Presentation Like proposals, presentations should be standardized, but then continually adapted based on your prospect's preferences. Some contacts want to read the proposal first, whereas others prefer to see a condensed version in PowerPoint form through Skype or GoToMeeting.

If you have gotten this far in the process, go into the meeting with the intent to close. If you did not want the business, you should not have invested the time it took to get this far. Have the mindset that you are going to leave with an agreement. Consider the following questions, and come prepared: Is there an agenda?

Is it in person or virtual?

How many people from the client's side will be in attendance?

Are the decision makers in the room?

Are you ready to field questions, and effectively address objections?

Who will be in the meeting from your team? Who will be the lead presenter?

Have you done an internal practice run?

Have you tested all the audio and visual elements?

What next steps are you proposing?

How will you hook them in the open, and close them in the end?

Understanding the Buying Cycle

In order to maximize the lead-generation and nurturing process, and increase the probability of conversion, it is important to understand how organizations make marketing-services buying decisions. Let's take a look at the five standard stages of a buying cycle, and consider how agencies can tailor their marketing and sales activities based on each phase (see Figure 6.2). Stage 1-Awareness: The organization recognizes they have an unsatisfied need, unresolved pain point, or new marketing challenge. This realization may be due to internal stimuli, such as the CEO pointing out they are nowhere to be found on the first page of Google results; or external stimuli, such as a savvy marketing agency identifying risks and gaps in their social media presence.

Stage 2-Search: Research begins for information that will help further define their needs, identify prospective agency partners, and make an educated buying decision. Agencies with strong Inbound Marketing GamePlans have a distinct advantage at this stage, because prospective clients commonly turn to Internet searches and social networks to support their research efforts.

Stage 3-Evaluation: They are now entering the decision-making stage. Potential partner agencies have been selected, and are being evaluated based on criteria such as pricing, capabilities, experience, staff, proof of performance, and reputation. Agencies that have gathered the greatest intelligence on the lead, and done the best job of customizing the business development experience, rise to the top of the list.

Stage 4-Decision: The prospect has entered the final decision phase. This is commonly the time when they will ask for referrals, finalize scope, and negotiate the terms of engagement. There are still a number of factors that can cause the deal to fall through at this point, so it is important to prepare for objections and continue to instill confidence in the buyer. In some cases, this stage can drag on for months, depending on the prospect's internal processes.

Stage 5-Postpurchase Behavior: Once the purchasing decision has been made, it is time for performance to meet expectations. There is a natural honeymoon period in which the client and agency get along great, but, as weeks and months go by, you better be delivering on your promises or relationships can quickly sour.

Figure 6.2 Five Stages of the Buying Cycle: Awareness, Search, Evaluation, Decision, and Postbuying Behavior Antic.i.p.ate postpurchase challenges and concerns as part of your process, and work to reduce the likelihood of them occurring after the sale. Continually seek opportunities to add value to your client, and never forget the importance of building strong personal relationships. Satisfied clients who feel appreciated are far more likely to stay and provide strong referrals to their friends and peers.

Lead Generation

Developing a solid Inbound Marketing GamePlan is essential to lead generation, but for this chapter we will drill into some more specific strategies and tactics. Keep in mind that the most effective lead-generation campaigns are focused on creating value, not selling.

Before you initiate aggressive lead-generation efforts, it is important to address some points presented at the beginning of the chapter: Where are your best leads coming from now? Are there opportunities to generate more leads through these channels?

Based on your historical (or forecasted) conversion rates and average revenue per client, how many leads do you need to generate per month to sustain and grow your agency?

How do you identify and prioritize quality leads?

Now, let's take a look at ways your agency can fill the top of the funnel with qualified leads.

Pricing strategy: Make the price value based, simple, and transparent. Turn your pricing into an a.s.set in your sales efforts.

Brand positioning:What comes to mind when someone hears your agency's name? Is your brand unique and memorable? Does it stand for something more than just marketing services? Do people feel an emotional attachment to it? These are the types of questions you need to ask yourself when defining your brand. Your messaging and actions should separate your agency from the compet.i.tion. Create unique experiences online and offline that help you to stand out among the ma.s.ses.

Referrals: There is nothing quite like a great referral, especially if the referring source-peers, vendors, clients, and industry contacts-understands your brand and knows what a good lead looks like for you.

Although it is acceptable to ask for referrals at times, the most valued leads come from contacts that believe so strongly in you and your agency that they go out of their way to send you opportunities. You can consistently earn referrals by keeping your agency in the minds of current clients and building a reputation based on proven performance, loyalty, honesty, and innovation.

