Jody Sutter - Pitch Perfect

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STARING INTO THE FUTURE
8 Essential Elements of an
Ad Agency New Business Plan
Presented by Jody Sutter, The Sutter Company
The Drum’s Pitch Pefect
September 28, 2017
© 2017 The Sutter Company www.thesuttercompany.com
Photo credit: Ewen Roberts

But first…
a few questions.

What is an annual plan
for new business?

Aligns everyone’s expectations
Why is it important?
Looking back prepares you for what’s ahead
Provides clarity and gives everyone something to aim for
Your boss will be impressed
4

8 Essential elements
you should include
in an annual new
business plan

What kinds of trends are you seeing?
How does your agency need to stay competitive?
Who are your competitors now?
Who do you want to compete against next year?
1.
The marketplace

Where are opportunities coming from?
How many pitches did you participate in?
Were they the right ones?
What’s the ratio of reactive to proactive?
Performance
2.

Strategic and financial.
How much can you rely on organic growth?
How much do you need to focus on prospecting
unidentified new business?
Goals & benchmarks
3.

Current revenue: £2 million
Goal: 20% growth
New revenue: £400,000 in new business
Client attrition: 20%
Actual new revenue: £800,000 annualized
By January 1: £800,000 in new biz
No wins until end Q1: $~1 million annualized
No wins until end Q2: $1.6 million annualize
No wins until end Q3: $3.2 million annualized

How much do you need to pitch?
What’s a reasonable/aspirational-sized client?
What clients are you best suited to pursue?
What level of support will you need (incl budget)?
Meeting the goals
4.

Current revenue: £2 million
Goal: 20% growth
New revenue: £400,000 in new business
Client attrition: 20%
Actual new revenue: £800,000 annualized
Average client revenue: £200,000
Conversion at credentials stage: 1:2
Conversion at pitch stage: 1:3
24 pitches to reach the goal

What does it cost to pitch?
Usually it’s not consistent.
Often it’s not commensurate with billings.
But a benchmark is still useful.

Who’s on your team?
What do they do?
Are strengths aligned with goals?
Your team
5.

You
CEO
NB Dir. NB Dir. Mktg./PR
Holding Company
Coord. Ass’t.
Strategy ResearchCreative Production
Coord. Ass’t.

Give them outlets (blog, speaking,
events, social) for their ideas.
Put a prospecting plan in place
and set ‘em loose!Natural-born hunters
Natural-born promoters
What are the 1-2 things the team
will be able to do and do well?
Tee up the ball and let him/her hit.
Keep them organized and on track.
What are the 1-2 things you’ll
be able to do and do well?
Small team, multiple hats
CEO = Chief Sales Officer?
“It’s your job. Keep us out of it.”
What kind of agency is yours?

Lead generation
19
Pitching/closing
Marketing and PR
New business triumvirate

Will your agency’s positioning serve you?
How are you telling your story?
What tactics align with that story?
PR and marketing
6.

J A N F E B M A R A P R M A Y J U N J U L A U G S E P O C T N O V D E C
T H O U G H T
L E A D E R S H I P
C O N F E R E N C E S /
S P E A K I N G
C O N F E R E N C E S
S P O N S O R S H I P
C O N F E R E N C E S
A T T E N D A N C E /
N E T W O R K I N G
E M A I L M A R K E T I N G
S O C I A L M E D I A
C O L L A T E R A L
C A M P A I G N S
P U B L I C I T Y
A N D P R
I N T E R N A L
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL pieceTL pieceTL piece
C D - P R O D U C E D
E V E N T S
TL piece
Keynote Keynote Keynote Keynote
CD techCD CD CDCDCDCD tech CD techCD techCD tech CD techCD
Brand aesthetics: Instagram Facebook, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat
Brand mechanics: Twitter, LinkedIn
Thought leadership: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
CD Qtly CD Qtly CD Qtly CD Qtly
Ongoing - strategic and opportunistic
Live Event Live EventLive Event Webinar
Annual prize
Innovation Lab Innovation Lab Innovation Lab Innovation Lab
Showcase Showcase Showcase Showcase ShowcaseShowcase ShowcaseShowcase Showcase Showcase Showcase Showcase
Q 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4
Webinar Webinar
CD tech CD tech CD tech CD tech

What was your level of operational excellence?
What improvements (staff, tools, process, materials)
need to be made?
Operations
7.

Keep track of your prospects and progress
The stuff you need to...
Communicate with prospects, clients, partners
Find intelligence on your prospects
Communicate with each other
23

Written last, always goes first.
Smart, concise summary.
Use it to your advantage to highlight information.
Executive summary
8.

1 Executive summary 5 Meeting the goals
2 The marketplace 6 Your team
3 Performance 7 PR/marketing
4 Goals/benchmarks 8 Operations
The plan

Start your planning now
and be ready to get out of
the gate fast in 2018
Still feel overwhelmed? I can help:
Jody Sutter
The Sutter Company
Jody@thesuttercompany.com
Photo credit: Michele Truex

Jody Sutter - Pitch Perfect

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