Small Spark Theory: A Marginal Gains Approach To New Business And Marketing

I have a constant fascination with the power of agency marketing. I’m sure it’s my age – having cut my new business teeth in a pre-digital era, but my enthusiasm for the growing array of channels available for anyone to share their message with an audience shows no sign of abating.   So forgive me for […]

So here we are in 2022. I’m not really one for resolutions, but there is something about a new year that makes me want to clear the decks, remove distractions and create a renewed sense of focus. A new notebook and a tidy Dropbox tend to help but I find data the most useful tool. […]

There has been much written on the subject of agency new business, but I’m not sure there has been a book which has resonated so deeply with agency founders and new business practitioners alike, as the Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns. So as we come to the end of another extraordinary year and […]

In my work with agencies I witness a great deal of discomfort about the new business process. Of course there are brilliant, natural new business professionals out there who thrive on networking and relationship building, but for many, the possibility of rejection looms large and the process of prospecting or, shudder, ‘selling’, feels wholly unnatural. […]

We’ve talked a lot about leadership on this podcast, and rightly so. Sustainable new business performance starts with a growth mindset and that has to come from the very top of an agency. No matter how many people I speak with on the topic of agency leadership, every conversation brings a fresh perspective. And none […]

Earlier this year, Claire Humphris was named CEO at Iris, the agency she co-founded with five other colleagues in 1999. Iris now numbers over 1000 people across 17 offices worldwide. As agency breakaways go, it is a perfect case study. But of course, what interests me is the new business story. Claire has spent the […]

In 2017 I interviewed Felix Velarde for this podcast to discuss agency growth planning. It was our 4th episode. Lots of people got in touch to talk about that episode and the way Felix delivered such a calm, pragmatic approach to a subject that frustrates so many agency owners. How do you grow, and just as importantly, how […] The post EP55: How to scale at speed | Felix Velarde | 2Y3X appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

I’ve said many times that the people in business I admire the most are independent agency leaders. And over the past 18 months, as our industry, largely populated by small businesses has rallied against such unforeseen challenges, my admiration and respect has deepened. Through all of the conversations I had with agencies during this time […] The post EP54: Overcoming adversity | Sarah Yeats | Sledge appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

In the discussions we’ve had on this podcast, and in the work I do with agencies, the theme of walking in a clients’ shoes has been a recurring one. From rethinking our messaging to talk to client needs rather than services, to our approach to prospecting and the way we build advocacy with our clients.  […] The post EP53: Know your client context | Jennifer Crowley | Kin + Carta appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

It’s always a good day when someone gets in touch to pitch a podcast episode idea. Even better when that someone is a client. Andrew Southcott is Managing Director at creative agency group Captivate. Andrew hired me last year to work with Captivate’s new business talent, a move that came as part of a wider initiative […] The post EP52: Bringing in expertise | Andrew Southcott | Captivate Group appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

There are so many reasons for me wanting to do an episode on personal brand. Let’s go back to the beginning. At the start of my agency career, I worked mostly with ad agencies. This was in the 90s and honestly – it was dazzling. The high profile exit of Maurice and Charles from Saatchi […] The post EP51: Raising your profile – part three | Ash Jones | Great Influence appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

We’ve talked a lot on this podcast about LinkedIn over the years, and specifically the often untapped potential of Sales Navigator. From the conversations I’ve had with my clients, I know that whilst consistent LinkedIn engagement can deliver fantastic results – for many, finding the time and focus required to create momentum can be a […] The post EP50: Raising your profile – part two | Laura Hannan | Pitch121 appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

Many of the conversations I’ve been having with agencies over recent months have centred around marketing and new business resource. This is good news. It shows that we are looking forward and taking positive action to create better, more sustainable agency marketing practices. In particular, the biggest shift I have seen is agencies recognising the […] The post EP49: Raising your profile – part one | Sarah Paterson | CommsPeople appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

It’s safe to say that for most of us, 2021 arrived without the usual fanfare, excitement and expectation but instead, with an exhausted sigh and a resolution NOT to have any New Year resolutions. Let’s be clear, the ambition and optimism are still there, but big fat goals can feel meaningless when we are surrounded […] The post EP48: Habits | Clare Rees appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

I can’t imagine finding an agency owner, who since March, hasn’t tuned in to at least one of the myriad of webinars or zoom chats that have been made available through either our industry bodies (see our earlier conversation with DBA CEO Deborah Dawton), individual agency experts or peer networks. From HR and culture, finance and […] The post EP47: The power of community | Ian Harris | Agency Hackers appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

In previous episodes we’ve tackled various aspects of pitching and presenting, specifically with Tony Spong from AAR (episode 10) and Catherine Allison at Master the Art (episodes 3 and 33). In those discussions we concentrated largely on our behaviour – our pitching processes, how we question, how we listen. But the area we didn’t really […] The post EP46: Presentation materials | Shan Preddy | Preddy & Co appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

Back in April this year, Claire Beale wrote this brilliant Campaign article about the client/agency dynamic. It was a rallying cry for cultivating deeper working relationships built on partnership, trust and mutual support and a move away from the procurer/supplier mind set we know all too well. I’ve reflected on this theme often over the intervening months. […] The post EP45: Client satisfaction | Alisha Lyndon | Momentum appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

The podcasting juggernaut shows no sign of slowing. Four years ago, when we started planning the idea behind Small Spark Theory I thought we were too late to the party. Yet here we are now and with Apple estimating some 1 million active shows and over 30 million episodes on iTunes (double the figure in […] The post EP44: The agency podcast | Isabelle Jarvis appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

One of the biggest challenges we face for the remainder of 2020 and beyond is undoubtedly our ability (or inability) to plan ahead. Almost daily, we are bombarded in the news by a roll call of redundancies, rumours of regional lockdown, interspersed with “is it a V, U, W or ‘swoosh’?” predictions for our economic […] The post EP43: Business planning for agencies | Deepa Shah | Lab Eight appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.

Regular listeners will have noticed a slight change to our usual programming. A global pandemic has shifted our focus from the very specific, detailed insights intended solely to improve new business performance, to include a more contextual viewpoint. Of course, context has always been important to new business, but with so much change and uncertainty […] The post EP42: Design industry outlook | Deborah Dawton | Design Business Association appeared first on Gunpowder Consulting.