Rachel Huff’s Post

Well this is timely 🤔 Really well written and thought provoking “this needs to change” article from M.T. Fletcher over at Ad Age. Having now sat on every side of this equation, the notion that the #rfp process is broken is certainly not a new one. Leaders like Seth Matlins are working hard to listen and give CMOs both a voice in this but also a more collective voice to be heard in how to nuance the current situation. Major industry events like Mirren Business Development, Association of National Advertisers, Advertising Week, POSSIBLE , and Brand Innovators have dedicated significant portions of programming to it. One of the biggest thigs I hear whispered sometimes is that as soon as they step off the stage - the line is 10 deep with people wanting to pitch them. Again something I understand from both sides. Digiday, MediaPost, ADWEEK and The Drum have written consistently about the challenges all parties face in the process. A reckoning is coming - it simply needs to. Thanks to all of those like Christian Muche and Ruth Mortimer to dedicating so much thought to the reimagining of the process for marketers. Thanks to people like Shannon Pruitt, David Shing, Steven M., Josh Golden, Alyson Griffin, Casey Hurbis, Sri Rajagopalan, John Militello, Dave Currie, Isaac Mizrahi, Matt Wilson, Rick Watson, Eric Dopkins, and Dave Kersey who’ve given their time and opinions to discuss or provide content around how to create better team conversations around the topic. If your marketer and your interested in having a MiO Campfire 🔥 content & conversation session - I’m yours and we’re here to listen. You can book a campfire with me HERE: https://lnkd.in/e-AtBc-c AM I RIGHT HERE? LEAVE YOUR THOUGHTS BELOW 👇 #media #marketing #mio

As we evolved and added elements to MiO Marketplace we began to really develop a sense from CMO’s that sometimes they just want to talk to a few pre-vetted vendors or partners about pain points and how to address or solve - wellllll before even a potential RFP and hopefully in ways that perhaps certain needs aren’t serviced that way but provide flexibility to the CMO. We proudly do those now and we call them MiO Campfires 🔥 and while it won’t solve every dilemma they do sure seem to be what we get asked most for by Marketers. We won’t solve for everything and these won’t eliminate needs for RFPs or replace firms that specialize in that space and do it well but it can often just keep busy execs from planting task list judo of moving “we need an understanding of XYZ” from week to week. Ready for a MiO Campfire 🔥content &conversation - book one below 👇 https://lnkd.in/euR3Vvkb

Great conversation around just this topic of “why is the RFP process so broken & how do we fix it?” on next weeks Face of Marketing podcast - presented by MiO Marketplace and previously on our social and digital podcasts (Social Barbarians) and The Digital Fix . What do you think are some of the ways to change the way the process is done?! Leave it in thr comments below or better yet - offer to jump in or back into the podcast. We’d love to hear an opinion from previous guests including:Fernando Machado, Mike Linton, Rick Song, Diana Haussling, Tariq H., Deirdre McGlashan, Rick Robinson, Julia Hammond, Conal Byrne, Gayle Troberman, Patricia Keeney-Maischoss and Chrissie Hanson. What do you think needs to be fixed and how would you do it if you had the buy in from the industry? Leave it in the comments below 👇 #mio #FOM #podcast

I grew an agency from 0 to 5-figures/month in 5 months from a cabin in the woods, off-grid... 🌏 Here are a few things I learned: 1) Do more than you say. 2) The right partnerships are more powerful than the right niche. 3) Clients don’t buy when they’re not ready. 4) Explain the transformation, not the features. 5) Price for value, not for hours.

Something strange has been happening at my agency… High-growth consumer brands are finding us before we find them. Q2 business development is off to an insane start. I’m not pitching what we offer. On each strategy call, I feel like I’m prescribing a solution to the pain they’ve been feeling. They are searching for a performance marketing partner they can trust. Our strategies and tactics make sense to them. I feel like we are curing a plague of underserved clients that are tired of being burned by the traditional agency pitch. Most importantly, I feel like we are finally ready for it. We’re playing the long game. We’re doubling down on fulfillment and over delivering for our clients. Lfg. 🫡

