The head of account service (we’ll call him “Tom”) at a fast-moving regional agency was on a roll.
Love winning new business.
Tom had just closed the largest account in the history of the agency, and he was using the win to open doors on his prospect list. There was a buzz in the air, and the street was talking. Tom wanted to use it for all its worth. But there was one prospect that Tom really wanted, and he had never been able to establish a connection. Tom had nudged with articles, followed up with some invitations to several agency functions, and even sent some new research to try and get a response. Nothing.
Then one day, at a trade show, they bumped into each other. When Tom introduced himself the prospect immediately recognized his name. The conversation was brief, but there was a connection. As the prospect started to walk away he suggested “there may be something in the works,” and “why don’t you stop by next week.”
On the day of the meeting, Tom and his team came in looking like a million dollars. They wowed the prospect with all sorts of great thinking, wonderful ideas, and impressive results. It was a great show. A really outstanding show. The best show they had ever done!
Only, after they left, the prospect did not return any of Tom’s calls.
A painful new business loss. What happened?
Another agency came in for a what we call a quiet visit, followed our rules, built trust, discovered needs, did a Fast Close, and walked away with the account. A year later we were in Tom’s firm doing some training when he found out about Agency Baseball. They had failed to build Trust. When he relayed this story, the pain was obvious in his voice: it still hurt.
By following the training from the leaders in new business consulting, Sanders Consulting Group, Tom went on to land many new accounts.
Photo by Andrea Guerriero
