we’re not alone. There is an entire industry devoted to helping folks like us find and catch fish — charter …
At a minimum, social media, email, and texting are the new phone. They’re both inbound and outbound marketing tools to contact and communicate with sales prospects. Are they always the best phone to use for all contacts? Certainly not, but they do allow you to call more prospects in a day than you’d likely be …
A few months ago, we published, How To Sell Your Agency’s Services Even When You Hate Selling, where I shared a 5-Step process to enable any advertising, public relations or digital agency owner or business development director to immediately sell more effectively AND actually enjoy it. Over the last few months I have had …
Accurate prospective client intel, in the hands of a skilled business development team virtually guarantees a successful outcome. But clients today prefer to remain invisible, talking to Google instead of your agency directly. That’s why successful agencies are leveraging the power of Content Marketing, Marketing Automation/Website Tracking Software and 2nd-Click Content to focus their business …