Value drivers, harsh truths about new business & sales debt
Issue #83
We’ve a very sales heavy issue this week as the end of the first quarter of 2026 is in sight. I’m certain the importance of winning new business and growing existing clients is only going to get more pronounced as we move through the year, so it seems right to share some brilliants insights on sales from a cohort of very smart people.
So dive on in and please take a moment to follow those who have given their time to post on LinkedIn. Without them, The Agency Advisory would not exist.
Enjoy issue #83 and thank you for reading.
How to make the case for strategy and judgement as value drivers
As James Tutt and I embark on our partnership as The Pitch Doctors, I’m increasingly thinking about how we might help agencies and, where needed, in-house teams navigate the complexities of procurement. And as an agency advisor, I’m constantly asked how agencies should respond when procurement questions fees and throws the AI bomb into pricing and negotiations.
This is the topic of a great post by Matt Weiss who uses the example of the advertising industry to explain why agencies must reframe the pricing conversations away from outputs and from defending hours to explaining the value of “judgement, experience and knowing where to aim the work so it actually drives growth.”
This is a conversation that’s not going away. We all know that in the comms sector, agencies selling on hourly rates are on a death spiral. As an industry, we must make a far more powerful case as to why strategy, judgement and the human touch have real value.
Check out Matt’s post and see what you can take into your next negotiation with procurement. It takes confidence, but it’s a conversation you need to nail. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7434244999451475968?
Four changes that the consulting model needs to embrace
And while on the topic of positioning your consulting model, Tim Beattie has shared a post in which he lays out what he believes needs to change for consulting to survive the onslaught of AI. Much of what Tim espouses mirrors Matt’s views and the advice of many others, but he arguably goes further.
Tim outlines four main areas where consulting needs to change. These are moving from advice to enablement, from activity to visibility, from projects to subscriptions (this is a really interesting take IMO), and from theatre to impact.
His short post is well worth visiting if you’re looking for a spark of inspiration to help you map the future. Find it here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7432695949497585664?
WTAF - AVEs again??
I can’t help but point readers to an excellent post by Jack Richards which lays bare the fact that as an industry we are still talking about AVEs. He comes from the expected vendor perspective (something he acknowledges in paragraph 1), but takes responsibility by saying that the vendors are part of the problem as many still offer AVE in their metric stack. Sharing Jack’s analogy: “AVEs are like the ex we’ve all had, the one we all text at 2am because it’s low hassle and low risk.”
The main point which I agree with is that comms is now at a place where there are more metrics than ever to tie the impact of comms to objectives and impact. For sure, it’s down to the vendors to democratise measurement and evaluation, arguably by making it as accessible as possible to a wider range of agencies and clients. But the real change will only come about when we as an industry stand shoulder to shoulder and consign AVEs to the dustbin of history. In Jack’s words: “Stop debating AVE. Start doing something about it. We vendors stand ready.“
What do you think? Visit Jack’s post here and have your say: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-aveing-laugh-jack-richards-lvroe/?
The harsh truths about agency new business
We are all seeking to navigate the tricky path that is agency new business. Every agency leader is looking for a safe route through and to reach the promised land of new clients, exciting work, getting paid for the value being delivered, and happy teams. Sadly, there are hazards every step of the way so it’s helpful when fellow advisors like Stephen Kenwright share their advice on what to look out for when on the new business journey.
Stephen’s recent LI post lists 12 harsh truth about agency new business. And as he says, some you won’t want to hear. Check it out for the full list, but the truths that stood out for me are:
1. “You can be good at selling and bad at sales. New business is a) a process you need to follow and b) a team sport.”
2. “you can’t qualify a deal in a single phone call.”
3. “The default is qualified out and you make an active decision to qualify in - not the other way round.”
Find Stephen’s excellent post here for the remaining eight harsh truths: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/stephen-kenwright_here-are-12-harsh-truths-you-need-to-hear-activity-7433054328317186049-rUCg
Five lessons in sales
While on the topic of agency new business, another great article landed this past week, this time from Ryan Hall in his Don’t Sell Newsletter. In it, Ryan makes the simple point that sales is not about having the slickest deck but “persistence, effort, and genuinely giving a shit.” It’s such powerful advice and Ryan goes on to illustrate what he means through five excellent client wins, all of which shaped how he thinks about sales.
There’s the win of a banking client that took persistence to nurture the prospect for five years. There’s the lucky, well-timed comment that led to a meeting and then to a significant win but which required the team to literally go the extra mile (you must check out this example). Then there’s the relationship win - something I hope every agency has experienced. And finally there’s the business case builder which required Ryan to build a business case in order for the prospect to find the budget, and the progressive disclosure which involved engineering additional value-added touchpoints with the prospects throughout the pitch process.
You’ll have to head over to Ryan’s newsletter for the details on all of this, and to read the lessons he takes away from it all. I guarantee you’ll find it highly instructive.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-lessons-sales-ryan-hall-ylhue/
Are you building sales debt?
Although citing a report from Harvard Business Review that uses an example from the software industry, Rachel Healy‘s recent post is as relevant to the professional services sector as it is in technology. In it, Rachel explains that most “most firms don’t starve from lack of opportunity. They drown from lack of focus.” HBR calls this sales debt. In Rachel’s In words, firms are taking on wrong fit clients which demand more support and more senior attention but with slimmer margins.
I am seeing this across the industry at the moment. It’s a consequence of the ever tightening economic landscape which forces agencies to accept smaller budgets from earlier stage clients. I’ve written a lot about defining the ideal client profile, and advisors such as Luk Smeyers, Richard Goold and Ben Potter all write regularly on the importance of maintaining focus on your defined ICP.
So Rachel’s post is a good wake up call to a problem I know many agencies are aware of but few are brave enough to do anything about. Check out her post here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rachel-healy-854258_most-firms-dont-starve-from-lack-of-opportunity-activity-7432115101106819072-0bYO
Wise guidance on incentive structures
This is a topic that often comes up in agencies looking to scale and who are moving from the early start-up phase into a more structured way of working. Prof. Joe O’Mahoney has broached the subject in a recent post and headlines his advice with the statement: the most destructive force in a growing consultancy is the ‘Individual Hero’ incentive.”
Joe explains the proven rationale behind this statement and goes on to provide guidance on the three levels of performance that should be taken into account when developing incentive structures. They are perhaps obvious ie: firm wide, team, and individual -- but when sensibly joined up ensure alignment across the company while avoiding the symptoms of the individual hero incentive approach such as knowledge hoarding, poor cross team collaboration and ultimately professional envy and loss of trust.
Check out Prof. Joe’s post here and check out the informed comments that accompany his post. Many shine a light on the challenges boutique firms face when designing incentive structures. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/joeomahoney_in-my-experience-advising-boutique-boards-activity-7432802766995107840-VbKl
And finally: The Pitch Doctors
It’s an unashamed commercial to bring the news of the recent announcement of my collaboration with James Tutt, ex-Microsoft senior comms leader and now co-founder of Grannom Consulting. Together we have launched The Pitch Doctors, a senior specialised consultancy offering created to assist both agencies and client-side teams with pitch strategy, preparation, and execution.
If you are seeking any support for a pitch or perhaps just need an independent set of eyes to review the deck, rehearse with the team, and to provide feedback on the strategy, then get in touch. You’ll find James and I very flexible as we get this collaboration off the ground.
All the details are contained in this post, so if you’d like to have an initial no-obligation chat with either of us, do please just DM us.
Find us here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pitch-doctors-whats-all-andy-west-potce/