The New New Business: Chemistry Sessions Instead of Pitches with Arno Meijerink

Arno Meijerink has a strong appreciation for the behavioral design behind media and marketing strategies to grow brands and performance. He leads a team of media consultants who work for clients such as Van Moof, IG, Easee and KWF. They advise both multinationals and SMEs on how to optimally implement their media strategy, budgets and online conversion.

LBB> What was your first sale or new business win? (Was it a big or small job? How difficult or scary was it? What do you remember about how you felt? What lessons did you learn?)

Arno> My first win was Amsterdam RAI (Amsterdam convention center), which was initially a small media strategy assignment and grew out to the first million+ account and the start of my business. It was an exciting and naive start, as I had just quit my job, bought a house and me and my wife were having our first child. It taught me to think beyond my own expertise, excel in execution and to reach out for help. 

LBB> What was the best piece of advice you got early on? 

Arno> The best advice I got was to surround yourself with smarter people than yourself!

LBB> And the worst?

Arno> The worst advice is to directly follow client requests without knowing the world behind the brief. 

LBB> How has the business of ‘selling’ in the creative industry changed since you started?

Arno> We have become more data driven and we do more market research before we approach prospects. With consultative selling I find that we attract more like-minded clients. 

LBB> Can anyone be taught to sell or do new business or do you think it suits a certain kind of personality?

Arno> There is a need for different types of personalities in every phase, from first contact to closing the deal and delivering on it. You can teach a campaign specialist new business skills, but it would steal time away from their focus on getting the deal delivered. We strive to have the person delivering on the deal at the table, but always together with someone who can look at the bigger business picture. Collaboration is key!

LBB> What are your thoughts about the process of pitching that the industry largely runs on? (e.g. How can it be improved - or does it need done away with completely? Should businesses be paid to pitch? What are your thoughts about businesses completely refusing to engage in pitching? How can businesses perform well without ‘giving ideas away for free?)

Arno> I believe in chemistry sessions instead of pitches. Understanding the exact client needs, instead of interpreting the pitch brief. Often there is a world to discover behind the brief, which helps focusing on the right questions. If this is all clear, there’s a match and the client wants to proceed with multiple agencies in a pitch, I think this should be a paid project; there is no free lunch!  

LBB> How do you go about tailoring your selling approach according to the kind of person or business you’re approaching?

Arno> We do thorough data research before meeting a prospect. This starts by looking for the needs of people in the DMU (Decision making unit), the business needs and its competitors. This makes us a strong partner from the get go and helps us in taking the conversation beyond our own service or products.

LBB> New business and sales can often mean hearing ‘no’ a lot and quite a bit of rejection - how do you keep motivated?

Arno> We motivate ourselves by keeping in mind: a no from one has nothing to do with approaching the next.

LBB> The advertising and marketing industry often blurs the line between personal and professional friendships and relationships… does this make selling easier or more difficult and delicate?

Arno> Having good relationships makes it easier as long as you both stay transparent about your motives. 

LBB> In your view what’s the key to closing a deal?

Arno> When you find the actual question behind the question and surprise them with first thoughts and insightful ideas. 

LBB> How important is cultural understanding when it comes to selling internationally? (And if you have particular experience on this front, what advice do you have?)

Arno> Selling internationally means: listen before talking. Especially with cultural differences playing a part. What type of relationship is the prospect looking for? What are their needs? Try to fill in these blanks, before doing what you think is best for them.

LBB> How is technology and new platforms (from platforms like Salesforce and Hubspot to video calls to social media) changing sales and new business?

Arno> We’re able to focus our ABM (Account Based Marketing) on the best prospects with HubSpot and leadscore tactics. The only challenge is to create content that keeps people engaged throughout the funnel.

LBB> There’s a lot of training for a lot of parts of the industry, but what’s your thoughts about the training and skills development when it comes to selling and new business? 

Arno> Personal development training is the most important step before deep diving into sales tactics; become strategic first, sell later. 

LBB> What’s your advice for anyone who’s not necessarily come up as a salesperson who’s now expected to sell or win new business as part of their role?

Arno> Deep dive into the full business scope of people; from who they report to, to the overall business activities and their competitor field. This helps to position your product or service in their business challenges.