• Referrals are by far the easiest route for agency new biz…
• But what happens when the referrals run out?
• In this session, Steve Fair takes us through what the cold channel outreach landscape really looks like and why – and shares what you can do to create a cheaper (and more sustainable) new biz outreach programme that doesn’t mess with your agency’s brand.

Most agencies thrive on referrals. It’s easier – usually cheaper too – and you’ve got a higher chance of converting. 

But referrals don’t always grow at the same rate as your agency, and sometimes you have to look elsewhere for new biz.

Enter: cold channel marketing.

“In the past, we’d have a team of people bashing out phone calls, getting through to as many people as possible,” says Steve Fair, founder of Sponge NB. “Now we’ve ditched that almost entirely.”

“Everything we do now is about looking for hand raisers – people who respond positively to a smart, super concise email. Or a smart LinkedIn approach, not just the luck of the draw when making calls.”

“We’ve pared outreach down to the most efficient way to get things moving. It takes all of the fear out of doing agency new biz, and you keep control of your brand – it doesn’t look sales-y, and it doesn’t look desperate.”

Steve says the biggest mistake agencies make with cold channel marketing is failing to understand the relationship between cold outreach and referrals.

“So many agencies end up with an expensive, cyclical approach to new business. But it really doesn’t work that way,” he says. “But once you understand the sheer level of choice in front of a potential client, it becomes clear that it’s the short-term KPIs holding you back.”

In this month’s new business mastermind, we’ll be discussing in detail how to best utilise cold outreach.

• Why is cold channel outreach so much harder than a referral?
• How can you use cold channels (email, LinkedIn etc.) to win new biz and convert leads?
• What are the pitfalls of doing cold channel outreach in-house?

Come along to hear Steve explain what the cold channel outreach landscape really looks like and why – as well as what you can actually do to create a much lower cost and sustainable new biz outreach programme that doesn’t mess with your agency’s brand.