Learning Who Hires You, Will Get You Hired

I’ve been on both sides of the fence, in-house and agency. One thing remains a constant, help is needed internally and third-parties are looking for clients. When I was fielding clients for the agency, I worked deeply with very little resources to woo clients other than our reputation. There were no $500 dinners or trips overseas to court, they came to me based off what we could do, our reputation and our ability to work as a team to fill in the gaps of where things were lacking. Sometimes we had to get super creative as a team to piece together a plan and had little guidance in the process, you just figure it out. One of the most important things I learned as an agency rep and being in house, is the key KPI is the results. People hire additional help to create results and momentum they did not have before. When you think about securing clients under that premise, it makes your focus all the much clearer and evident.

A lot of time as a third party you have this false sense of “coming in and saving a project” which is actually a counterproductive stance. Every team is a machine, every great project requires the machine to work in tandem. Within any corporate and non-corporate structure there is a pyramid of influence and power that either allows you to thrive or deters you progress. This may seem like common knowledge, but it is paramount for you to understand and ask about the company structure in order to excel as a third party. You aren’t in the day to day. You’re not having coffee and bsing with the head of sales every morning who has direct influence by virture of power on the input of your strategy and creative. Knowing this is an inherent handicap, your best defense is to understand the way a company flows and who within that structure is available to pull levers for you and/or your influence.

I’ve compiled a few key areas and questions any potential agency or freelancer should consider when fielding business below. Consider the other side of the table and what their needs are. What is the ROI? What are long-term opportunities for building together? What do you bring to the table? Are you flexible to the ebb and flow of their business and willing to work in the way that they want and need to be worked with?

All of these things matter in real time. Here are some things you should consider...

1. Think about what you do and what departments internally need those services. Where will my services be best used within their company infrastructure?
2. Does this company handle your service directly or is this a centralized process that is determined at a corporate level?
3. Are you presenting the pitch immediately as a sales or as a building opportunity? You never know what opportunities may come up in a business throughout a fiscal year and I always appreciate someone who reaches out to check in and scope out how the year is looking, even if there is no immediate need for help.
4. Are you reporting unprompted and delivering comprehensive, consistent and relevant data to your clients? In a sea of potential hires, reporting and through execution make any agency or freelancer stand out.
5. Are you building your personal database of contacts in tandem and strengthening your systems? You’re hired based off of what you can do and if your flow is inefficient or you’re lacking in contacts to help your follow through, go out and meet some more people and analyze your methods.
6. Build your social presence. The internet makes you reputable. This doesn’t mean that you need 20 thousand followers, but you need to have official accounts, an active presence and sleek branding. It’s goes with everything in life - perception is everything!

Good luck, pitching and hiring.