How to Win New Business in Uncertain Times
Photo by Johannes Plenio via Unsplash
While it’s too early to predict the word of the year for 2025, I’m placing my chips on “uncertain”.
In January, the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index surpassed its 2020 peak—back when “uncertain” was palling around with “unprecedented”, another word we grew to despise but couldn’t help but overuse. (The index has offered no data yet for Q1, but one can only imagine…)
Growth forecasts for the U.S. advertising market are trending downward. Brian Wieser of Madison and Wall has revised down his projections for ad spending from 4.5% to 3.6% citing the impact of unpredictable trade policies and economic uncertainties. Marketing analytics firm WARC predicts a reduction of $20 billion in expected global ad spend. MAGNA and WPP have reduced their growth forecasts while Publicis warned that reduced client visibility may impact future budgets.
And at the 2025 WFA Global Marketer Conference, nearly all (99%) of the approximately 600 marketers identified economic and geopolitical uncertainty as significant concerns for the next five years. Diana Frost, Global Chief Growth Officer at Kraft Heinz, noted that she’s not only working with A and B plans—but also C and D plans to address potential disruptions.
Are We in a Recession Now?
But, good news!
We’re not in a recession! ...yet. But indications are, we’re headed that way.
As we prepare for a tough remainder of the year, how do you keep your new business pipeline as healthy as possible?
You keep moving. And you stick to the basics. Here are five tactics that will help you do just that:
1. Sell solutions, not credentials.
People crave guidance in uncertain times. Think back to five years ago when COVID effectively shut down entire industries on March 17, 2020. Most of us would be lying if we didn’t say we were freaking out a bit.
But what I saw was that agencies that stepped into their role as experts—despite fear and uncertainty—and proactively offered ideas to their clients were the agencies that got through with minimal damage. Some even thrived.
This included one of my clients, a PR firm that specialized in working with growing regional restaurant groups. Even though dining and hospitality were among the hardest-hit sectors, this agency led with solutions, ideas, and a point of view that resonated. After a rocky few weeks, the agency came roaring back and had a great year.
The moral: Even in uncertain times, marketers still have problems that agencies like yours can solve. That’s good news for you—but you might need to change how you pitch.
Many agencies like to give their prospective clients a lot to choose from. It feels generous and smart—if a client doesn’t need one service, maybe they’ll bite on another. But most of us don't like having too much choice.
In the best of times, marketers find it hard to choose the best agency out of a pool of candidates who all say they’re good at everything.
In uncertain times, when their own resources are stretched, they still have problems to solve. Problems need solutions, and clients will pay for solutions. Your job is to be clear about which problems you solve.
2. Don’t underestimate what you know about your clients
A solutions-oriented approach is less about you and more about your prospective client. Or, to clarify, it’s about you—presented through the context of the client and their challenges.
It requires you to tap deeply into what you know about them: their challenges, obstacles, goals, and ambitions. And based on my experience with small agencies like yours, I know two things:
You’re probably not fully leveraging what you know about your clients.
It’s easier to do than you might think.
When I lead positioning workshops with agencies, I run two simple exercises. One explores differentiating characteristics. It’s deceptively hard because it demands objectivity, which is tricky when you’re the subject. Agencies work and rework their marketing language and often still end up sounding like everyone else.
The second exercise shifts the focus from what you know about yourselves to what you know about your clients. This combination of objectivity and experience results in a clear articulation of the challenges your clients face every day. And when your pitch is geared toward what your client is thinking and feeling, it’s guaranteed to connect.
Ask yourself: Are you underestimating what you know about your clients? How would your messaging improve if it were more about them and less about you?
3. Reduce their risk
Hiring an agency is risky. There’s no guarantee of success and a lot that can go wrong. Marketers have to evaluate not just how qualified you are to solve their problems, but how you'll work with their team: how you’ll present to their board; how your team will get the most out of theirs; how much they can count on you to extend their capabilities.
Look for opportunities to help them make the case for the investment in working with you. Clients—especially those inside large organizations—must navigate complex buying processes, competing priorities, and multiple stakeholders. It’s exhausting. Help them overcome the inertia.
This might mean managing the buying process differently—less a one-way process dictated by the client and more of a collaborative dance. While the client may lead, you are an active partner, exerting control when appropriate, offering alternative approaches that will benefit all involved, and seeking answers to the right questions like,
Who are the influencers and the decision-makers, and what’s important to them?
What will make them vulnerable if they make the wrong decision?
Who’s feeling the most pain?
As their partner, help them sell your solution internally. Understand not only what information different stakeholders need, but how they process it. Some want detailed documentation, others need high-level summaries, and most benefit from a productive conversation over a long email. Don’t be afraid to ask for a 20-minute call.
4. Check on the health of your pipeline
So far, we’ve focused on how to better serve clients and prospects. Let’s turn the lens on you. How can your agency better weather the inevitable ups and downs?
Sometimes, uncertainty shows up as erratic schedules and client projects that are greenlit and then put on hold. That leaves you vulnerable—unless you have a healthy pipeline.
A good rule of thumb: a healthy pipeline should show two to three times your annual revenue goal. (Yes, this is a rough estimate—it doesn’t reflect the nuances of agency sales cycles—but it’s a helpful guide.) If your revenue goal is $1 million, aim for $3 million in potential opportunities. In times of uncertainty, shoot for five times that number.
How do you build a healthy pipeline if you don’t have one?
In the short term, this might mean some metaphorical searching in the sofa cushions. What recent opportunities could you reignite? Which allies have you been neglecting? How can you apply the principles above to re-energize your pipeline?
In the long term, it might mean getting out there more visibly. That may feel uncomfortable, especially if you’re the kind of leader who avoids proactive business development.
Most importantly, resist the temptation of going back to business development practices that have never yielded great results to begin with. Times of uncertainty can force us into making productive changes.
5. Seek support
I’ll leave you with this final thought: surviving (or even thriving) in uncertain times is best done as a group activity.
For your agency, that may mean tapping into the strengths of your team, and encouraging participation from team members who don’t normally play a business development role. It may also mean seeking the help of a coach, mentor, or a community of peers.
Uncertainty Is Inevitable. Growth Is Still Possible.
The world may feel unpredictable, but the foundations of good business development haven’t changed. Focus on what you know, be generous with your expertise, and show up for your prospects in ways that make it easy for them to say “yes.” That’s how you keep growing—even when the path ahead isn’t clear.