Buyers now prefer in-person meetings, making trust- and relationship-building difficult. In fact, over 70% of B2B buyers don’t want to meet reps in person.

Meanwhile, buyers are becoming comfortable with the idea of making purchases online—70 percent of B2B decision-makers say they are open to making self-serve or remote purchases of more than $50,000.

The fundamentals of the sales process are changing, but so are most markets.

The auto industry is still recovering from the pandemic. At the same time, legacy automakers, like Ford, are evolving to meet the demand for electric vehicles.

Even B2C brands that have always been all-in on traditional retail are pivoting amid the growth of the DTC model. Case and point: Adidas wants DTC sales to make up 50% of its revenue by 2025.

Of course, the down economy is causing a ripple effect across most industries. Advertisers are responding accordingly.

Internally, turnover never fails to cause a shake-up, especially when the change is happening at the top—the average tenure of a CMO is 40 months. When these changes happen, advertising changes inevitably follow in connection with the strategy and agency representation.

Many agencies pair these shifts with a reactive strategy, i.e., the prospect comes to them.

The agencies that thrive in 2023 and beyond will embrace a proactive strategy, i.e., determine which brands they want to work with, understand them, nurture the relationship, and build trust.

Regardless of the agency’s strategy, sellers must wrap their heads around the prospects.

Here are 5 things to know about your prospects before your next call:

1. Know the Key Players

Seems simple enough, right? But, as we all know, it’s easier said than done.

While high turnover rates will present an initial hurdle, some research will pay dividends.

This starts by understanding who is involved in the decision-making process. More times than not that’ll be the CMO or comparable role. Director- and senior-level players will likely play a role, too. The typical “buying group” for a complex B2B solution involves six to 10 decision-makers.

But accurate contact information will only get you so far. Sellers must also get a glimpse into what matters to these stakeholders. One way to do that is by looking at how they’ve approached advertising in the past.

MUD/WTR, for example, appointed Mike Fox as its new CMO in late 2022. The industry vet with tenures at Facebook and Snapple will likely embrace some of the same strategies at MUD/WTR that helped him succeed at the aforementioned industry giants.

2. Ensure the Call Is Timely

Make sure you are calling people at the right time. For example, calling travel advertisers at the height of the pandemic would have been fruitless.

Conversely, reaching out to education advertisers as millions grapple with layoffs makes all the sense in the world. According to a Crunchbase News tally, more than 94,000 workers at U.S.-based tech companies have been laid off. The same goes for tax service advertisers in Q1 who are gearing up for Tax Day.

Other key indicators of when to pitch are seasonality and peak spending.

Weight loss advertisers, like Nutrisystem, for example, frontload their spending as much of society sets news New Year’s resolutions.

Once you know when a business spends most of its budget, you can work backward to determine when to make first contact.

3. Review Brand Messaging

One of the easiest ways to determine if a pitch will push a prospect’s “hot buttons” is to review recent creative.

Why? It offers a direct line of sight into their mindset and the products or service they’re pushing as a business.

The screenshot below highlights 3 recent Walmart ads.

One of those ads focuses on The World Cup.

Not only did this lend light to how advertisers crafted their strategy in late 2022, but it also offered a glimpse into the ad formats and target demographics. Of course, Snapchat is popular among younger generations—almost 40% of Snapchat users are between the ages of 18-24.

4. Understand Their Ad Investment

Knowing how your prospects’ advertising spending is changing is also valuable. You can understand that by getting your hands on a spending breakdown.

Look at how advertisers for Purina Dog Chow spent their dollars in 2022.

What does it tell us?

A lot, but namely that they didn’t really start spending until February, and they love print ads (digital, not so much). These insights can influence pitches to buyers at Purina Dogs but also pitches to competitors, including Blue Buffalo.

5. See How They Distribute Their Ad Dollars

Studying your prospect’s recent multimedia campaigns and product lines will help you understand their position and offerings.

For example, if a company runs unique creative across multiple media formats, including TV, OTT, online, mobile, Snapchat, OOH, and email, you could conclude they’re all-in on digital ads and early adopters of newer ecosystems, like OTT.

Answer These Questions—and More—with Sales Intelligence Tools

You don’t need to spend hours surfing the web or scrolling through a company’s website to understand how a prospect thinks about their advertising strategy.

An ad sales intelligence tool will give you those insights—and more—all in one place.

For more insights, sign up for MediaRadar’s blog here.

A Luxury Automaker Goes Electric

On Tuesday, September 4th, 2018, Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, debuted their first fully electric SUV at an event in Stockholm. The car, which they dubbed the “EQC,” can accelerate to 60 mph in under five seconds, drive 200 miles between charges, and has 400 horsepower with all-wheel drive. Though novel, it’s far from the only one in its category. Audi and BMW are also announcing their own electric SUVs. “It’s impossible to predict the take up speed of electric mobility,” Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche said, “But for us, it’s a mandate. That’s why we said we must integrate electric vehicles with a purpose-built vehicle architecture designed around electric propulsion.” The luxury car company plans to release its EQC in 2020.

A Multinational’s Multicultural Assessment

BMW, the German car company, just launched a review of its U.S. multicultural business. Miami’s The Community is the incumbent on the account since 2015, but they’ve declined to participate. With MediaRadar, you can see what BMW’s messaging was and what they spent on the multicultural market in the U.S., out of the roughly $275 million the company spent on paid media in 2016.

A Company Hires a New Advertising Agency

For a short-term marketing assignment, Ford hired Wieden + Kennedy New York. Spokeswoman Jennifer Flake said that the project was unrelated to the global review for Ford’s business, which is still ongoing. “Ford is launching a U.S. brand campaign in mid-October and we are working with Wieden + Kennedy as a creative partner with WPP to activate the campaign.” According to Flake, the review “should wrap up in the fourth quarter.” With the shift from digital and TV to print (+11%) over the past year, Ford may be reevaluating their marketing strategy.

A Plan to Navigate

Garmin Ltd. has acquired Flight Plan LLC, one of the largest flight planning companies in the world. Flight Plan’s comprehensive electronic flight planning, scheduling, and trip support services will join Garmin’s already sizable lineup of GPS navigation, communication, and information devices and services. Garmin’s long-standing industry leadership experience will help to further expand Flight Plan’s aviation services and geographical reach.

Creative Highlight

To celebrate the 30th birthday of their iconic tagline, “Just Do It,” Nike has released a series of ads, featuring some of today’s greatest athletes, including Serena Williams, LeBron James, and, most recently, Colin Kaepernick. “We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward,” said Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s Vice President of Brand Marketing for North America. Since being released yesterday, the ad, created by Wieden + Kennedy, has garnered praise and sparked protests across social media. It’s also been commended by creative leaders in the ad industry, so expect to see it on the awards circuit.