Insights
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CASE STUDIES: 3 pricing strategies we employed on our way to £12m in 3 years
Lately I’ve been helping a few marketing agencies with their pricing strategy as part of my work as a business development consultant, so now seems like a good time to share some of the pricing strategies we employed at Rise at Seven to get to £12m billed in our first 3 years.
5 ways to stop losing pitches to inertia
Many of the new business opportunities you lose (or most that you don’t hear back from) don’t go to other agencies…they go nowhere. Here are 5 trade-offs clients make when they choose not to give us (or someone else) the work.
Inside Missguided: how a weeks-old agency won a six figure deal with a global brand
Whenever anyone asks me to tell the story of Rise at Seven, I casually mention that we won global fashion brand Missguided when we were six weeks old and it never fails to get a reaction. This is the story of how that deal happened.
Does pitch running order matter?
In a competitive pitch process, do you want to go first, last, or in the middle?
The state of the market going into 2026
It’s my first day working after a Christmas break, so I’m summarising various conversations I’ve had with agencies and brands throughout Q4 2025 (and the odd message exchanged in the past 2 weeks).
Small print with big impact
Nobody likes contract negotiations (except me). You’re trying to set the tone for the relationship and the last thing you feel like you need is an argument over the fine print in the contract.
Why your employees don't refer you new business
Most agencies I've worked with offer some kind of incentive to staff for introducing new business. Some of the team might almost double their salaries with the commissions you might be offering, so why does nobody ever refers their mates to the business development manager?
The 3 investments
When a prospective client is looking to appoint an agency, they must make three investments, not just one. The investments are money, time and change.
ICP + IAP = ❤️
Most weeks, I’m helping an agency to identify or develop their ICP, or Ideal Customer Profile. Their ICP is essentially a list of attributes shared by the types of client they are best placed to serve. But it takes two to tango.
Specialising by sector? Be careful
Most agencies have been told they "didn't understand the client's industry" at some point. Here's an example of what relevant experience means to a client (and why it might not be what we think).