Content marketing: I led off Chapter 5 with the sentence, "Doing is the key to differentiation." Nowhere in marketing is it truer than in content creation. Model agencies use blog posts, ebooks, videos, podcasts, original reports, and more to continually create value for their audiences and differentiate their brands. Content marketing is the premier lead-generation strategy available to agencies today.

SEO: Take the necessary steps to optimize your agency website-page t.i.tles, URLs, headers, copywriting, ALT image tags and meta descriptions-but concentrate your SEO efforts on generating inbound links and ranking for long-tail keywords, which you target through original content.

Personal brands: Give your team the freedom and support to build powerful personal brands. Help them to effectively engage online, expand their connections, and bring value to their networks.

Service marketplaces: Emerging online service marketplaces can be ideal sources for project work, specifically for soloists and specialists.

Ecosystem partners: Develop relationships with agencies throughout the marketing services ecosystem. Look for opportunities to collaborate with prospective partners who share your philosophies and values and offer complementary services.

Niche markets: There are endless niche markets for agencies that choose to focus their energy on building capabilities and expertise in specific industries and geographic territories. Consider what unique knowledge and experience your agency has that could translate into a leadership position in targeted markets.

Publicity: The PR industry was built on the power of third-party endors.e.m.e.nts. There has always been something magical about media coverage. Earning placements for your agency in online and traditional media outlets can have a tremendous effect on brand awareness, comprehension, and preference. Use your content marketing efforts and social media involvement to position yourself as a thought leader and create publicity opportunities for your agency.

Networking (the traditional kind):Go meet people. Attend events for local organizations and niche industries. Look for unique venues that are not populated by competing firms. For example, if you are targeting small businesses, find opportunities to get involved with a chamber of commerce. Another great networking approach is to volunteer for committees of nonprofits that inspire you. You can make strong connections while contributing to causes you care about.

Prospects and Lead Nurturing

As I mentioned earlier, there are endless variations on the sales funnel. In the Blueprint model, leads turn into prospects as they move through the funnel and are qualified as true sales opportunities. These prospects fit the agency's target buyer personas, including the cla.s.sic marketing MAD-R characteristics: Money (M) to afford your services.

Authority (A) to make buying decisions.

Desire (D) for your services, and to work with your agency.

Response (R) to your agency's marketing efforts.

Prospects are most likely in the evaluation stage of the buying cycle, and preparing to move into the decision phase. They are fully aware of their needs, have researched agency options, and are now looking for the best match. Your job is to convince them you are the right fit by alleviating concerns, antic.i.p.ating objections, building their confidence in your agency, and creating as much value as possible. So how do you accomplish this?

Connect and engage on social networks.

Take a personal interest in their success by getting to know what motivates them in their lives and careers.

Use automated e-mail drip campaigns to share relevant blog posts, case studies, ebooks, webinars, and other original content.

Invite them to attend webinars and events that fit their interests and needs.

Offer them free insight into their current marketing efforts.

Build customized proposals that demonstrate your knowledge of them and your ability to take their marketing to the next level.

How to Handle Client-Reference Requests It is common at this stage of the buying cycle for prospects to request client references. Although connecting prospects with satisfied clients can be a great way to give them confidence and put your agency over the top, it can become an inconvenience for your best clients. This is especially true for smaller firms, which have a limited number of clients to offer as references.

There is not a standard solution that works for every agency, so consider the perspectives of both audiences-prospect and client-when crafting your policy for references. Start by taking proactive steps to reduce the need for prospects to seek them in the first place: Encourage satisfied clients to share online reviews and recommendations.

Compose client case studies that demonstrate results.

Share your online portfolio of approved client work.

Enhance your website with content that shares insights into your processes and methodologies, expertise, thought leadership, and in-depth profiles of the people behind your agency team.

If a prospect insists on speaking with references, I recommend only providing them if: (1) you are 100 percent convinced you want them as a client, and (2) you have confirmed they have reached the decision-making stage, and this is the final step before moving forward with the engagement.

In this scenario, do your best to communicate your desired expectations to both parties, both in the request to your client and time suggestions for the prospect. You want to convey your openness and transparency while demonstrating to the prospect that you value and respect your clients' time.

Your client-reference policy should be flexible. There will always be opportunities that present exceptions to the rule, plus there is always potential value in connecting like-minded professionals.

Do your best throughout the sales process to build confidence and trust, and keep the feelings of both the prospect and your client in mind when faced with this final step.

