Looking to grow your PPC accounts? Columnist Jeff Baum
explains that doing so means selling clients on the notion that your approach
is the best way forward -- and that more budget is required to execute the
plan.
One of the chief success metrics for our agency’s account
management team is organic growth. We define organic growth as the amount of
additional revenue generated through our existing client relationships.
Clients come to us because they want more out of their paid
search and social program; they want consistent volume, revenue and profit
growth. To drive organic growth, account managers must “always be selling.”
This article will discuss methods PPC account managers in any situation
(agency, consultant, in-house) can use to persuade their stakeholders to invest
more budget into their PPC accounts.
Method #1: Have a solid strategy
Having a solid strategy is the cornerstone of any PPC
program. Without a coherent plan in place, it would be extremely difficult or
nearly impossible to convince stakeholders that investing more budget in paid
search is a wise idea. Stakeholders want to know why more budget should be
invested, how the extra budget is going to be spent and what the expected
results are going to be.
Working under the guidance of a coherent, larger plan
creates both trust and credibility, which is the first step to complete in any
sales process. If clients don’t have trust in the plan — or worse, don’t trust
that there is a plan — it will not be possible to create the necessary
justifications to win any extra budget.
What does a PPC strategy look like? The pillars of solid PPC
strategy should contain the following elements:
- A deep understanding of the overall business situation (performance metrics, competitive landscape, deep understanding of the client/stakeholder’s most important goals)
- A guiding principle that governs overall direction. Translating the guiding principle into a simple-to-understand core objective will keep the PPC program tied to an overarching plan.
- A coordinated action plan with initiatives that are tied directly to the guiding principle.
Carve out time to create a solid strategic plan. Good
strategy is the conduit for positive performance — which, in turn, makes it
easier to state your case for more budget.
Method #2: Pitching new ideas
Presenting new ideas to clients is critical to winning more
budget from them. Why is it important to always be presenting new ideas?
- PPC is dynamic, and the landscape is changing all the time. A strategy or tactic that’s implemented today could be outdated in a few months, or it could simply stop working. New ideas prevent stagnation and keep your PPC program fresh.
- There are more pay-per-click platforms than ever available for marketers to utilize. Breaking into social advertising platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter opens new possibilities for growth and expansion.
- Expansion leads to new budget over time. For an account to grow, it often needs more budget to properly test new ideas and initiatives.
How do we pitch new ideas to clients in a convincing way?
Here are some tactics to use that can lead to a successful pitch for new
budget:
Define the scope of the idea your pitching. Are you
proposing a small modification to your PPC program or a radical change?
Tailor the pitch to who the decision-maker is. In most
client/stakeholder relationships, there’s the daily contact who has operational
control. Based on the size of the idea, the client might need to bring in their
superiors to sign off on the decision and approve additional testing budget.
Ensuring your pitch answers the questions of the most important decision-makers
increases the chances of winning additional budget to fund your proposed
initiatives.
Boil ideas down to their most important points. The easier
it is for stakeholders to understand your idea, the budget required to
successfully implement it and the urgency for moving forward, the better the
chances of getting sign-off.
Always strive to bring new ideas to the table. Innovation is
the key to account growth, and ultimately, to growing PPC spend. Successfully
convincing clients to invest in new initiatives vs. routing budgets from
existing ones provides more flexibility to test and iterate, which are key
backbones of PPC success.
Method #3: Overcoming objections
In any selling situation, you must be prepared to overcome
objections. Despite having a strong strategy in place and regularly presenting
innovative new ideas to clients, there will come a time when clients say no.
“No” should not treated as the final word but rather the
beginning of a rolling dialogue that ultimately leads to winning more budget.
Use those nos as an opportunity to strengthen your pitch and develop a stronger
case for obtaining more budget. Following are a couple of ways of overcoming
objections:
Educate your audience. In my experience, when I see a pitch
fail, it’s mostly due to a lack of context. When preparing your pitch, make
sure you understand the big problem your stakeholder faces, and educate them as
to how your initiative will solve it.
Having a strong point of view. Many pitches also fail when
the presenter does not have a convincing point of view regarding the subject
matter. The best way to develop a strong point of view is to do extensive
background research, make solid projections on potential outcomes and consult
with others to gain feedback about your plans and pitch. Based on that
information, you can develop a point of view that can be communicated in way
that garners trust and confidence in your way forward.
Overcoming objections is all about building credibility.
Being fully prepared and confident in the information being presented can help
reduce objections and lead you to secure more budget for your PPC initiatives.
Conclusion
Growing PPC accounts is all about selling clients on the
notion that your approach is the best way forward and that more budget is
required to execute the plan. You need to have a coherent strategy, a steady
stream of new ideas and a compelling argument for why they should be
implemented to expand your client’s PPC program.
Always selling — whether it’s a new optimization, tactic,
strategy or platform — demonstrates a commitment to growth, which ultimately
leads to increased budgets, stronger revenues and profits.
Source: - http://searchengineland.com/learn-three-proven-methods-winning-additional-ppc-budget-clients-276130
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