The New New Business: Why a Creative Needs an Account Person with David Farrant

David’s eclectic career spans 20 years in the branding and advertising industry. Designer, creative, producer, investor, and growth specialist, he has worked in and collaborated across the entire customer journey in five continents. David has a natural ability to build relationships that drive collaboration, engagement, and realise measurable value.

David began his career opening a boutique agency in The Bahamas. The agency grew to become the premier branding and design collective in the Caribbean.

He has since held senior roles with several leading agencies in the UK, including stints with Tag, Oliver and MullenLowe, running global production studios, leading sales teams, and helping agencies pivot, grow, and transform.

His professional and personal versatility are fuelled by a blend of both hands-on experience and rich interpersonal skills, the latter tested frequently as a proud and committed husband and father to two extraordinary children.

David’s three key strengths include bringing people together for a shared purpose, his rigorous attention to detail, and his ability to listen, and be able to understand exactly what is needed: for who, what and why.

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?)

David> I started freelancing well before I went to Uni for my design degrees, so every small job was a massive win. I felt like a baby in a three-piece suit, sitting in a board room – it’s terrifying when you don’t know how all the moving parts work, or even what they’re called! I learnt very quickly that a creative needs an account person, and everyone needs a mentor. Sense check everything, every time, however small or silly it may seem.

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

David>

1. Learn to listen. As the wise Henri Nouwen once wrote: “Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond.” I’ve broken this rule many times in my professional and personal lives. It’s a hard skill to embrace, but extremely useful and rewarding once it turns into muscle memory.

2. It’s ok to fail hard. I was terrified of failure at the start of my career, and up until recently. So much so, I would push myself to the absolute limits to get something across the line, or, more polished than it ever needed to be. The only reason I am in my dream role now, working with colleagues I admire to no end, is because I failed hard and often. The last few years taught me a lot about myself, both good and bad. Accepting the bad stuff isn’t easy, but when you do, it’s a eureka moment.

LBB> And the worst?

David> Don’t quit. This is utter nonsense. There is a seismic difference between quitting and giving up. If you give up, you’ll remain in a job you hate, working for people that don’t respect you, learning little. If you’re strong enough to quit a toxic environment, of which there are many in our industry, you’ll know to look for something better, something different. And decent people gravitate towards their own kind. Keep pushing yourself until you find that happy place. I just did.

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

David> Night and day. In my first few roles in the UK, it was quantity vs quality. Mostly spurred on by questionable middle management (it really was a thing back in the day) who loved a grocery list pipeline. Now, it’s a wonderful blend of EQ and IQ, sprinkled with fascinating sector and market drivers - sustainability, speed to market, automation, reusability, consistency – the stuff that really matters.

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

David> I firmly believe there’s a common thread of personality traits in new business folks. Some are positive, some negative – it’s learning how to balance them in the right way for the audience and topic in question. As far as sales operations, team management, and general housekeeping, these are 100% adopted and developed through experience, repetition, and mentorship. 

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?)

David> I’d happily do away with the RFx process in our industry. We all know why it exists, but it’s one of the greatest time, resource, and mental health vacuums. Pitching is a crucial part of the vendor / buyer relationship, but it’s often treated with little to no respect. For example, the idea of a one-hour virtual pitch with 16 stakeholders is ludicrous. A pitch should be allowed time, space, and respect. A suitable environment, all devices turned off (without question), all parties show up on time and stay for the entirety, and, above all, allow those that want to swim against the current to do so – our industry risks stagnation if the stage for creative freedom hinders exactly that.

Being paid to pitch – I used to get paid to enter branding pitches in the early 2000s. If a buyer has done their homework (they often don’t), they’ll know what they’re trying to achieve, broadly the personalities they want to work with, and what the next few years could look like. I am clearly bias and on the other side, but I could shortlist three agencies quickly with that much information. Asking them to pull a team aside, think, create, travel, repeat – that feels like it’s worth a few quid?

Refusing to pitch or give away ideas is not the answer. Pre-qualifying, investigating, understanding, challenging, and saying no more often than yes is a smarter strategy. Look at your win rate. If it’s 7%, you’re busy fools; if it’s 64%, you’re onto something.

