Constructing an A Team to Land a Client

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Do you have all the skills that a prospective client wants or needs?

When you’re responding to an RFP, targeting a client in your vertical sweet spot, or responding to an inquiry you’ve received through the UpCity site, one rule applies in the digital advertising, creative, and PR world— you cannot fake it until you make it.

“We can do that!” is the common response when a prospective client asks about your company’s or your own capabilities. But you need to ask yourself honestly, “Can we really excel at what that business needs?” Many marketing services companies today are partnering up—either formally or informally—with other individuals and groups that have talents that they may not have in-house. But be careful who your partners are. The wrong choice can cost you a client and hurt your own company’s reputation.

As you’re going through your exploratory phase with the client, get clear on the scope of work and what specific outcomes, deliverables, and competencies the client is looking for.

Chemistry is key when building a relationship with a new client. As you’re getting to know your new prospect, find out as much as you can about what type of relationship your client wants; frequency and detail of reporting, level of experience, etc. All to often, agencies will land an account and then put an inexperienced person in charge of account management. If you’re going to introduce new contact points, be sure you stay involved and properly train any new people—especially during those critical first weeks and months.

If you’re going to bring in a “ringer” as an extension of your team, do a thorough job of checking his or her references—just as you would if you were hiring an employee. As important as skill set are the person’s ethics. Be sure the freelancer knows his or her boundaries. I have heard of more than one story of an agency bringing in a freelancer to help out with a project or client only to have that individual “poach” the client (or, worse yet, the client poach the talent you worked hard to find). It’s a tricky situation. You need to be honest with the client that the specialist is an extension of your team but that your agency or company is ultimately managing him or her.

If you find that prospects are consistently looking for a particular type of skill, cultivating a long-term relationship with someone, or a team, that has that skill may be a wise investment.

On the other hand, no shame exists in saying, “That’s not really our specialty,” and either helping the prospective client find an individual or company better suited for that part of the project. If, for example, your company’s main forte is PPC, content strategy and social media management may be better handled by another type of resource. Businesses are looking for trusted advice from you. You may find that your honesty about your strengths pays off in the long-run.

Claim Your Listing

Clients look for agencies that deliver great results AND are great to work with. Make sure prospective clients can easily find you—and read glowing reviews about you. Claim your listing on the UpCity site.  It’ll open up a whole new stream of prospects—companies looking for the best in local and national digital savvy.

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Nancy A Shenker

Nancy A. Shenker is a marketing innovator, brand builder, writer, and speaker, with both client- and agency-side experience. Over the course of her 40-year business and marketing career, she has been a C-level marketing executive, an entrepreneur, and a mentor to hundreds of small businesses at all stages. Founder of theONswitch marketing(R), Shenker was formerly a senior executive for major consumer and business brands, including Citibank, MasterCard, and Reed Exhibitions. Shenker has written four books, and publishes a women’s entrepreneur community called sheBOOM, as well as A.I. website Embrace the Machine(R) and travel and lifestyle website BleisureLiving(R). She writes a column for Inc.com called Bots & Bodies, covering the human aspects of technology and speaks about digital marketing, transformation, and women’s career paths at national conferences.

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