Bad news, you came in second. Again. There were four finalists and your “excellent presentation” made the prospect’s decision “extremely difficult.” Does this sound familiar? People are nice. They don’t want to hurt your feelings. But they have to decide, don’t they? And only one agency can win.
That cruel fact magnifies the problem because one thing most agencies have in common is their skill at making presentations. They’re very good at presenting their strategy and their creative solutions.
Where does that leave the frustrated prospect, the client? Up the proverbial tree, and it might not be yours. They started with a list of ten agencies to screen, selected four finalists, saw four wonderful presentations by good people and ended up confused how to differentiate between them. Each agency used ad agency project management software to ensure an excellent final product. As time passes, there is often befuddlement about which agency or who the day-to-day contact would be. Deadlines are approaching for next year’s planning and execution. They have a hurry-up meeting and make a selection. Why? Who knows? The client needs luck in making the assignment. Three agencies lose. One wins. And nobody can answer the simple question, “Why?”
I’ll tell you “Why” again. Because there’s no differentiator. And I’ll give you an example in just a few easy-to-understand steps:
1. Your presentation must be excellent. You know they all will be – every agency did its homework and presented professionally. At the very least, make sure your’s meets their high standards.
2. Come off as good people. Your competition will be radiating confidence – make sure you shine brighter.
3. Cap your pitch by recognizing and helping to solve every clients’ pain points. They all have too much to do and are stressed. Promise them that you’ll show them new ways to work together which will save them time and reduce stress.
4. Be prepared to explain how you do that. How? By making use of the latest ad agency software. If you don’t have one now, get it. It’ll save you time and frustration. More important when dealing with new business, it can be your differentiator, deluxe.
Try it. You might like it.
Allan Kalish is co-founder and Chairman of Workzone, LLC, a provider of web-based project management software and collaboration tools for ad agencies, marketing departments and any organization needing to manage projects more effectively.
