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I often get asked 'How many meetings, introductions, leads, orders, sales value of work, etc' can you forecast achieving in a month or year, etc. The honest answer is results are variable as there are a number of factors that can influence and affect the outcome of a new business campaign - as well as the ability of the person carrying out the work.
The quickest appointment I've achieved is after only one hour on the 1st day of a new campaign for a creative agency. And the longest took about 18 months of nurturing to reach a high level decision maker within a very large national organisation for a service that typically had a longer sales timeline. Most people will only want to meet you when they have a need coming up soon. Luck happens occasionally, but most of the time for a quality meeting you have to be patient and get the timing just right. Factors that influence and affect results can include and in no particular order:
The above will help you to work out what is a realistic achievable result - assuming you have a skilled and competent person (like me) executing it. That's it for now. Have a great summer! Ilse Right now there is that uplifting feeling of spring approaching. Tightly closed yellow daffodil buds ready to burst into boom. Crisp blue skies which bring that fabulous sharp light. A rejuvenating brisk air and the noticeable longer days. All of which I think helps to focus mind and spirit on a fresh business strategy for finding new clients.
So where to start? Carefully consider who to target. Who you would like work for and realistically who would give you the work? Define your target and customer profile. Essential characteristics to consider are:
Take a look through your best clients and see how they fit with your target profile. What common characteristics do they have? Can it be improved? Or would you like more that are similar or better or both? Once you've decided on your target market, consider the following:
Get your strategy executed as soon as possible! Slow starts = slower development - slower results. This might not be the pace and timescale you want that new business to land within. From time to time review and revisit your target criteria. Don't be afraid to re-pivot. Be honest about your mistakes and if necessary change direction quickly. That's it for now. Check out my future blog for more tips. Gosh I just looked outside and it's snowing! Today I was reflecting on the different New Biz drives I've done over the years and what factors most affects results and how quickly pipelines take to get going. Well there are a few factors that will help faster lift off but right now, I will focus on one: which is the quality and quantity of the data you start with. Data is like fuel to a New Biz drive - without it or without enough good quality, progress stops or splutters and flounders.
As well as spending many years working in the creative industry, I have also worked on New Business drives for other sectors. What is common for many smaller creative companies or B2B SMEs though is the lack of or poor quality data they frequently possess as they rely mainly on referrals; however if you want to encourage further growth, you will need a New Biz strategy in place which involves reaching out to potential new clients you have had little or no previous communication with. It is only very occasionally and I really do mean very occasionally that I come across a client with an up to date, suitably targeted well compiled database with all the necessary contact names and details - that's like finding gold! Some may query 'so if you don't have that right now - is that much of a problem?'.....errm.....well yes it is actually quite a problem if you want your company to grow. And this is why: for any New Biz drive to get speedier progress developing a pipeline of work and an increased likeliness of that all important lift off, you will need a quality amount of suitably targeted data to get going with. Long rusty data-lists need cleaning and online research to get them back into shape - which will cost time; hence money. Unless your target market is small or niche - which might be better to compile yourself, you are probably better off purchasing a checked list from a reputable industry accredited list supplier. If you don't know any the DMA (Direct Marketing Association), who set the standards for list brokers and mailing houses, have a list of their approved members. Just make sure the list supplier you select is a specialist in the area you want or has a reasonable number of the type of contacts, sectors and locations you require. Get a small sample to check out first. Good data will increase the likeliness of speedier progress and the probability of getting a New Biz drive off the ground. Who knows it may even help get it rocket launched! Look out for more important factors to consider in my future blogs. |
Ilse
Strategic New Business Hunter
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01844 873200 or 07963 617062
Remote-based in Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9
Remote-based in Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9