Mission (Step 1 to “Becoming a Momentum Agency”)
What’s a Momentum Agency?
Momentum Agencies consistently outpace the industry in terms of revenue growth, profitability and a culture that attracts A-level talent. They have several characteristics in common including effective management of the variables that drive agency success over time.
In our experience, we’ve found there are eight key variables that characterize Momentum Agencies:
A compelling mission that attracts talent and clients.
Defined vision with a strategic plan on how to achieve it.
Differentiated and compelling value proposition defined by deep knowledge and expertise.
Organizational structure that effectively and efficiently sells and services the value proposition.
A belief in core methodologies and IP.
Culture (including formal training around those methodologies).
A dedicated new business development function.
Understanding how to manage an agency for fair profit.
Momentum Agencies dedicate time and effort to developing and carefully managing each of these.
This is the first in a series of eight pieces which will share our in-depth thoughts on how to achieve excellence in each of the drivers of Momentum Agencies.
The first step to becoming a Momentum Agency: You must have a MISSION.
It starts with defining a compelling reason WHY clients should care you exist and WHY talent should want to dedicate their abilities and careers to your agency.
So, your Mission should be a soaring, aspirational and unequivocal statement of your reason for existence and how you better mankind. This WHY is your purpose for being. Your passion. It’s the reason you and your team come to work every day to apply your skills to help clients further their missions. It becomes the reason clients elevate their view of your firm to being a strategic partner, not just another vendor.
At Prosper Group, we share author and consultant Simon Sinek’s belief that “People buy your Why”. If you begin your sales pitch by describing your services (which Sinek categorizes as your “What”), you are commoditizing your agency. The lowest price wins when buying a commodity. You and your team deserve better.
What your agency provides are likely the same services that any number of your competitors provide. They’re like table stakes - the price of admission in any pitch. Therefore, if you lead with your “What” in new business opportunities, you miss the opportunity to establish the differentiating characteristic of your agency… and the prospect perceives your firm as a commodity.
Your Why begins to differentiate your agency from the many other choices your prospects have.
The right soaring mission will:
Attract and retain the right talent for your agency.
Inspire and align your team (and yourself).
Help you understand and attract the prospective clients that are right for your agency.
Which agency would you hire?
Consider this example.
A major healthcare client is conducting a competitive review of the prestigious, highly profitable account for its oncology franchise. Several agencies are presenting to this prospect on the basis of “We really know this category… we care about our clients… we’re great at service delivery… we create communications programs that engage stakeholders… our media people are the best…”, etc. You know the drill.
But William’s agency is different. He isn’t just an agency owner. He’s a 53-year-old cancer survivor. For William, it’s no accident that his agency specializes in healthcare. After beating cancer, his passion has been to help the medical world fight the disease. It’s the reason he started his agency.
When William and his team walk into the meeting, his first words are “Why hire us? I am a cancer survivor and purposefully built my firm to serve clients like you. Our agency mission is ‘We exist to help clients eradicate cancer.’ We are passionate about ending cancer in my lifetime.” Everything that follows in their presentation flows from and supports that powerful, emotional statement.
Guess who wins the business? Guess who recruits A-level healthcare talent?
In this example, William has recognized that all of his people want to feel they are part of something bigger than themselves and that their talents are furthering a worthwhile cause. And, all things being equal (such as service offerings), prospects are more likely to buy from people who believe what they believe and have passion where they have passion.
Your agency’s mission should do the same.
How to develop your mission.
Start by answering three questions: 1) Where does your firm have the greatest passion? 2) Where does the team have the most knowledge and experience? 3) How can we help clients benefit mankind, consumers or governments by providing more choice, building significant opportunity or alleviating problems?
Your areas of strongest knowledge and experience can be specific industry categories, target groups, issues, specialty skills such as investor relations or a combination of these.
Simply put, your mission aligns passion with knowledge and expertise.
Continual reinforcement of your powerful mission is necessary for Momentum.
The next step is bringing your mission to life. It must go beyond being a set of words inscribed on your agency policy manual and website. Your mission should be so compelling and reinforced that all staff are able to recite it. It should be a fundamental, living and breathing strategic component of who you are and how you make key decisions.
Mission is a critical weapon in your arsenal that should be consistently used to begin all communications (both internal and external). Internally, use it to open every staff meeting and conversation with potential employees and the media. As major events transpire in your agency, always connect them to how they further the agency’s mission. This includes new hires, promotions, new business wins, marketing initiatives, etc.
Significant decisions should also be guided and placed into the context of your agency’s mission, vision, values and strategic plan.
Externally, Mission should be your lead messaging point in every marketing effort, new business presentation and prospect communication. It helps explain how your firm is different than competitors. It should also be your lead message point in your talent recruiting process.
Mission will help your agency determine the prospects to pursue, clients to service and talent to hire.
Start the Momentum.
Agencies that shortchange their efforts to develop the most compelling mission possible are missing out on a great growth opportunity. At some point, these firms inevitably find that their evolution as a business will stagnate. Revenue will plateau or, worse yet, decrease. And key staff members will depart for a more motivating work environment.
As an agency owner, don’t underestimate the power of Mission in your firm’s success. Let it be the driving force to becoming a Momentum Agency.
We’re here to help you succeed.
Prosper Group exists to help the owners of independent marketing communications agencies achieve their ambitions and maximize the value of their life's work.
Our team of former agency leaders and owners focus their deep experience on implementing proven proprietary methodologies across our three practices of agency performance, owner exit planning and M&A transactions in order to drive owner and agency success.
