Are you lonesome tonight?

I wonder if you are lonesome tonight

You know someone said that the world's a stage and each must play a part

Fate had me playing in love with you as my sweetheart

Act one was where we met

I loved you at first glance

You read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue

Then came act two

You seemed to change, you acted strange

And why, I've never known

Honey, you lied when you said you loved me

And I had no cause to doubt you

But I'd rather go on hearing your lies

Than to go on living without you

Now the stage is bare and I'm standing there

With emptiness all around

And if you won't come back to me

Then they can bring the curtain down

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What’s the connection between Elvis Presley’s ‘Are you Lonesome Tonight?’ and new business?

In the song, the spoken-word section above is where Presley addresses a former lover. However, in many of his live performances, Presley would stumble over these lines or even laugh embarrassingly during this section, to cover his loss for words.

And then he began to dread performing it.

Psychologists call it Parapraxis

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That the song's lyrics touched on a deep-seated insecurity in Presley about his own relationships, specifically when his wife Priscilla (who he wrote the song for) left him for her karate instructor – ouch!

A similar thing happens in new business.

On Friday, you say “on Monday, I’ll begin reaching out to some new prospects” then Monday rolls around and someone calls in sick, an unexpected client emergency arises, an urgent bacon butty run, a mouse farts – anything but making those calls.

You stumble, deflect, and distract.

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Because despite the good intention (and we know what road is paved with them, right?) actually getting your game face on, writing those emails, making those connections or phone calls becomes a daunting task.

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It’s uncommonly common.

Even the Elvises of the agency world, have their moments.

If you don’t have the luxury of referrals or want to start prospecting in a new direction, the hardest part is getting started.

Elvis’s stumbles are a reminder that even the greatest performers are human and that they make mistakes.

So here’s a few tips, based on my thousands of hours of podcast interviews with agency leaders, big and small to help you overcome any feelings of Lonesomeness.

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Firstly create the right conditions:

Breathe.

Relax.

Take your time and don't let perfection be the enemy of good.

Remember the first time you dived into a swimming pool without armbands? It was literally a leap of faith, and you might not have looked too pretty when you came up for air.

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But you floated.

You swam.

And you entered a new realm.

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Next:

Block out the time: Set the date in your calendar and work towards it. It’s proven that appointments and tasks that are deliberately written into a schedule are 60% more likely to be completed. So don’t hope that the time will be available, make it so.

Be consistent: Make it a date. Put time aside on a regular basis and treat it the same way you would any other repetitive task. New business is a muscle and the more regularly you work it out, the more you build that muscle memory and the more toned your new business skills will be.

Collaborate: new business is a team sport. After all, the whole company will be working on the client if you win them, so let the team help with working out which clients would be best to work with.

Play to your strengths: You’re only as good as your last piece of work, so work out how you can parlay that into a convincing argument why the new prospect should work with you. Look for companies that look like your existing clients and would understand the work you’re showing them, because they likely have similar challenges.

Keep it simple: don’t over-reach. Both in terms of chasing impossible dreams or chasing too many of them. Do a few things and do them well. Devote your attention to courtship; make them feel special and not just a number.

Don’t stop. Like being consistent, you need to build new business awareness into your week. It’s insurance because if the last three years have taught us anything, it’s that you can’t rely on normalcy. Make this your best good habit and feed the beast regularly.

If you do this regularly – every day, week, or at a push monthly, you’ll begin to see results.

• Your presentation skills will improve.
• Your trade insight and industry awareness will increase.
• The number of new business connections you have will grow.
• Your email writing skills will develop.
• Your agency’s proposal will focus on just the essentials.

And you’ll be able to do this in good times and in bad.

Tim Delaney once told me “England is always lurching from one crisis to another – it’s what we do. We should be used to it.”

But somehow, we always act surprised when the economy tanks.

As Nigel Bogle of BBH said: “I’m only ever three phone calls away from disaster.”

Develop a new business habit and protect your agency and your team. And then, when the sun starts shining again, you’re going to be in great shape.

Keep new business

Always on your mind.