The Proposal Effective proposals demonstrate that you clearly understand your prospect's needs and goals, and have the knowledge and capabilities to positively impact their business. Here are six core elements of a powerful service proposal: 1. The snapshot: Also known as the executive summary, this is where accounts are won. In one or two pages, tell a powerful story that conveys your understanding of their business, identifies their challenges, defines how your agency is going to solve them, and establishes the benchmarks for how you will measure success.

Forget the boring, technical jargon. Create a narrative that engages the prospect and builds their desire to work with you. They should be able to make a buying decision based on their experience with your agency to this point in the lead-nurturing process and the snapshot. The rest of the proposal exists to provide supporting information, and define the scope of the engagement.

2. Discovery: Share what you learned about the prospect through preliminary research. Include data and screenshots that demonstrate your capabilities, and how they apply to the prospect's business. Here are some specifics: Run an initial keyword a.n.a.lysis to see how their website performs in search engines.

Compare their website to compet.i.tor sites using WebsiteGrader.com.

Evaluate their social media presence, and identify opportunities for enhanced partic.i.p.ation and engagement online.

a.s.sess their compet.i.tors' content marketing strategy, and show how your services can make them more compet.i.tive.

Identify publicity opportunities by running editorial calendar searches through Cision or other PR-management platforms.

Suggest blog post topics that demonstrate your understanding of their markets and customers.

3. Objectives: Connect your services to measurable and meaningful outcomes. Define preliminary marketing objectives relevant to the prospect's campaigns, which will be used to guide campaign strategy and measure performance.

Ideally you will benchmark all relevant data at the initiation of an engagement, and then provide monthly reports throughout the life of the relationship to continually monitor progress and adapt strategy. This is the section in which you define success factors as well, including metrics such as website traffic, inbound links, organic visits, social media reach, blog subscribers, lead volume, and content downloads.

4. Activity center: Establish the services, pricing, and timelines for the proposed engagement. If you are selling service packages or retainers, this section will be relatively standardized, but be sure to personalize it based on your prospect's unique needs.

5. Appendix: Share any additional information that is relevant to the prospect. This may include agency and account team profiles, sample experience, and client testimonials.

6. Terms of agreement: Include the contract to seal the deal. Your prospects are marketing professionals, just like you, so avoid using legal speak, and keep it simple and transparent. Consider elements such as: pricing structure, payment terms, reporting standards, expenses, and how add-on services are billed.

Choose the Right Clients Commit your talent and energy to clients who will value your contributions to their business. Learn to trust your instinct, and watch for red flags, such as unrealistic expectations and a lack of respect for your time and talent during the discovery process.

Model agencies never appear desperate for new business, even if they are. They are willing to walk away from opportunities when their leadership team determines it is not in the best interest of the agency to pursue the engagement. At that same time, they demonstrate patience and a willingness to fight for the right clients.

Conversions and Transitions

The a.s.signment and integration of account teams is key to successful client conversions. It is advised to involve the account team as early in the sales process as possible.

Prospects quickly develop a rapport with strong salespeople, and they can a.s.sume that their representative will continue to work with them should they move forward. If you have the capacity and an account manager ready to go, then simply have that professional partic.i.p.ate in discovery and proposal meetings, and build a relationship that makes for a smooth transition.

This is the ideal arrangement, because the account manager/lead consultant, not the salesperson, should be dictating the preliminary strategic recommendations and appropriate service package or retainer that will be featured in the proposal. In essence, once the lead has been qualified into a prospect, the account team should begin to a.s.sume ownership of the opportunity, and the salesperson takes on more of a support and administrative role.

However, this can become a challenge when you have no idea who will be on the account team. Because most top agencies are continually functioning at or near capacity, large opportunities present challenges from the perspective of account management and workflow.

For example, let's say you are a $540,000 agency, and a $5,000/month lead has blossomed into a highly qualified opportunity. If you can close the deal, this client would represent 10 percent of your average total revenue each month, which is fairly significant. a.s.suming your agency is already at or above its capacity, you may need to hire in order to deliver on what you are promising in the contract. However, no prospective client wants to hear that they will be the lucky recipient of a rookie account manager or team.

So what do you do?

Adjusting for growth is a great problem to have, but, unfortunately, there is no perfect solution. However, if you have put the proper forecasting and project-management systems in place, you can quickly identify experienced team members who can step in to lead the account, while grooming their successors and transferring management over the coming months.

Remember, your most efficient and profitable growth comes from your existing client base. So commit to clients from day one, and never stop proving to them why they chose you.

Chapter Highlights.