The New New Business: Hannah March on Rowing Crews and Pitch Teams

Hannah spearheads the Fold7's growth strategy ensuring they are set up to deliver on the needs of clients and prospective clients and effectively communicating the agency's core value proposition.

Prior to joining Fold7, Hannah held senior roles at global technology company CI&T, and independent communications group Engine (now part of Next15). Hannah also spent three years at intermediary and consultancy Oystercatchers, working alongside the partners to run multidisciplinary pitches.

LBB> What was your first sale or new business win? 

Hannah> I learnt at an early age that selling is about people. It’s more than just emotional intelligence - although that is an important factor. It’s a natural curiosity about and appreciation for individuals, with an ability to interpret and respond to both conscious and unconscious signals. 

My first real experience of this was at 18, going door to door for npower asking householders to switch their energy provider right there, on the spot. Most people detest this kind of role but to my surprise, although it was daunting at first, I not only enjoyed it, I was incredibly good at it. Hitting the highest switch rate multiple times in my short summer stint. 

In my early advertising career I played a support role for many great wins and what I understood to be true very early on, is that a pitch team must operate like a rowing crew: 

• Firstly you need a shit hot skipper. Someone experienced who can assess whether conditions are suitable, whether crew members are fit to row, able to give precise instructions and keep morale up. 
• You have to have the right oarspeople in the right places. If you mis-position your stroke (strongest athlete), they won’t be much use to you. 
• Finally, and most importantly, every single crew member needs to be giving the race absolutely everything they have got. In a pitch situation, if you have even one key player that doesn’t really want the client, is too busy to give it the right time and attention or doesn’t see pitching as a priority, then you are dead in the water. 

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

Hannah> I was incredibly lucky to have cut my teeth in our industry at intermediary Oystercatchers, during the earlier days. Trained by the best in the business; Suki Thompson, Peter Cowie, Angus Crowther and Richard Robinson, I received a treasure trove of great advice. Some of which I will share below alongside my own general learnings from coming into an industry late, with zero experience (it is possible). 

Demonstrate your hunger. Do all you can to show how much you want to succeed. Stay late. Do the shit jobs with eagerness and good humility. Everything is a learning opportunity. 

Don’t underestimate the power of your network to help you succeed. Nurture it. Learn to love LinkedIn. 

You don’t have to be good at everything. Play to your strengths and look for a team that fills the gaps. 

LBB> And the worst?

Hannah> I don’t remember specific bad advice, perhaps because it’s by now been relegated to the unreachable corners of my mind. Instead, I want to address an ingrained and often unspoken industry belief the younger generation should be shattering.

You should not put up with being treated inappropriately or unnecessarily rudely by anyone in a position of relative power. You do not need to smile or make a joke of it. It won’t ruin your prospects. Make it known that you don’t appreciate this kind of behaviour and you will get support from the right people. 

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

Hannah> It hasn’t changed at all and that is the fundamental problem. 

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

Hannah> There is a certain personality type that seems to suit new business, however not exclusively. New business and account handling make good bedfellows, for example. I have also seen a few new business people transition successfully over to strategy. New business people wear many hats. 

LBB> What are your thoughts about the process of pitching that the industry largely runs on? 

Hannah> If we woke up tomorrow to find that pitching had been outlawed, the industry would be better for it. A shorter process that involved a chemistry meeting and perhaps a working session to discuss different potential strategic and creative directions should suffice. No massively worked up strategy or creative. It’s rare that a pitch produces the final product anyway so we’d be simply saving agency, and client, time and money. 

This is how adjacent industries work and it’s how most design agencies pitch. They’re not going to rock up with a full suite of different brand identities for you to judge - why on earth do we do it? 

The problem is, getting any creative agency in the Campaign Top 100 to stop pitching all together is as likely as the conservatives scoring a surprise victory in July. Market conditions are tough. Fear is high. The behaviour needs to be tackled at the power centre. I’d love to see more organisations like the IPA not backing a pitch positive pledge that often gets ignored, but starting a no pitch movement with clients, advocating a fairer and more consultative approach. 

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

Hannah> Honestly, it is a rewarding but a tough role, you do need a certain amount of resilience. This is where having a really strong support network at work is essential. People you know trust you, back you, and believe in you through fair and rough weather. If you don’t feel you have that, it becomes hard very quickly. 

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?

Hannah> I don’t think the advertising industry does it any more or less than other industries. You spend most of your life at work and we are social animals. We navigate the relationships we are in, I don’t believe it has any bearing on how you perform in your job. 

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

Hannah> Understanding the most important outcome for that person / group. 

LBB> How important is cultural understanding when it comes to selling internationally?

Hannah> It’s hugely important. How you navigate this should be carefully considered from the start. One piece of advice would be to include someone internally who deeply understands the market. The differences of course are more or less pronounced and salient depending on the market.

For example, I see significant differences in the way USA based teams interact with and buy potential vendors compared with the UK. Not understanding those differences doesn’t necessarily preclude you from an opportunity. If you fail to observe proper meeting etiquette when addressing a Japanese CEO however, you won’t be invited to another meeting. 

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

Hannah> Technology has changed every aspect of our lives exponentially and selling is no different. 

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?

Hannah> It can be incredibly helpful. However, you do have to ensure you have the right people attending, and that you are utilising the right type of training, for it to be business effective. I’ve been to a lot of sessions that are all about ‘empowerment’ and don’t offer any practical advice or useful frameworks at all. Money making schemes that work only for the consultants that deliver them. 

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?

Hannah> Don’t be daunted by it. It’s all about understanding your customer and helping them get where they need to be. Think of it more as you giving something to them, rather than the other way around, and you will soon shake off any nervousness.