The pandemic has created new challenges for almost everyone, including digital shops and agencies. But there are opportunities for those who are willing to adapt. I recently discussed success strategies on the Agencies that Build podcast, sponsored by Galaxy, a global technology partner focused on empowering digital agencies to grow their businesses without the risk of increasing full-time development staff.
Let’s start by smashing a dangerous myth: nobody’s hiring agencies. It’s not true, so stop saying you can’t get any new projects.
Early on, everybody freaked out and stopped spending money, and fields like tourism, travel, events and hospitality fell apart and went negative with cancelations and refunds. But other industries like higher education, ecommerce and government have actually increased their spending. So there is work out there.
However, it’s definitely not business as usual. You have to adapt to the new realities and cater to your clients’ evolving needs. Here are 10 ideas on how to get business today.
1. Change it up
If your current clients no longer need the services you normally provide, see what else you can offer them. Tell them you love working with them and want to keep doing so, and ask how can you help them now. For example, one of our members started consulting with clients on working remotely, because the agency has been doing it for some time and knows a lot about it. That’s helped them bridge the gap and expand their offerings to fit their clients’ current needs.
2. Break out of your current client orbit
Move beyond your current audience and see if there are other companies who need you. Some of our members have approached other companies in their area and asked, “We’re looking to keep going. Are you?” And they’ve gotten work from them. One member reached out to their LinkedIn contacts and got jobs from major companies that enabled them to keep all their employees on.
3. Be creative with payments
You can’t hold onto all the rules you’ve lived by forever. Take your billing policies. Offer to bill clients monthly, more like a subscription plan, rather than by project or, heaven help me, milestones on an annual contract. If your existing clients know what to expect every month, and know they’re not going to get some big surprise, they’re more likely to stick around longer. And if you give new clients an opportunity for an easier start, they’ll say yes more.
4. Make it easy for clients to say yes
Give your clients incentives for staying with you. My landlord has been really smart, and it’s paid off. I’ve been renting the same office space for 10 years but I told him I couldn’t afford it anymore when my revenue dropped significantly. He offered me twice as much space and said I didn’t have to pay until I could, because 10 years deserves something. Ultimately, I couldn’t bring myself to take advantage of him, and I managed to keep paying. Consider offering your clients a 15% discount for paying 6 months in advance. Don’t just discount your fees, give them incentives. They’re probably more helpful to your clients than you think.
5. Find the balance between generalizing and specializing
Most successful companies are generalists who offer a variety of services but position themselves as specialists in one or two areas. If you can’t do what you’re great at, what you really love, do something else for the time being—we all need to get past this. It’s not about shifting who you are, or lying or faking it. It’s about surviving. So accept whatever work comes your way, even if it’s not your passion. You have to be able to pay your people.
6. Portray yourself as the company you want to be
Years ago, when I was running my own shop, our portfolio got so fat that we couldn’t put all our projects on our website. We featured three that we really loved, and we started getting more of that work. But we didn’t stop doing all the other stuff. We just stopped highlighting it.
7. Dare to be different
Don’t think you have to be the same as the competition. On the contrary, double down on what makes you unique. I think Henry David Thoreau’s quote applies: Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes. If you have to change the fabric of who you are to accomplish something, you’ve lost part of yourself. As an example, when my team was pitching a government account, one of our guys who’s all tatted up asked if he should wear long sleeves. I told him no. This is what people who really do the work look like, as opposed to guys in suits who read about it. We got the job.
8. Be straight with clients
Don’t always tell clients they’re great, even when you’re trying to land an account. Tell them the stuff they don’t want to hear. When my former shop was getting ready to pitch a seafood chain, we asked customers leaving the restaurant how the food was, and half said it sucked. We told the client that they shouldn’t waste any money on marketing until they fixed their product, because you can’t fix “sucks” just by saying the food is great. They took six months to address the problem, then hired us. That’s even truer today. With social media, companies really have to fulfill their promises or they’ll get hammered on Yelp and other sites.
9. Keep things in perspective
Looking back at my younger self just starting out, what advice would I offer? Nothing matters as much as it feels like it does now. Don’t hide your mistakes or stress that everything has to be perfect. Leslie Peters, a speaker, author and business coach, has said: “Life is a quest, not a test,” and that philosophy helps reset me. So don’t worry and don’t keep score.
10. Create awesome and keep moving forward
When a client is happy, that’s when the work starts. You’re not here to cash checks, you’re here to make something. Money is the byproduct of being awesome, so you have to be the craftsperson of awesome.
Above all else, be true to yourself. There are always new opportunities and different ways to look at a challenge. You got this.
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