Why Your Ad Agency’s Business Development is Doomed (and You Probably Don’t Even Realize It)

Don Draper, portrayed by Jon Hamm in Mad Men, knows you need help with business development.

Let’s be brutally honest, shall we? Driving new business for creative, digital, advertising agencies, and even accounting and law firms is about as fun as a root canal without Novocaine. And while everyone knows it’s a challenge, the sheer number of agencies struggling with a repeatable, new business program is staggering. Owners and key principals don’t have the time to vet new tech stacks, AI and automation tools to identify the best custom business development program for their company. Pursuing new business is not just about the effort – it’s about not sabotaging yourself the second you take the first step. Who likes cold-calling, prospecting or hunting new clients? At Core, we love hunting and we’re good at it. It just takes strategy, patience and persistence. As the owner or principal, you’re so close to the new business problem, that you can’t even see where to start.

So, let’s dissect the six fatal flaws that are guaranteed to send your business development efforts straight to the graveyard. If any of this sounds familiar, prepare for a serious dose of reality.

1. You Think You’re a Salesperson (You’re Not):

Just because you’re an agency principal doesn’t automatically qualify you as a rainmaker. Sure, Don Draper could do it, but he’s fictional. Even the best people who pitch, David Olgivy comes to mind, aren’t batting a thousand. You might be a creative genius, a marketing guru, or even a spreadsheet wizard, but that doesn’t mean you can sell your way out of a paper bag. Top-of-funnel prospecting isn’t pitching – it’s a whole different beast. You have nanoseconds to grab attention, and most agency principals, bless their hearts, just don’t have the time to prospect, build a pipeline, manage the CRM and consistently follow-up. Cue the frustration and the inevitable fizzling out.

2. “Plan” is a Four-Letter Word:

I typically walk my clients through a crawl-walk-run strategy when it comes to new business. New business can and is usually overwhelming especially when you’re pulled in so many different directions as the CEO or owner. You’re managing the business, a department, payroll, operations and running new business. You need a manageable plan with some automation. Think checklist, not a novel. Email platform, a few targeted case studies, a vaguely updated website (because let’s face it, it probably needs it), a couple of LinkedIn posts a week (of your true USP or relevant thought leadership), and a small, targeted prospect list. And then, actually block time on your calendar to do this stuff. Consistency, is key. This plan is, in essence, your initial business strategy.

3. You’re as Focused as a Squirrel on Crack:

Your positioning, website, case studies, and content all need to be laser-focused on the specific verticals you’re chasing. If you’re “horizontally positioned” (whatever that even means), then pick a service or a geographic area. Focus. Stop chasing shiny objects and start thinking about what your prospects actually care about: solving their problems. Do you know your close rate for new business? Do you compare inbound to referral to outbound? You should. If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it. I know an agency owner that is vertically focused on a single industry and let’s just say he can retire any day now and he’s young. Sure, that may not be sexy and win a ton of awards but you need to decide what kind of agency you want when you start it. Award-winning, creative and well-known are all ambitious but profitable is never on that short list. Remember, you’re not running a non-profit. This focused approach allows you to perform proper market analysis and refine your marketing strategy. You can also build strong strategic partnerships within that single industry.

4. Too Many Hands in the Cookie Jar (and They’re All Messy):

Everyone wants to be involved. Everyone has an opinion. Everyone needs to sign off. Sounds like a recipe for disaster? You bet it is. Team buy-in is important, sure. But you need a single point of contact for business development, a “buck stops here” person, or at the very least, a small, agile team that can actually make decisions without holding 17 committee meetings. This will help maintain a healthy sales pipeline.

5. Your Internal Hire is a Disaster Waiting to Happen:

New business directors at agencies have a shelf life of about 18 months. Why? Because you hire based on their network (which probably consists of people who also don’t want to be pitched), you hire green and think you can “train them up” (good luck with that), you don’t even bother to ask about their actual process (because who needs a plan, right?), and you haven’t even defined the job description (so they’re responsible for everything and therefore, nothing). They should be able to demonstrate skill in areas like client acquisition, account management, and using tools such as PipeDrive or ClaritySoft. They also must have strong communication skills, and be good at relationship building, and negotiation.

6. You’re Too Close to See the Train Wreck:

Being knee-deep in the daily grind makes it impossible to be objective about your market position. And let’s be honest, your business development “mindset” is probably more like a “let’s try this for a few months and see what happens” approach. Newsflash: that doesn’t work. Business development is a process. It’s not a magic wand, an Amazon gift card, or something AI can fix for you. You need to understand your competitive analysis, perform a SWOT analysis, and create a detailed business planning document. You need to focus on revenue growth and business growth. You need to utilize tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator for effective lead generation and networking. If you are doing B2B sales you need to understand solution selling. As the market changes, you also need to understand digital transformation, and if applicable, SaaS sales, remote sales, and value based selling. You need to be able to create effective proposal writing and have strong presentation skills. Using a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is also vital. You also need to understand sales management.

Mike Terry is the Founder and CEO of Core Digital Consulting. His new business efforts have landed agencies Fortune 500 brands to mid-market companies including GE, Intel, 7-Eleven, TSA Pre-Check, Samsung, Medifast, Evolution of Smooth, GoodBelly, a2 Milk, X Games, Portland State University, Cambia Health Solutions, Regence, NW Natural, Verizon, NEC, Jani-King, Spokane International Airport, Mt. Hood Territory, Lithia Motors, The Standard, Sage Software, The United Way, M Financial and Tektronix.