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

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 past 7 years leading the agency’s global new business operations, driving growth...

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 do you sustain that growth? Later that year, Felix menti...

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 I was aware that it was surely those in the events sector w...

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.  But aside from simply understanding the client / prospect business attributes – structure,...

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 to bring in external expertise for advice, support or training on a range of th...

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 & Saatchi to set up M&C Saatchi, Dave Trott setting up Bainsfair Sharkey Trott then WCST, Trevor Beattie...

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 challenge. Which is why I was intrigued by the service that   L...

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 need to prioritise profile building activity, an...

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 by so much restriction, distraction and uncertainty. So what can we do? In true Sma...

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 operations to client service and new business, the range of advice...

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 touch on is our presentation materials. We’ve all hea...

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. In my conversations with agency owne...

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 2018), it would seem that audio content is still very much a thing.  But what about podcasting i...

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 recovery.  The end of furlough, Brexit (oh yes), and the prospect of a Covid resurgen...

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 around us, it now seems imperative to broaden...

There aren’t enough podcasting hours to do justice to the agency positioning and proposition debate. We’ve explored this before in episode 13 with David C. Baker and then again in episode 36 with master of the agency messaging, Roland Gurney.  But with entire industry sectors in crisis and an uncertain economy ahead it has never been more important for agencies to clearly define and si...

Across the world, leadership is under scrutiny.   Citizens are looking to their politicians, employees are looking to their employers. Amid continued uncertainly, everyone needs direction and reassurance.  So what does good leadership look like? Does it change in a crisis? And how can agency leaders look after their teams, and their own wellbeing, as we move from the challenges of lockdown to this...

Over the past six weeks I’ve been speaking to lots of agency leaders. Those one-on-one conversations have highlighted to me, just how many variables there are determining how agencies are able to weather this extraordinary storm.  Aside from agency size and structure, services, client sector focus, and the deeply personal experiences of managing pipeline, clients and teams whilst either squashed t...

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 r...

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 s...

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 website...

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...

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 aro...

Over the last three years we have received so much wonderful feedback from Small Spark Theory listeners, telling us how they have been putting the advice from the podcast into practice and seeing marginal gains improvements in new business performance.  In response to this, we have created the Small Spark Theory Institute , providing mentored, online new business and marketing courses. ...

Throughout this series we have been exploring the notion that by focusing on relationships, rather than a smash and grab for revenue, we build a more sustainable new business pipeline. So in this episode I wanted to explore one of the most underused skills in building relationships. Listening.  Catherine Allison, founder of  Master the Art is a trained actress and new business practitioner who wor...