From Referrals to Outreach

It is a common experience. For years, an agency startup thrived on a steady stream of referrals, never having to do proactive business development. The founders had stellar reputations for delivering exceptional results and breakthrough creativity; past clients moved with them, new clients knocked on their door, and the agency grew and prospered for years. However, the reliance on referrals eventually became problematic. As friends and connections moved on, the partners had decreasing time to nurture their networks, the market dynamics shifted, and the competition intensified. The flow of referrals began to dry up. They reached the end of the roll. 

I regularly work with agencies in this predicament. When the referrals wane, the agency must find new ways of engaging leads and turning cold prospects into new clients. I want to share the journey of an agency I worked with recently and the steps they took to reignite their business by pivoting from referrals only to an outbound prospecting program.

The Acme Widget Agency (my lawyers insisted)

The early years of this agency were nothing short of glorious. The founders brought their experience and talent together, so their former clients, friends, and colleagues came with them. Their work garnered press and awards and generated word-of-mouth referrals that seemed unstoppable. The agency enjoyed steady growth, and its reputation as a top-tier creative powerhouse was the talk of the trade press. When I first learned of them, I was impressed and remember using them as an example of what's possible.

The agency became increasingly busy as time passed, leaving little time to grow and nurture its network, generate press, speak at conferences, enter awards, and other activities. They relied solely on referrals without any proactive new business efforts. Slowly but surely, the referrals decreased in frequency, and the agency grappled with a stagnant pipeline of prospects. While buried in client work, they failed to recognize the decline in referrals, the emergence of new competitors, and the need for a more proactive approach to business development.

The Urgent Need for Leads

With dwindling referrals, the agency's leadership began feeling pressure on their bottom line. They realized that relying solely on referrals was no longer sustainable. Panic set in as they assessed their limited options. Unwilling to compromise on their quality of work or resort to drastic measures, they knew that finding a long-term solution was imperative to survive and thrive in the competitive market. First, they hired their first salesperson, expecting him to jump-start their prospecting. That person had no agency experience and didn't last long. 

The agency recognized that seeking new leads and clients had to become a priority to stem the decline, and it needed to figure out the proper steps to take. Their talented team was consumed with keeping existing clients happy, leaving little time or expertise for exploring fresh avenues for growth. They hired a lead generation company that promised highly qualified leads every week. This company had no experience in the agency's business, but the allure of new leads again was powerful. After six months of only a few leads that weren't the right fit, they ended the contract. Meanwhile, the pressures were growing.

The Agency Growth Consultant Arrives

Something had to change, so the agency sought outside expertise and turned to a reputable business development consultant. Someone with a wealth of experience, industry knowledge, and an unbiased perspective to see the challenge clearly and know how to fix it. Someone who could develop a clear roadmap for a comprehensive, scalable, sustainable prospecting program, freeing them from their referral-dependent past. That person would be me.

I first conducted an in-depth analysis of the agency's strengths, weaknesses, and unique selling points. I identified a group of peer agencies to compare and contrast them with. I did an audit of the marketplace to determine their future clients' current challenges and priorities. We then looked at the data and identified a positioning that helped differentiate them and spoke to the current needs of their market.

I looked at their current and past clients and where they wanted to grow to identify and model the ideal target markets and client profiles to focus on. By zeroing in on their key strengths and defining their highest probability segments, we sharpened and focused their messaging and services to better differentiate themselves from the noise of a crowded industry. The result was an authentic and genuine refresh, not reinvention, of the agency that was a powerhouse in the early days. It created renewed excitement and a certain je ne sais quoi among the founders that had been lost during this challenging period.

With a clear understanding of the agency's abilities and capabilities, I created a comprehensive business development plan aligned with its long-term vision. This plan included outreach strategies, networking opportunities, and digital marketing tactics. It also outlined a timeline for implementation, ensuring the agency remained committed to its new approach.

While there are many ways to reach a target audience, leveraging digital marketing and social media platforms to showcase the agency's work is the most efficient tactic to reach its best potential prospects. Recommendations included changes to their website, optimizing SEO, and re-establishing a frequent presence on LinkedIn and other social media channels. The agency positioned itself as a thought leader by creating engaging content, sharing industry insights, attracting potential clients, and generating leads.

To expand their reach and credibility, I recommended pursuing strategic partnerships that were complementary to them and shared the same target audiences. By collaborating with trade and industry associations, and other non-competitive service providers, they could achieve even greater scale and reach beyond their marketing.

I developed a systematic email and marketing automation outreach process to target and engage cold prospects. We created content to introduce the agency, showcase its differentiation, demonstrate its value and capability, and stay top of mind, if not top of the list when the agency needs to arise. I set up the platform, designed the automation and tracking sequences, researched and collected the contact lists, and trained internal staff to run it.

In addition to the broad outreach, I recommended a targeted program to identify top potential clients and nurture relationships. The agency started attending industry events, conferences, and networking sessions to connect with prospects directly. They proactively contacted decision-makers, leveraging personalized communication to showcase their expertise and offerings.

The End In Mind

I always have the end in mind when working with agencies like this one. An agency will be most successful when it handles its business development in-house. Together we decided when the agency becomes confident enough in the process to take over. I conducted training sessions to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to keep the momentum going. From audience targeting to engaging content, the agency's team was now better prepared to seize opportunities and convert prospects into clients.

Not all agencies will be successful with this kind of program. I worked with one who took the program over after three months with great success and another who waited three years to go it alone and didn't do well. Most engagements run for about a year and continue in-house.

As this agency embraced the pivot from inbound to outbound, it experienced a gradual resurgence in leads, new clients, and better clients. They also found the program effective for entering new markets and industries. The strategic guidance and objective outside perspective proved invaluable, helping them navigate the challenges of turbulent markets, fierce competition, and rapidly evolving channels and technologies. The agency has enjoyed sustainable growth by expressing its core strengths, leaning into digital marketing, and building awareness through targeted outreach.

For agencies facing a similar challenge, hiring a business development consultant could be the catalyst for growth again. Regardless of which consultant you choose to help, their expertise, experience, and focused dedication can lead to faster results, a predictable pipeline, data-driven decision-making, and a more prosperous future. By recognizing the need for change and getting past a few wrong turns in the process, Acme Widgets emerged from its referral-driven past stronger than ever before.

Happy Prospecting!

I’ve got a lot more ideas about how you can start or rethink your business development program, and I enjoy sharing them. If you want help or simply want to talk about your business development program, I’m always open to a conversation. If you like this post, click the thumbs up, so I’ll know, and then sign up for my new business newsletter. Connect with me on LinkedIn for daily tips, tricks, and insights. #LetsGrow!