Small Spark Theory: a marginal gains approach to new business and marketing

I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about small agencies. Typically, those with headcount up to 10/12 and/or annual revenues under £1m.

It’s worth pointing out that this band of agencies makes up an increasing large proportion of the UK landscape. But regardless of their specialism, at this size, effective new business resourcing is a common challenge. Whether the goal is steady growth or revenue maintenance, often the numbers simply don’t warrant a dedicated new business recruit and good external lead generation resource can be out of reach.

It was this thinking that prompted the launch of the New Business and Marketing Bootcamp – designed specifically to provide leaders and founders of this type of agency with the tools to create effective new business and marketing plans and take control of the process.

But what about when you break through that threshold and are ready to hire your first in-house new business talent? Our industry is littered with war stories of new business hires that that were at best ineffective and at worst, damaging to the agency brand. And for new business folk, there can be wildly unrealistic expectations to manage.

So how to get the balance right? For this episode I chatted to Dave Corlett from Workbrands. Having spent 12 years in new business development roles, Dave shares his insights on making new business roles stick, the importance of collaboration, communication and how to stay competitive.

If you are running an agency and considering your first new business hire or starting out on your new business career – this is the episode for you!

Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Dave’s recommended read: Ogilvy on Advertising in the Digital Age.

Details of the New Business & Marketing Bootcamp can be found at www.smallsparktheory.com 

I’ve spent a lot of time recently thinking about small agencies. Typically, those with headcount up to 10/12 and/or annual revenues under £1m. It’s worth pointing out that this band of agencies makes up an increasing large proportion of the UK landscape. But regardless of their specialism, at this size, effective new business resourcing is […]

I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about small agencies. Typically, those with headcount up to 10/12 and/or annual revenues under £1m.

It's worth pointing out that this band of agencies makes up an increasing large proportion of the UK landscape. But regardless of their specialism, at this size, effective new business resourcing is a common challenge. Whether the goal is steady growth or revenue maintenance, often the numbers simply don't warrant a dedicated new business recruit and good external lead generation resource can be out of reach.

It was this thinking that prompted the launch of the New Business and Marketing Bootcamp – designed specifically to provide leaders and founders of this type of agency with the tools to create effective new business and marketing plans and take control of the process.

But what about when you break through that threshold and are ready to hire your first in-house new business talent? Our industry is littered with war stories of new business hires that that were at best ineffective and at worst, damaging to the agency brand. And for new business folk, there can be wildly unrealistic expectations to manage.

So how to get the balance right? For this episode I chatted to Dave Corlett from Workbrands. Having spent 12 years in new business development roles, Dave shares his insights on making new business roles stick, the importance of collaboration, communication and how to stay competitive.

If you are running an agency and considering your first new business hire or starting out on your new business career – this is the episode for you!

Listen in to find out how to win a copy of Dave's recommended read: Ogilvy on Advertising in the Digital Age.

Details of the New Business & Marketing Bootcamp can be found at www.smallsparktheory.com

There is no doubt there has never been a better time to rethink the way that agencies deliver their services to clients.

With endless technology options, flexible workspaces, and an increasing supply of freelance talent, the barrier to entry is lower than ever for budding agency founders.

So far so good. And yet I’ve met so many founders of small, start-up agencies who are reticent to show their size or ‘virtual’ status for fear of putting off potential clients.

For this episode, I met with the multi-tasking design thinker and doer Emma Sexton, CEO of MYWW™, creator of the Inside Out Awards and co-presenter of TalkRadio’s Badass Women’s Hour.

I wanted to find out how Emma has perfected her remote-first agency without compromising on ambition. Are clients willing to try something new? Or is there still safety in size?

Tune in to find out more and be in with the chance of winning a copy of Emma’s recommended read: The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga.

There is no doubt there has never been a better time to rethink the way that agencies deliver their services to clients.

With endless technology options, flexible workspaces, and an increasing supply of freelance talent, the barrier to entry is lower than ever for budding agency founders.

