We hope your 2024 is off to a great start! For many of us, a new year presents new opportunities and a reset on finding the next big deal. For many organizations, focusing 2024 efforts towards uncovering the next BIG opportunity will be a key to success in the year!

  • In 2023, programmatic digital display advertising grew 11.5% to reach over $135 billion (making programmatic ads account for 90.5% of total digital display ads).

  • This year, the spend is expected to reach $157.35 billion and programmatic ads are set to account for 91.3% of all digital display ad spend. As programmatic continues to grow, brands will need to grow their investment to remain relevant.

But how to land the next big deal? Follow these tips and strategies for finding opportunities that make your month, or even your YEAR!

Solutions-Based Selling

Nothing is worse for business, or client retention, than selling a campaign strategy that doesn’t address the client’s key business objective. Asking clarifying questions like, “What is the biggest hurdle to your business in 2024?” or “How do you feel digital advertising might help accomplish your goals in 2024” may offer a glimpse into the problem your client is trying to solve and how they perceive digital advertising to meet their needs.

In addition, as executives it is easy to overwhelm a prospect by getting into the weeds of the “how” of programmatic advertising instead of the “why”. In your next meeting, instead of including technical jargon, start by offering context by telling a story of how the advertiser might experience this ad placement in their day-to-day lives. Relating it back to an advertiser’s own experiences will help them to understand the placement, opportunity, and scale that programmatic offers them to reach potential customers.

Only Sell to Decision Makers

In sales, after countless “no’s” it can be a huge relief to find someone that’s willing to talk to you. That said, those efforts are often in vain if they are not the right decision maker. Instead before you start calling or meeting prospects identify the following which will pay dividends in your sales process:

  • Job Title: Who do you need to meet with to close the sale? Are they a C-suite, marketing director, or other positions? Knowing who you need to get in front of will shorten your list and journey to earn a meeting with these individuals.

  • Size of Business: All businesses need marketing, but often it takes just as much, if not more effort to close $300K as it is to close $500K. Focusing your efforts on larger opportunities might be fewer but are a prime example of working “smarter” not “harder”.

  • Industry/Vertical: As an organization are there key verticals or industries that have been your best customers in the past year?

  • Proficiency with Digital: Educating a prospect may take a lot of effort and time if they are unfamiliar with the digital space. Weigh the cost/benefit of targeting prospects already familiar with digital vs. those that have yet to scratch the surface.

Understand the Decision-Making Process

Asking questions of your prospect about what criteria and how the decision-making process will be made shows interest, investment, and eagerness (not desperation) to work with them as a client. Try asking questions like:

  • What are the key elements you’re considering when looking for a digital partner/strategy?

  • Are there additional stake holders that need to be part of this decision?

  • If we are able to move forward today, when would you hope to have a campaign up and running by?

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Referrals

For many account executives, we may often feel that it’s “too soon” to ask a recently signed client to recommend or provide referral contacts but once a campaign is launched is often a time when an advertiser is most excited about their campaign, and the few months of seeing performance.

Take this opportunity to share that you’re looking to grow your business and ask if there’s anyone that might benefit from your skills as a consultant and partner. The worst they can say is no, or say I don’t know of anyone. It costs you nothing except the missed opportunity if you don’t ask.