The Current Agency-Client Business Environment and the Opportunity Ahead
Lately, we’ve been asked a number of questions on the current agency-client business environment. Agencies are eager to hear what clients are currently thinking. We’ve also been asked numerous questions about filling the pipeline. So, to be as helpful as possible, we thought we’d share what we’ve been hearing in our conversations with clients, what […]
A Prospect-Centric Approach to Pitch Prep That Wins
At Mercer Island Group, we have had the privilege to sit in on hundreds of agency pitches. We’ve seen first-hand what works and what doesn’t, and how clients evaluate and select agencies. So often, the agencies lose the clients less than ten minutes into a pitch. Why? The focus is on the agency and not on the […]
A Winning Written Proposal
Written proposals. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: if only prospective clients knew how much time and effort agencies put into these babies. The sad truth; they have no idea. And, honestly, many clients don’t read them all the way through. At the same time, however, a written proposal or written RFI response […]
Mark Figliulo on Storytellers for the Information Age
Mark Figliulo is not only one of the world’s most decorated and accomplished creatives, he’s as thoughtful and nice as they come. His FIG Agency has been growing rapidly since its inception and is routinely an AdAge A List firm. We were lucky to pry a few minutes of his time to hear him talk about positioning his agency for success.
Before You Pitch, Pick the Right Team
Prospects hate bait and switch, where an agency sends a pitch team full of senior, experienced and talented presenters who, after winning a piece of business, are never seen again. Several years ago we saw “the largest media agency in the country” send the same pitch team to three different clients in six months. The […]
Bringing Your Case Studies to Life: The 5 Sections
Written by Barry O’Neil and Lindsay O’Neil Case studies can be among the most important pieces of any written submission to an RFI/RFP. At MIG, we always ask for case studies in written RFI responses, and collectively they carry the highest point total in our grading. We’ve seen our fair share of case studies over […]
10 Agency Biz Dev Tips
For several years the team at Mercer Island Group has been contributing to an annual “One Piece of Advice” publication on the topic of business development. Here are 10 of our best tips collected in one place: Don’t Be Generic “Teaching new business development folks in agencies to sound just like everyone else in the […]
How to Position Your Agency for New Business Success
Written by Steve Boehler & Barry O’Neil Today we’ll be looking at creating an effective positioning statement for your agency. Three Critical Aspects of Effective Differentiation While it’s impossible to create a completely original positioning statement (that is still clear and effective), the differentiators your agency already has can be combined to create a powerful […]
5 Tips for Presenting Your Solutions in a Pitch
Written by Steve Boehler & Barry O’Neil So you fought your way through the RFP process and finally have a chance to show off your solution in front of the prospect. In the lead-up, you hopefully did the hard work of analyzing their business challenges, finding rich insights to leverage, and developing a winning strategy. […]
A Conversation with Robin DiAngelo, Author of White Fragility
Written by Robin Boehler Whether we look back 100 years at the creation of the Aunt Jemima Mammy logo, or just back to 2012 to the posting of a PopChips video with Ashton Kutcher in brown makeup playing an Indian character, we come face to face with the reality that brands have not moved on […]