Fuel Lines New Business Conference, a new business conference for advertising, digital, media and PR agencies is coming to Nashville October 8-9. The conference will shake up some pre-conceived notions about agencies in today’s world.  Most agencies sell brand positioning to their clients but have none themselves.  Michael Gass, leading new business consultant, has put together some great thinkers on the subject.  We will be speaking there and we even have a discount for you.

New business has historically been a problem for agencies.

Most small to midsize agencies have no positioning and no point of differentiation. They look and sound the same.
They are often treated as vendors because they lack a positioning of expertise.
Most don’t have a target audience thus, no focus for business development efforts.
They are their own worst clients, the cobbler’s children with no shoes.
No appeal beyond their local market.
Forced to use interruption tactics to build awareness.
But, with all of these problems, new business is now much more difficult. It’s made worse by the paradigm shift in business development due to The Great Recession and the empowerment of prospects through social media. Interruptive type tactics such as cold calls, email blasts and direct mail have become ineffective and inefficient. Rainmakers who were good at new business in the past are struggling today.The Fuel Lines New Business Conference will provide 20 top-notch sessions, with inspiring insights from the best and brightest new business thought leaders, who will provide their expertise on the new drivers of business development.  To find out more, click here.  If you are interested in a early bird discount for Brand Wise friends, email us at Jamie@JamieDunham.com.