I've been reading a lot lately. New business and marketing for agencies needs to always evolve, and no more so than right now. Here are some of the most valuable books I'm referencing a lot at the moment.
1. The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, and Stand Out From the Crowd - Allan Dib
Allan Dib’s 1-Page Marketing Plan sets out a very simple successful marketing plan. He breaks down the process into three stages:
- prospect,
- lead, and
- customer.
Dib discusses three action steps to take within each stage. These action steps create the nine steps to a successful marketing plan. Used in tandem, these components help expand your customer base, increase your profits, and increase your visibility in the marketplace.
2. Marketing Made Simple: A Step-By-Step Storybrand Guide for Any Business - Donald Miller
In Donald Miller’s Marketing Made Simple, he explains his 5-part checklist that businesses should follow to strengthen their brand message and apply it across key customer touchpoints to ultimately generate sales.
It's a very simple easy to follow book that can help agencies define their core value proposition, set up their website so that it generates leads and build an automated system for inbound leads. If you’re a new business owner, creative agency owner or digital agency owner, I highly recommend you grab a copy and start following his steps to build your agency brand.
3. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. - Peter Levitan
Drawing from over 30 years of pitching experience, Peter Levitan’s Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. lives up to its name. It is the definitive how-to guide for any creative, digital, or PR agency on how to win clients. Loaded with great anecdotes and interviews, you’ll find great insight into winning new business.
4. Agencynomics - Spencer Gallagher and Peter Hoole
If you want to set up an agency or scale your existing creative agency, Agencynomics may just be the book for you. Written by Spencer Gallagher and Peter Hoole, from Cact.us who have helped a thousand agencies scale their business, it is full of actionable steps, tricks of the trade, and anecdotes to help you grow bigger faster.
5. This Is Marketing: You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See - Seth Godin
In Godin’s book, This Is Marketing is, of course, filled with timeless knowledge and marketing wisdom. This book will help you get clear on your target audience, help you position your offer in a way that will connect wtih your audience whilst building trust and engagement.
Attract New Business for Your Agency With These 5 Books
There you have it. My top five books to help creative agencies and digital agencies grow and win new business. If you want to growls an agency, you need to keep growing yourself. Always be learning from others, trying new things and building your knowledge.