In recent years, I’ve noticed a pattern. It tends to occur with agencies that are part of a network or holding company—though it can happen with any agency. It is the conflation of cold leads with warm or hot leads. And it ends up hurting agencies because it can give them an inaccurate view of how they present themselves to prospective clients.
There is a world of difference between going through the new business process with a warm referral from a sister agency and trying to generate interest from someone who a) may be unfamiliar with your agency, b) wasn't expecting to hear from you, and c) perhaps isn't actively seeking new agency support.
These two points of origin are so divergent that one could argue the two types of leads should be treated differently as they progress through the sales funnel from "cold" to "warm" to "hot." Because you will likely always have to work harder for the business of someone with whom you have no relationship than you do when there are multiple layers of relationships and mutual investments already supporting your connection.
When you get a substantial portion of new business coming in as referrals, the bar is lower, as is the competition. And honestly, that’s great; it works in your favor. If your agency can get those friendly new business opportunities, take full advantage of them. But even when opportunities abound, agencies usually want to diversify their new business streams.
The danger is that these easier wins can create a sense of complacency and make an agency overconfident about how it presents in the marketplace. It may reject suggestions for improvement out of a false belief that what they have been doing already is working. If “working” is being measured by the ability to close business with “friendlies,” maybe it’s not.
Closing with friendlies is one thing. Going after new business in “the real world,” cold, can present some harsh wake-up calls. What’s your agency’s win-rate and response rate when you remove those warmer leads?
The takeaway is that you can always benefit from looking critically at how your agency presents to prospects. Keeping your agency competitive will never hurt your warm opportunities — and it can prevent you from missing opportunities with valuable top-funnel leads when you need to generate new connections.
Expect your audience to have less interest, less patience, and less attention. When it comes to new business, write and present to those people.
The reality is that your warmer, friendlier-origin leads will probably always be easier to close. When leads have existing relationships with your sister agencies, they may be more forgiving about some delays and oversights, while cold-origin leads may be quicker to judge.
That doesn't mean you should bring less than your "A game" with friendlies or that leads generated from cold outreach are less valuable. It means you should take a different approach to close leads generated from cold outreach. Keep this in mind at every touchpoint; in meetings, presentations, follow-up timeliness and follow-up strategy. Be aggressive about making the best impression consistently.
Taking a proactive approach to your agency’s growth through cold outreach has important benefits that can’t be duplicated by friendly leads. When it comes to passive lead generation (such as friendly referrals), you get what you get. It may not be your first choice type of project, client, vertical, or budget. Maybe those friendly opportunities don’t give your agency equal “shine” in the limelight if it's playing a supporting role.
Cold outreach is an important path to build awareness, capitalize on a winning streak, grow opportunities in specific markets or verticals, and generally have greater control over your agency’s future client roster. It should always be part of a healthy new business program, though not the only component.
Staying competitive should be a priority for every agency. In this industry, stagnation and complacency are dangerous roads. Tackling new business challenges and securing hard-won opportunities can help keep your agency fresh and desirable.
With a realistic understanding of how prospects see your agency, you can prepare to maximize your wins no matter where your leads originated. And before you know it, the relationships you build will make your cold-origin leads indistinguishable from those that came in as friendlies.
Image credits: Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash; Photo by Devin Avery on Unsplash