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

David> Tailor it. Every time. Never copy and paste. It’s ok to reuse slides and relevant bits of content once you’ve done the grunt work. But first, read everything top to tail, learn as much as humanly possible about your stakeholders, their business, their customers, and their sector. Immerse yourself and your team. If you don’t have time for this approach, then you’re not qualifying opportunities properly. Busy fools.

Days before the world locked down, we were pitching for a creative account with a national pub chain. It was a big ask and a big prize. We immersed ourselves in their brand, visiting branches across UK and mainland Europe, talking to employees from all parts of their business, signing up for customer loyalty programs, using their apps, and drinking a lot of beer. The cherry on the cake was building an interactive pitch room in our Soho studio, modelled after their various retail brands. We told our pitch story through their brand aesthetic and language, using insight gathered from being their customers. I even hired a caterer to design a culinary experience around our pitch proposition and values. One of the coolest moments of my career.

The point being, if you don’t experience a brand’s touchpoints from a customer’s perspective, how are you possibly going to build a better solution?

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

David> Don’t take anything personally. While it’s a passion, it is just a job. It’s your family at home that really matters and needs the entire you. I learnt this the hard way last year after falling very ill, so much so that I started writing ‘those’ letters to my kids and my family. Luckily, I came through, but if I hadn’t, I would have left behind the entire me at home. I have a very different outlook now.

Buying decisions come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities – some are out of your control – the ones that aren’t, own them. If you’ve given it your best shot, and it doesn’t come through, then it simply wasn’t meant to be. Some people don’t see things this way – these are the ‘leaders’ that apply too much pressure, which turns rejection into failure, and ultimately, lack of motivation.

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?

David> It depends on your personality and approach to selling. I find the blur cathartic, but I’m a people person. I thrive off people, smarter people, people from different walks of life, people who I can learn from, and hopefully give them something back in return.

Recently, I made a spreadsheet of my network in our industry, split by sector, skillset, and geography. I was amazed and humbled, by the variety and depth of talent and experience. It makes my job a lot easier having such a rich pool of mentors. 

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

David> Common sense and emotional intelligence. The former is often trumped by egos, siloed mentalities, and red tape; the latter is a superpower, one that I am trying to grow and develop every day.

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?)

David> It’s crucial. Back to my point about knowing your prospect’s customers, how are you possibly going to earn someone’s trust and confidence if you don’t understand, appreciate, and respect their culture? As you would test a hypothesis with a mentor, you inquire and align an approach with a colleague in market. My good friend Rik Grant (master linguist and transcreation ninja) opened my eyes to the complexities of cultural alignment. Have a chat with Rik. That is all.

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

David> It’s revolutionary and crippling at the same time. Hybrid working is the best thing that’s happened to mankind in my lifetime. But virtual pitching is horrendous. You lose those 10 minutes of casual banter either side of the pitch, the ever-revealing body language, the comfort of space and time, actual 3D humans.

Operational technology is our bread and butter. Rigour, consistency, and process allow us to learn more, faster. It’s the snowball effect. The human brain can only retain so much short-term information. Without documentation and prompts, this information can often be lost turning a warm prospect into a cold prospect.

Then there’s the world of creative and production technology. It’s why I stay in this sector. It’s what gets me out of bed in the morning. When I found Collective (my current agency), it was my eureka moment. What they’re doing with Unreal Engine and Omniverse technology is next level. It’s one of those moments where you can use that horrible cliché and mean it, ‘Evolve or be left behind.’

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? 

David> For me, there’s two parts to L&D for new business folk. Personal development and professional development. To your question about the blurred lines of personal and professional networks, the same applies for a salesperson’s personality and approach. As the voice of a business, we must learn from every meeting, every phone call, every email, every interaction, and every nugget of feedback. If you think you can do it on your own, you’ll fail every time. Talk to your mentors, take a team to the pub, chat with that bloke on the school run, speak to your dog. Communication is a superpower when constantly nurtured.

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?

David> Talk to everyone. Don’t be scared to say something silly. Test your communication skills everywhere. During lockdown, I befriended our lovely postman, Dave. I so craved human interaction (other than my lovely family bubble) that we spoke at length form my doorstep to the garden gate for months on end. 

My final piece of advice is to be yourself. This sounds cliché, but authenticity breeds confidence, helps manage expectations, and is the founding partner of emotional intelligence. After all, emotional intelligence allows us to respond instead of react.