8 Essential Elements of an Annual New Business Plan

#INBOUND16
STARING INTO THE FUTURE
8 Essential Elements of an Annual New
Business Plan
Jody Sutter, The Sutter Company
© 2016 The Sutter Company www.thesutterompany.com

#INBOUND16© 2016 The Sutter Company www.thesutterompany.com
Jody Sutter
Owner, The Sutter Company
www.thesuttercompany.com
2

…I have a few
questions for you
But first…
3

What is an annual plan
for new business?

Aligns everyone’s expectations
Why is it important?
Looking back prepares you for what’s ahead
Provides clarity and gives everyone something to aim for.
Your boss will be impressed.
5

are increasing investments in content marketing
6
The future looks great
75%
70%
43%
51%
lack a consistent or integrated content strategy
with intention to grow their content marketing team
will have role directly responsible for content marketing

8 Essential elements
you should include
in an annual new
business plan.

What kinds of trends are you seeing?
How does your agency need to stay competitive?
Who are your competitors now?
Who do you want to compete against next year?
1.
The marketplace

Where are opportunities coming from?
How many pitches did you participate in?
Were they the right ones?
What’s the ratio of reactive to proactive?
Performance
2.

Strategic first, then financial.
How much can you rely on organic growth?
How much do you need to focus on prospecting
unidentified new business?
Goals & benchmarks
3.

Current revenue: $2 million
Goal: 20% growth
New revenue: $400,000 in new business
Client attrition: 20%
Actual new revenue: $800,000 annualized
By January 1: $800,000 in new biz
No wins until end Q1: $~1 million annualized
No wins until end Q2: $1.6 million annualize
No wins until end Q3: $3.2 million annualized

How many pitches do you need to be in?
What’s a reasonable/aspirational-sized client?
What categories are you best suited to pursue?
What level of support will you need?
What’s your budget?
Meeting the goals
4.

Current revenue: $2 million
Goal: 20% growth
New revenue: $400,000 in new business
Client attrition: 20%
Actual new revenue: $800,000 annualized
Average client revenue: $200,000
Conversion at credentials stage: 1:2
Conversion at pitch stage: 1:3
24 pitches to reach the goal

What does it cost to pitch?
Usually it’s not consistent.
Often it’s not commensurate with billings.
But a benchmark is still useful.

Who’s on your team?
What do they do?
Are strengths aligned with goals?
Your team
5.

You
CEO

You
CEO
NB Dir. NB Dir. Mktg./PR
Holding Company
Coord. Ass’t.
Strategy ResearchCreative Production
Coord. Ass’t.

What kind of agency is yours?
Natural-born hunters
Put a prospecting plan in place
and set ‘em loose!
Natural-born promoters
Give them outlets (blog, speaking,
events, social) for their ideas.
Small team, multiple hats
CEO = Chief Sales Officer?
“It’s your job. Keep us out of it.”
What are the 1-2 things the team
will be able to do and do well?
Tee up the ball and let him/her hit.
Keep them organized and on track.
What are the 1-2 things you’ll be
able to do and do well?

Lead generation
21
Pitching/closing
Marketing and PR
New Business Triumvirate

PR and marketing
Will your agency’s positioning serve you?
How are you telling your story?
What tactics align with that story?
6.

J A N F E B MA R A P R MA Y J U N J U L A U G S E P O C T NO V DE C
T H O U G H T
L E A D E R S H I P
C O N F E R E N C E S /
S P E A K I N G
Marketing Calendar Template
C O N F E R E N C E S
S P O N S O R S H I P
C O N F E R E N C E S
A T T E N D A N C E /
N E T W O R K I N G
E M A I L M A R K E T I N G
S O C I A L M E D I A
C O L L A T E R A L
C A M P A I G N S
P U B L I C I T Y
A N D P R
I N T E R N A L
C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL piece TL pieceTL pieceTL piece
C D - P R O D U C E D
E V E N T S
TL piece
Keynote Keynote Keynote Keynote
CD techCD CD CDCDCDCD tech CD techCD techCD tech CD techCD
Brand aesthetics: Instagram Facebook, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat
Brand mechanics: Twitter, LinkedIn
Thought leadership: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram
CD Qtly CD Qtly CD Qtly CD Qtly
Ongoing - strategic and opportunistic
Live Event Live EventLive Event Webinar
Annual prize
Innovation Lab Innovation Lab Innovation Lab Innovation Lab
Showcase Showcase Showcase Showcase ShowcaseShowcase ShowcaseShowcase Showcase Showcase Showcase Showcase
Q 1 Q 2 Q 3 Q 4
Webinar Webinar
CD tech CD tech CD tech CD tech

#INBOUND16© 2016 The Sutter Company www.thesutterompany,com© 2016 The Sutter Company www.thesutterompany.com
What was your level of operational excellence?
What improvements (staff, tools, process,
materials) need to be made?
Operations
7.

#INBOUND16© 2016 The Sutter Company www.thesutterompany.com 25
The stuff you need to...
Keep track of your prospects and progress
Find intelligence on your prospects
Communicate with prospects, clients, partners
Communicate with each other

Written last, always goes first.
Smart, concise summary.
Use it to your advantage to highlight information.
Executive summary
8.

1 Executive summary
The plan
5 Meeting the goals
2 The marketplace 6 Your team
3 Performance 7 PR/marketing
4 Goals/benchmarks 8 Operations

Start your planning now
and be ready to get out of
the gate fast in 2017.
Still feel overwhelmed?
Contact me for help:
Jody Sutter
The Sutter Company
Jody@thesuttercompany.com
Photo credit: Michele Truex

8 Essential Elements of an Annual New Business Plan

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