The New New Business: Keeping the Approach the Same with Aaron Hutchinson
Aaron Hutchinson is the global managing director at Across the Pond. He leads the teams in London, San Francisco, Singapore and Shanghai; taking care to ensure that the agency has happy people delivering brilliant work whilst never pitching. A mentor and a leader, he enjoys working with awesome people to create compelling work that adds value both for the audience and the brand.
Aaron is passionate about making the complex, human; having worked in advertising, content and TV for two decades. His keen interest in cutting-edge technologies means that he can lead creative narratives for clients and bring insight to the agency, supporting teams around the world. His work includes leading projects for global brands such as Google, YouTube, DeepMind, Xiaomi, Expedia, Audible and Rosewood Hotel Group.
When Aaron is not leading campaigns for some of the biggest names in technology, he likes to spend time in the garden in Lincolnshire and to tend to his chickens. He can often be seen looking to the sky through his telescope, searching for planets and stars, or peering through his binoculars watching planes land at a nearby RAF base. Aaron is also a self-confessed TikTok addict.
LBB> What was your first sale or new business win? (Was it a big or small job? How difficult or scary was it? What do you remember about how you felt? What lessons did you learn?)
Aaron> Very early on we managed to win two big accounts in one day. They were huge brands, before we had a real focus on technology and I remember it being so exciting at the time but also realising that there would be a lot of work ahead of us.
LBB> What was the best piece of advice you got early on?
Aaron> The pitching game is rigged. When I was told this and had a think about it, everything became so clear and obvious. Whether we won or lost new business, I could look back on it and see exactly why that happened and if we should have been pitching at all. This is part of why we no longer pitch for business.
LBB> And the worst?
Aaron> It wasn’t quite a piece of advice, but it was encouragement not to pitch for work that really wasn’t suitable. We spent time flying out to see brands and trying to get work that was not really our focus. It’s no wonder we didn’t get those accounts. It turned out to be better for us though as we could focus on our strengths and better relationships with clients rather than trying to fit something we were not made for.
LBB> How has the business of ‘selling’ in the creative industry changed since you started?
Aaron> I’m not so sure it has. We don’t pitch and there are so many good reasons for this. It’s such an unhealthy and unproductive thing to do and puts pressure on extremely talented people, sometimes only setting them up for failure, the way it has been for decades. Although at Across the Pond, we have changed our outlook on this, I know that so many other agencies haven’t, and some people still find pitching and doing all that work for free as a thrilling competition.
LBB> Can anyone be taught to sell or do new business or do you think it suits a certain kind of personality?
Aaron> I don’t think it’s to do with personality, it’s about how you get on with your clients. So much of our work comes out of the great connections we have with the brands and businesses we work with and the projects they are planning for. When you see things this way, you can understand why new business is everyone’s responsibility. How you work with others can really spur on the new work that comes your way.
LBB> What are your thoughts about the process of pitching that the industry largely runs on? (e.g. How can it be improved - or does it need to be done away with completely? Should businesses be paid to pitch? What are your thoughts about businesses completely refusing to engage in pitching? How can businesses perform well without ‘giving ideas away for free?)
Aaron> At Across the Pond, we don’t pitch. I would love to see more people doing this for the sake of their business and the mental health of the people who work there. Doing so much brilliant, creative work only to be rejected is no good for anyone; it’s stressful, difficult and puts you on a treadmill that can be hard to get off.
LBB> How do you go about tailoring your selling approach according to the kind of person or business you’re approaching?
Aaron> I don’t tailor things for different businesses when we are acquiring new work. Our approach is the same, no matter who the client is. We get to know the people, their stories and their objectives and we work toward making that happen. It doesn’t matter which sector or person that is, the best approach is always really getting to know them and what they need.
LBB> New business and sales can often mean hearing ‘no’ a lot and quite a bit of rejection - how do you keep motivated?
Aaron> You can learn a lot from rejection and also business wins. Hearing ‘no’ is not a bad thing if you can see why you might not be a natural fit for a client. New business should be about a human conversation where you can see the opportunities for working together or acknowledge when things are not going to work and perhaps continue that business relationship in another way. The reality, too, is that if you’re qualifying well at the early stages, you don’t tend to hear ‘no’ a lot. Typically, a ‘no’ comes from a situation when you’re not a good fit for one another, but you plough on regardless.
LBB> The advertising and marketing industry often blurs the line between personal and professional friendships and relationships… does this make selling easier or more difficult and delicate?
Aaron> This might hark back to the days when people used to go out with clients on a big night out and spend time outside of the working process with them, I don’t think things work that way so much anymore. It’s good to get to know the people you are working with but it shouldn’t tip over into a place where things get difficult or delicate when you are being professional.
LBB> In your view, what's the key to closing a deal?
Aaron> Closing a deal is about sharing an understanding and making a good match with a client to work together. It’s when respect runs both ways for skills and expertise and where your client can see you as different, competent and an expert at what you do which can help them reach for what they need.
LBB> How important is cultural understanding when it comes to selling internationally? (And if you have particular experience on this front, what advice do you have?)
Aaron> It’s vital. You can’t do business in the same way across the globe and it’s more respectful to acknowledge and understand the differences with clients in different places. We do this by leaning on the expertise of the team in our local offices around the world as well as investing in cultural intelligence training. Working internationally means having that knowledge and we’re lucky to have a great time in so many different places.
LBB> How is technology and new platforms (from platforms like Salesforce and Hubspot to video calls to social media) changing sales and new business?
Aaron> Technology has changed new business to some extent. We have all become more accustomed to video calls and remote meetings, but that hasn’t changed everything. There’s nothing quite like bringing the energy of our entire team to meet another client team in the same location. The energy and creativity that can happen in the same room when we are all working together really helps to strengthen those accounts and generate more work.
LBB> There’s a lot of training for a lot of parts of the industry, but what’s your thoughts about the training and skills development when it comes to selling and new business?
Aaron> I hope that people are able to train in different ways for new business because there’s more than just one way to do things. Pitching is something that is not good for a lot of people but it’s not the only way of doing things. There are coaches, courses and learning through experience that can change this and I hope that others in our industry are sharing this with their employees and opening up opportunities to find new work and sales.
LBB> What’s your advice for anyone who’s not necessarily come up as a salesperson who’s now expected to sell or win new business as part of their role?
Aaron> Sales maybe not what you think it is. It’s not about feeling like you’re trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t want, or tell them you can do something you can’t. It’s a conversation. It can be really fun talking through new possibilities to work together, to understand what their business needs are and show how you can - and sometimes cannot - help with that.
When you try to fake it, it’s a terrible job and it’s pretty clear why that would be. But when you have the right skills, can offer the right solutions and you’re all enthusiastic about working together, then it’s really fun.
