“We rent clients, we don’t own them” — Simon Rhind-Tutt at PRCA NewBizFest

By Orla Clancy

Along with agency founders, CEOs, directors, heads of growth, commercial directors, and new business directors, I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural PRCA NewBizFest in London.

Sarah Waddington, Interim CEO, PRCA, introduced the day, and spoke about the PRCA Pitch Forward report findings which show agencies spend an average of £7,165 per pitch.

For the past 18 months, Matchmaker, the PRCA’s agency search and pitch management service, has been dedicated to helping CMS-accredited member agencies navigate the new business landscape.

New business proposition 

Mark Clark, CEO, jfdi (just focus and do it), said a new business proposition is the perfect place to start. He said your go to market offer is so important, and everything after should show a clear ROI. “Engage at a more curious level, instead of simply saying what you do. Ensure you are attracting the 5% you want to work with instead of the 95% you can work with,” he said.

Clark’s tips for a new business proposition are:

1. Be afraid: you need to be targeted and exclude people / say no.
2. Get energised by a good proposition and engaging with clients.
3. Build a prospect list easily. A strong proposition has to know who it’s for.
4. Get noticed and attract attention.
5. Charge more as an expert / a premium in the market.
6. Travel.
7. Impact the buying process.
8. Determine who incurs the pitching cost.
9. Become better at what you do / grow your expertise.

The art of listening and the power of questions 

Gauging what they (clients) need is critical according to Tomos Edwards, Head of Global Research, Communications EMEA, Bank of America.

Adrian Mooney, Interim Marketing Director, New York Bakery Company, advised we need to understand the business — its mission, vision, strategy, what the CEO is like, what value we can deliver and how they measure ROI, and the context of the business and where it is going.

“Agencies need to shape their response around ROI,” said Caroline Doyle, Communications & PR Manager, Ocado Retail. “How they like to work/what they are looking for, strategy, ideas, creativity, relationship building and collaboration. Take them through the journey, not only the results.”

From a practical perspective, Edwards wants to meet the people who will be doing the work; Mooney said to provide a one-pager, instead of a lengthy deck; while Doyle said brevity and pitches relevant to the brief are key. Critically, they all see their agencies as an extension of their teams.

Retaining and growing existing business 

Known as the godfather of relationships, Simon Rhind-Tutt, Joint Founder, Relationship Audits®, spoke about how to hold on to your clients and get more business from them. He said it’s 20 times easier to win business from existing clients. Yet, most agencies prioritise new business, and few have a robust client retention and development plan.

“63% of clients say agencies don’t regularly check their expectations of them. Increasingly, clients are referring to agencies as vendors, rather than business partners. You have to earn the right to be a business partner.”

He shared six ideas to make clients feel special:

1. Invite clients to speak at all-staff meetings.
2. Establish Client Advisory Boards: invite clients into the agency a few times per year to talk about challenges facing the agency and to seek their advice.
3. Have an agency/client charter: work to develop best practice of what both the client and agency should do.
4. Work at their offices/secondees.
5. Invite them to your training.
6. Agency awards: agencies submit charts in different categories to their clients.

In his concluding remarks, Rhind-Tutt said: “We rent clients, we don’t own them. Your clients are everybody else’s new business.”

Photo: Kyrie Abrahams

Written by: Editor