Forging Forward with New Biz in the Face of the Coronavirus
In the current environment, it’s important for all of us to work smarter and more consciously. That’s why I want to personally update you on the situation with COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and the conscious effort we are making to keep business moving forward while remaining responsible.
2020 has been one of the busiest years in almost two decades for AAR Partners with clients reaching out for agency evaluations and reviews. However, in the recent weeks as the epidemic has rapidly progressed, more and more marketers are either mandated to stop travel or being much more mindful about travel.
New business is our industry’s lifeblood. And with that said, we cannot panic to the point of paralysis. But we can be smart and with that said, use the abundance of technological tools at our disposal to our advantage and curb unnecessary travel for the time being.
With that said, I want to share what AAR Partners is suggesting to clients in order forge forward with the review process but are grounded from flying…
Turn the in-person meetings into a video conference and allow the agencies to craft/control how they would like to conduct the virtual meeting. This will allow them the benefit of exemplifying how adaptable and innovative they are with all sorts of unpredictable situations. It also allows agencies to exhibit how their team thinks innovatively, conducts themselves in a virtual setting and communicates remotely. After all, many meetings regardless of the current situation do take place remotely throughout the year.
With this said, there are a handful of AAR suggestions to help make a video conference or virtual meeting more effective:
1. Connect People: Each team member must be front and center on screen for up to a minute at the start of the meeting. This is to simply introduce him or herself so the client team can identify that person throughout the meeting, get a better sense of him/her and feel more connected when everyone is interacting throughout the session.
2. Online Whiteboard: Use PowerPoint (or whatever program) as a shared background platform in order to keep everyone focused on “on the same page” while discussing open-ended topics.
3. Online Notes: Each agency should have a scribe to capture all vital notes and show those notes on a sidebar discussion forum so everyone is up-to-the-minute in sync with the progress of the remote meeting.
4. Tight Knit Group: Be sure the core team that is responsible for the day-to-day account is front and center on the video session. You can bring in other members but those that have a speaking roll must be in clear sight at all times.
5. Materials in Advance: All materials must be shared 24-hours in advance of the video conference, particularly a detailed agenda. Participants should not be “putting finishing touches” on materials while in the meeting (since they feel that they can’t be seen as they would be in person) instead of actively listening and being involved in the meeting/discussion.
a. Included in these materials should be a 3 minute “spirit of the team/agency culture” video to introduce some of the key team members in advance and give a sense of the agency environment/day in the office.
6. Be Prepared: Both sides must have IT set up and test all connections 30 minutes in advance of the meeting start time in order to avoid losing meeting time in case of connection issues which is a major disruption. Once that happens, everyone’s focus fades quickly.
Virtual meetings do not exactly take the place of an in-person meeting, especially for work sessions and final pitch presentations BUT it is an interesting twist and does allow your team to show the client how you can interact on another level and manage various situations innovatively and effectively.
The best thing we can do as an industry is to continue with business as usual in the face of an unusual situation by using the vast tech tools at our fingertips but adding an element of human touch to it!
AAR Partners is committed to providing all our agency growth partners valuable information you need to make informed decision to help with your new business efforts and agency growth.
We understand travel is fundamental to our business and lives which is why it can’t simply stop. So let’s continue forging forward but for now be conscious about our alternative choices in an effort to protect our industry… and nation.
Pitch with Passion, Lisa