The time, resources and even staff stress levels required to constantly pitch for new business are SO high. And in this shrinking economy, new business opportunities seem to be slowing down and getting more competitive. A few days ago I contributed my thoughts to The Drum on how we grow, nurture and expand current client relationships, as it is obviously a great way (The best?) to grow as an agency. 🤝 We build strong relationships with senior stakeholders from the start. One of our MDs is usually involved in new business opportunities (and stays involved in some way or form throughout the engagement!) 👫 We appoint executive sponsors for all clients and have regular check-ins to nurture the relationship, get feedback and identify growth opportunities 💡 Our Account Leads need to be marketing consultants and offer strategic guidance beyond their channel expertise ✉️ We have a strong client engagement strategy. We regularly share case studies, agency news, and insights with clients through calls, newsletters and emails to keep them informed of our capabilities and what we're doing in the market. When we run an event, our clients are the first ones to be invited. When we produce a whitepaper, our clients are the first to see it ⭐️ And of course, we produce absolutely brilliant work and are really nice people to deal with (without those two points all of the above is completely pointless) This strategy has helped us grow our client relationships and revenue without the high cost of pitching for EVERY PIECE of new business that comes our way. We are picky like that. 😏 Read the full article on The Drum: https://lnkd.in/evY6aCFa How do you approach growing existing client relationships? Share your thoughts in the comments. #NewBusiness #TheDrum #ImagineBetter #clientservice

Many investor/agency partnerships use this SHADY tactic: Creating all brand assets under the agency's name, not the brand's. ⛓ This gives agencies LEVERAGE to potentially hold brands hostage by controlling access. ‼️ It's unethical, disrupts operations, and halts growth - Normally you get sold by the “sales guy” or agency owner and passed down to their junior marketing associate and the results usually reflect that. This is exactly what we saw before taking over this account. #shady #conflictofinterest #hostagethreats

Ad agency differentiation is so hard to do from within the agency. This is not just about adaptation; it's about redefining your agency's narrative to open doors to new opportunities and markets. The deliverables from this process are more than tools; they become your new competitive edge. Drop a comment, and I'll explain the details. #LetsGrow! #adagency #differentiate #newbusiness #winclients agency growth consultant

I hear a lot of new business pitch horror stories from agency peers but less about amazing pitch experiences. We’ve just been through a REALLY great pitch process so I wanted to share what made it so positive. *Caveat: We don’t know the outcome of the pitch yet so I’m not being influenced by a win 😉. Also, I haven’t named the client as we’re still in theory in the pitch process! 👏 Decent deadlines: The client was so considerate with the deadlines they set. We had plenty of time to think and sit with the brief. It felt like such a luxury to not be rushing! 👏 Personable procurement: Procurement were invested in every stage of the pitch which bought the amazing rigour you’d expect, they also bought brilliant personality to the client team and wanted to build relationships with the agency. 👏 Flowing feedback: We received long form written feedback at each stage of our response. Often, we’ll get a phone call after a pitch but rarely feedback that is written down – it was so nice to be able to read, digest and share it with the team and definitely helped us. 👏 Senior stakeholder involvement: The clients were really generous with their time and they made sure we met all key stakeholders including the senior decision makers. It showed commitment from their side and that the pitch was important to their business. 👏 Realistic expectations: The client team made it clear that they didn’t expect agencies to nail an idea at pitch stage because they know that great ideas come from collaboration and detailed knowledge of a brand. 👏 Showing appreciation: They said thank you. Not just at the end of the pitch process but throughout. It really felt like they appreciated the time and effort we'd invested and they'd valued our expertise. Clearly these clients are awesome people so we'd love to work with them but win or lose, PrettyGreen has had a great time pitching on this brief. Cheers and thank you to the "pitch perfect" clients! #newbusiness #pitch #bestinclass #kudos #pr #agency

A year ago, I received an award for driving exponential business growth for the agency. I didn't share this achievement, brag about it, or even celebrate it publicly. Instead, I kept it as a personal motivation, a reminder that there's always more work to be done. With this mindset, I continued reaching out to brands in this competitive market, seeking to understand their challenges in sales, brand awareness, visibility, and marketing objectives. Many shared their genuine struggles, seeking solutions to meet their annual business goals. Some believed they were doing just fine. As a honest marketer, I see this as an opportunity to highlight universal problems that can be transformed into growth opportunities. Often, clients recognize the potential of the solutions we propose but face budget constraints for execution. Despite these hurdles, we build unique and unforgettable relationships with brands by focusing on solving their problems rather than pitching our services. In the end, it's about fostering meaningful connections and providing value. That, to me, is the essence of true sales. #BrandChallenges #MarketingObjectives #BusinessGoals #GrowthOpportunities #ProblemSolving #ClientRelationships #MeaningfulConnections #ValueProvision #TrueSales