Hi. I'm John Heenan. I work with ad agencies who want to improve their business development success. Full-service business development, prospecting strategy, marketing decision-maker lists, marketing automation, workshops, training, and support. Win more clients and better clients. Click To Schedule A Call
I help agencies improve their business development and acquire new clients and better clients. Typically, agencies get to a point where their lead sources dry up, inquiries disappear, RFPs stop coming, and people sit idle. We all know that feeling.... Read more →
Strong growth or recession? Increasing ad spend or cutbacks? Data or creativity? In-housing growth or decline? Talent feast or famine? Human or AI? Republicans or Democrats? What will 2020 bring? There are so many variables in the marketplace today, more... Read more →
Sure, many agencies post on Facebook, tweet a bit, and publish on LinkedIn. Some buy keywords, and a few do actual advertising. Any kind of marketing is good, but for the most part, few agencies actually develop a marketing strategy... Read more →
An agency is no different than any other business. It exists to make a profit. As such, business development or sales is no different than other company – in theory. In practice, it is much different. It’s a complex, rapidly... Read more →
I was looking at an agency's Google analytics to see their traffic sources, LinkedIn in particular. In the past 12 months, they got about 52 referrals from LinkedIn. Of those 52, 16 might be valuable – 10 to the home... Read more →
An essential part of any business development program is finding the right prospects. There are many ways to identify potential companies and marketing decision-makers. Finding the right candidates, whether you are adding to your current list, expanding into new territory,... Read more →
The dreaded words, No. All that time and effort to identify, pursue, and engage a prospect only to end up in a No. But…No. Can I…No. Maybe you…No, no, no. A brutal end to a long series of activities that... Read more →
You already know that marketing automation continues to grow in popularity as marketers spend more of their budget and allocate more of their staff to integrate it into everything they do. The reason is the impact it has on so... Read more →
The economy is up. Businesses are expanding. Marketing spending is on the rise. If you do not see an increasing number of leads, it may be time to pivot toward the sectors that are driving the economic boom. Not every... Read more →
Now is the best time to evaluate your BD program, reset for the second half, and plan for next year. Traditionally the summer months are the slowest time for business development, vacation; annual plans are in mid-stride, budgets for the... Read more →
This is a cautionary tale. Today we are all susceptible to hackers, scammers, and other nefarious people. And every day they get better at spoofing their victims. I have received hacked LinkedIn messages urging me to click on the link.... Read more →
What is fascinating about the ad business is that new business people come in all shapes and sizes. Each can be as successful as the other or succeed in one place and fail in the next. New business is often... Read more →
You’ve built a successful agency with great people and award-winning work. Your awesome clients love you and have been loyal for years. You’ve received best place to work awards every year. You’ve got a team of superstars who keep the... Read more →
One of the hottest trends over the last ten years is blogging and its impact on marketing is profound. At a recent agency seminar, I had a surprising number of agency leaders ask me if I knew of any agencies... Read more →
There are tens of thousands of advertising agencies selling the same products and services. Almost as many of them claim to be unique, different or better using mostly the same words as the others. It is one of the most... Read more →
Last year is in the rearview mirror and its time to reflect on how we all did. It’s time for everyone to turn their gaze to the new business warrior and ask those piercing questions. Is new client revenue up?... Read more →
Knowing your prospect better than the rest shifts the relationship from selling to partnering. It is an essential factor in winning new business and that understanding centers around their challenges and concerns, their market conditions and business environment, and what... Read more →
The ad agency prospecting platform integrates nine essential functions that improve, automate, and accelerate so much of your prospect's journey. Are you running business development and tired of hunting and picking prospects out of a spreadsheet or Google doc whenever... Read more →
The change over to the new year is not the time to be planning your business development strategy, yet so many agencies do just that. It is like a retailer planning next year’s product assortment during the holiday rush. It... Read more →
The simple answer is Yes. After all, marketing execs are people, and people do the craziest things. Think Nigerian Prince with $10,000,000 dollars to deposit. So, yes you can talk certain people into hiring your agency using charm, an infectious... Read more →
