There are not many amongst us who relish the challenge of getting all dressed up for a night out at a singles bar hoping to find a soul mate, only to return home blaming the organisers, the venue, the aftershave, the music and the new suit for the lack of any suitable partners.

But this is exactly the same situation you put yourself into when looking for new business. If you jump into unfamiliar territory and try constantly to introduce yourself to complete strangers the process will be painful and unfulfilling.

Think about how you met your partner, wife or husband? It was probably through a friend and you went out with a group of friends to somewhere fun, you had a reason to be there and shared an interest. After a couple of dates, you realised that you has something in common and enjoyed each other’s company and the rest … as they say is history.

Now apply this to your business development strategy and you will quickly realise the benefits of targeting and segmenting your prospective clients into groups to whom you must convey the same message “I’d like to know more about you” in a number of different ways.

Remember once you have started that initial introduction, you must stay in touch, keep reminding them of the services you offer, make news relevant to their interests and get personal. Make it enjoyable and your prospective clients will want to know more about you as now you have their permission to actively ‘market’ yourselves to them.

Five simple steps to developing a long-term relationship:

1. offer an incentive to prospective clients – give them something of unique value
2. as you now have their attention, use it to keep them up to date with your news (but keep it relevant)
3. ensure you keep the momentum going and listen to your prospective clients needs
4. really get to know the individual and turn strangers into friends
5. over time use the knowledge gathered to change their perception of you into becoming their best friend

Try it, you have nothing to lose and if you examine your best client relationships you will almost certainly identify with the above.

In an economic downturn, many agencies jump at the opportunity to submit a proposal to a potential client. It’s a chance to book some new business, and besides, who can resist the adrenaline rush that usually goes along with the prospect of an impending new client win?

Proposals, however, can be huge time wasters. The problem is that some clients who are not serious buyers will ask for a written proposal, while others may prematurely ask for a proposal before the proper steps have been worked through and the right relationships established. Furthermore, your willingness to write a proposal too quickly will actually position you as a ‘supplier’ rather than a strategic, in-demand consultant who is discerning about the work you will take on. You need to cover all the right areas during the business development process to ensure a successful sale and a fruitful relationship.

Here are 8 prerequisites for submitting a proposal to a new or existing client:

1. You are certain this is the right client and issue for you and your agency. 

Is this the right sort of client—in terms of size, complexity, location, or potential to create a conflict of interest with other clients—given your strategy? Is the client with whom you will work an effective, respected individual in his or her organisation? Do you need this new sector experience to break into new territories?

2. You have a thorough understanding of the issues you are being asked to solve and a sense of the business goals or needs which are influencing them. This could happen in one conversation, but more likely will only unfold over two or three discussions. 


3. You and the client have agreed on the specific objectives of the work—on the outcomes that are sought. 


4. You understand the client’s buying process. Usually, you will have to ask about this. It is completely appropriate to ask questions such as:

 “Can you talk me through your decision-making process?”

 or “Who will approve the budget for this work?”

 or “Who makes the final decision about selecting an agency to work with?”

 or “Can you share with me your decision-making timetable?”

 or “May I ask what other agencies you are talking to?”


5. You have spoken to or met with the budget holder. This person can make the decision to appoint you. This could be a brand manager or the CEO. Often, the first person that calls you is not the budget holder. He or she is a user-buyer (someone who is screening agencies, who can say “No” but not “Yes”) or a client executive who would work with you on the engagement but cannot make the decision to hire someone. 

The worst mistakes made during the sales process are often around the identity and role of the budget holder. Sometimes, people think they know who the budget holder is when they actually do not, and on other occasions they just don’t focus in on this critical buying influence, and end up wasting huge amounts of time writing a proposal that never gets a true hearing. 


6. You understand what is most important to the client—in other words, what particular value they are seeking. 

 For example: Is speed critical? How important is cost? Do they want a bespoke solution? What about quality—do they need a strong project management team? Is this a one-off project or is the client looking for a longer-term relationship? Which aspect of your proposed approach does the client most value?


7. You have discussed the essential elements of your proposal with the client. Before you submit a written proposal, you must, as author Alan Weiss puts it, achieve “conceptual agreement” about what’s going to be in it. You might say, “Before I send you this proposal, I’d like to meet with you to talk through our basic approach with you. That way I can get your reactions and input before finalising it.”


8. You have an agreement to discuss the proposal with the client after you submit it. “I’m sending the proposal over later today. If it fits into your diary, I’d like to set up a meeting later this week so we can discuss it. “

You don’t want to spend a lot of time writing a proposal, and then send it into a black hole. Schedule a phone call or face-to-face meeting to put the client on the hook to read the proposal and share his or her reactions with you.

I’m sure we can all still remember waiting, as the weeks rolled by, to hear from a prospective client about a proposal we had given them, only to be told that the boss of that person’s boss—whom we’ve never met—had vetoed it.
Just because business is scarce doesn’t mean you should jump at every opportunity to write a proposal. On the contrary, you should focus on those opportunities that make the most sense for you and then double-down on them. This means investing to understand your client’s business and key issues, treating them as if they are already a client, and adding significant value during the selling process.

“Give me a good idea of what your company can do for me in 15 minutes. Any more than that and you are wasting my time” – A design buyer

One point that repeatedly enters into any new business conversation, proposal or pitch is ‘value added’ so we have devised five tips to communicate true value to your clients:

1. start with needs – why do clients want to buy design? It is not because they WANT services such as branding or websites. It is because they NEED to keep their shareholders happy; they need to recruit intelligent graduates who will ultimately increase sales; they NEED to relax knowing that their website is being taken care of.

Think in terms of what client needs you can fill, not what services you can offer. Prospective clients may not always understand what your services are exactly, but they certainly will understand how relieving their stress or reaching their desired goal will help.

2. ask your clients – ask them why they decided to appoint you in the first place. Find out what distinguished you from the competition in their minds and what effect have you had on their business?

Listen out for core phrases that are repeated across your client base. By understanding what your clients already respect about your level of service or creativity, you will discover the real value you give them.

3. don’t use marketing speak – avoid speaking an industry language that clients don’t understand. Use words your clients use, find phrases and needs that resonate with them. Instead of ‘we work with our clients to help them achieve high performance’, try we help our clients increase customer satisfaction which in turn leads to higher loyalty rates and profits.’

4. create your value proposition – incorporate the best points from the above into a value proposition or USP, a statement about your agency and test it out on your colleagues and friends. Ask for feedback and fine-tune it until it becomes natural to describe your agency in this way.

5. Test your value – now test this with your prospective clients, either at networking events or during the next new business phone call and see what piques a prospect’s interest. It will be more rewarding than you think and don’t be afraid of changing it to suit differing clients needs.

By putting tangible value that speaks to your clients in their language in your value proposition, you will definitely stand out from the crowd.