So far so good. And yet I've met so many founders of small, start-up agencies who are reticent to show their size or 'virtual' status for fear of putting off potential clients.

For this episode, I met with the multi-tasking design thinker and doer Emma Sexton, CEO of MYWW™, creator of the Inside Out Awards and co-presenter of TalkRadio's Badass Women's Hour.

I wanted to find out how Emma has perfected her remote-first agency without compromising on ambition. Are clients willing to try something new? Or is there still safety in size?

Tune in to find out more and be in with the chance of winning a copy of Emma's recommended read: The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga.

For marketers, brand positioning, proposition, messaging and tone of voice are no less fundamental than a visual identity. However, as we’ve discussed here before, for agencies –  largely SMEs and often without dedicated marketing resource – finding the time to achieve clarity here, let alone implement change, is a challenge.  Back in episode 6 we talked […]

For marketers, brand positioning, proposition, messaging and tone of voice are no less fundamental than a visual identity. However, as we've discussed here before, for agencies - largely SMEs and often without dedicated marketing resource - finding the time to achieve clarity here, let alone implement change, is a challenge.

Back in episode 6 we talked about maximising agency websites and touched on positioning copy and about us pages. We dug deeper into agency positioning the following year when we talked to David C. Baker in episode 13. There's so much more to say about messaging so I was very happy to stumble across the Treacle Copywriters blog (thank you LinkedIn) full of no-nonsense advice for agencies.

In this episode I talk to Treacle founder Roland Gurney about the common messaging pitfalls and the opportunities for agencies to express their difference.

We're giving away a copy of Roland's recommended read: Cashvertising by Drew E. Whitman. Listen in to find out how to win.

Whatever your planning cycle, at this time of year we are naturally drawn to consider our goals for the year ahead and begin shaping our marketing calendars.

And as agency awards can take up such a considerable amount of time, energy and budget -it seems only right that we apply our marginal gains scrutiny to understand how to maximise our return on investment.

In this episode, I get together with agency awards expert Stef Brown. Stef has clocked up an enviable win rate over the years, supporting all kinds of agencies to land their most prized gongs.  

Join us as Stef takes us through her top tips – from prioritising awards schemes, creating winning entries and publicising our wins.

We’re giving away a copy of Stef’s recommended read: A Smile in the Mind, listen in to find out how to win.  

If you are looking to take control of your agency new business and marketing planning in 2020, check out the Small Spark Theory Institute at www.smallsparktheory.com 

Whatever your planning cycle, at this time of year we are naturally drawn to consider our goals for the year ahead and begin shaping our marketing calendars.

And as agency awards can take up such a considerable amount of time, energy and budget -it seems only right that we apply our marginal gains scrutiny to understand how to maximise our return on investment.

In this episode, I get together with agency awards expert Stef Brown. Stef has clocked up an enviable win rate over the years, supporting all kinds of agencies to land their most prized gongs.

Join us as Stef takes us through her top tips - from prioritising awards schemes, creating winning entries and publicising our wins.

We're giving away a copy of Stef's recommended read: A Smile in the Mind, listen in to find out how to win.

If you are looking to take control of your agency new business and marketing planning in 2020, check out the Small Spark Theory Institute at www.smallsparktheory.com

For a variety of reasons I’ve had the opportunity to travel across the country more than usual this year, speaking on behalf of the Design Business Association in Manchester and Leeds and joining the Agency Collective at events in Bristol and Edinburgh. 

It’s given me the opportunity to talk to agencies outside of the London bubble and better understand some of the differences and similarities around the perennial challenges and opportunities for growth. 

So it was a pleasure to get to chat with Phil Gripton for this episode. Phil is a partner at growth advisory firm Waypoint, supporting agencies in the North of England and Scotland. His experience spans three decades of growing, running and selling agencies, as well as buying agency services in a number of client-side roles. 

Phil shares his top tips for maximising agency performance – from boosting profitability to shaping up for acquisition. 

We’re giving away a copy of Phil’s recommended read, Invisible Powerby Ken Manning, Robin Charbit, and Sandra Krot – listen in to find out how to win.