The New New Business: Marcel Clarke on Building Trust and Transparency

Marcel Clarke is business development director, at global brand experience agency Jack Morton’s London office, where he is responsible for opening doors to new business partnership opportunities with leading brands. An industry expert, Marcel has over eight years of experience building longstanding relationships between global brand leaders and creative marketing agencies with capabilities ranging from brand consultancy to digital transformation. 

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?)

Marcel> I was working in recruitment at the time and was responsible for re-activating an account that had been dormant for several years. I researched how my predecessor had tried to re-engage the business and noticed that the approach style was aggressive and persistent which didn’t illicit the best responses from the client.

So, I decided to focus on re-establishing trust with the client before prioritising making a deal or pushing a sale through. It took three months of showing up and proving that we could provide value that went above and beyond the client’s expectations. As a result, we won our first piece of new business with that account. Obviously, it felt incredible to win, but I also learned so many other valuable lessons in patience, active listening and the art of building authentic connections.

LBB > What was the best piece of advice you got early on? 

Marcel> Selling isn’t rocket science. Accept that not everyone is open to being helped by you and that’s not a judgement on your ability. Keep moving forward and focus on finding prospective customers that are open to you helping them with their challenges. 

LBB > And the worst?

Marcel> Don’t take no for an answer! Only sharks survive in sales!

LBB > How has the business of ‘selling’ in the creative industry changed since you started?

Marcel> The biggest shift has been in expansion of the technology available to assist with leveraging data, insights, prospecting, and B2B communication strategies. There are lots of great AI-supported sales intelligence tools to help fast-track everything from crafting compelling and engaging email copy, defining your ideal client profiles, reaching, connecting, and understanding what buyers want, their buying triggers and where potential opportunities to build new partnerships exist. As the industry continues to evolve, I’m excited to see where it's heading!

LBB > Can anyone be taught to sell or do new business, or do you think it suits a certain kind of personality? 

Marcel> Yes, I believe anyone can be taught to sell and work in new business. Ultimately, selling is like any other skill. It can be developed and refined over time through training and experience, but I’ve also found that being likeable, trustworthy, and working on strengthening other skills like resilience, emotional intelligence, proactive listening, and adaptability can help to open doors more quickly.

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 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?)

Marcel> Every agency has the option to choose between participating or declining opportunities to pitch. The best way to improve the pitch process is by having transparency, clear alignment around expectations, mutual respect, and an opportunity for agencies to receive constructive feedback.

In terms of whether an agency should be paid to pitch, those types of terms should be discussed and agreed between all parties upfront, so that informed decisions can be made. In addition, if the pitch changes outside of the original scope, then it’s only fair for the agency to be compensated for their time and expertise. 

LBB > How do you go about tailoring your selling approach according to the kind of person or business you’re approaching?

Marcel> I focus on keeping my approach simple, sharing informative and engaging content that would help that person to see the benefits of working with our agency’s talent compared to our competitors. In addition to that, I always try to answer the question of what’s in it for them that would inspire or spark new conversation?

LBB > New business and sales can often mean hearing ‘no’ a lot and quite a bit of rejection - how do you keep motivated?

Marcel> Hearing rejection is never easy, but unfortunately it comes as part of the sales process. A trick I use to help me stay motivated is to remind myself not to take the rejection personally and having the mindset to see each "no" as an opportunity to learn something about what was missing from my approach, potentially bringing me closer to connecting with another prospective client that is ready to say "yes”.

LBB> In your view what’s the key to closing a deal?

Marcel> Transparency and trust.

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?)

Marcel> It’s important to have a good cultural understanding, as it not only helps to build trust between parties, but it goes a long way towards avoiding misunderstandings, and can help you to adapt your approach and resonate with people from different backgrounds. 

LBB > How is technology and new platforms (from platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot to video calls to social media) changing sales and new business?

Marcel> I think technology has had a significant impact on the landscape of sales and new business. AI for example, continues to amplify our ability to rapidly analyse data, make predictions about buyer behaviours and prospecting triggers, helping us better identify potential leads and prioritize where to direct our efforts quicker than ever before.

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? 

Marcel> With the way that the industry continues to evolve, disrupt, and change so rapidly, I think it’s incredibly important for sales and business developers to seek opportunities to continuously learn, refine and develop their skills. It is equally important for businesses to invest in developing and training their salespeople.

Sales techniques and methodologies can quickly become outdated, so to avoid falling behind the competition, my advice is to make sure that you are proactively studying your industry, exploring additional sales training avenues, networking, and seeking out mentorship opportunities with more senior or experienced people.

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?

Marcel> You are not at a disadvantage because you don’t have a sales background. If you are new to sales, be prepared to face rejection and avoid taking it personally. It’s important to be open to taking calculated risks, learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, put yourself out there and try to have fun with the process. Sales isn’t life and death, it’s more of a treasure hunt.