Agency business development should start with two questions: How much do we want to earn next year? And from whom?

Too many agency leaders skip them. They head into the new year with a list of prospects and good intentions, but no number.

The leaders who answer both questions first build strategic business development plans their Biz Dev teams can put into action.

In an earlier post, I wrote about how an owner can become the agency’s bottleneck. This piece looks at the plan itself, and why building it is one of the most important leadership decisions you’ll make this year.

What Keeps Leaders From Setting the Number

The reasons are understandable.

Some leaders worry about committing to a number they might miss. Others say the market is too uncertain to plan. Many have grown on referrals for years, and trust that the next good client will find them.

And most are busy serving the clients they have. Planning for next year feels like something to get to after this week’s deadlines.

But each one leaves growth to chance, and puts the agency’s future in the hands of whoever happens to call.

Why Does the Number Come First?

A number turns hope into a target.

With a clear revenue goal, you can tell which opportunities move you toward it and which pull you off course. Every pitch, proposal, and conversation gets measured against the same standard.

The number should come from what your agency needs and wants to become: competitive compensation and benefits, and professional development for your best people, the investments you plan to make, and the profit you expect to earn.

Winning the volume and kind of business you want delivers what every agency owner wants: a well-compensated, engaged team, a profitable firm, and fulfilling work.

Plan First, Then Market

Many agencies miss their revenue goals for a reason that’s easy to overlook: they start marketing before they’ve written a business development plan.

A new website. A burst of social posts. A thought leadership push. Each can be valuable.

But without a number and a list of target clients, marketing becomes activity without direction. You can’t tell which efforts are working, because you haven’t defined what working means.

When the plan comes first, every marketing choice has a purpose: reaching the clients you’ve named, in service of the number you’ve set.

Some agency leaders know they need a plan but aren’t sure how to write one. That’s a common gap, and a solvable one. It’s why I created my Business Development Engagement.

And From Whom?

Next year’s revenue will come from two places: the clients you have and the clients you’ll win.

Start with your current clients. Which ones can grow, and how? Organic growth is often the fastest, most profitable path to your number.

Look at each account and ask three questions. Where have we delivered results that earn a larger scope? What needs does this client have that we aren’t serving yet? How strong are our relationships with the client’s senior decision-makers?

Then name your new clients. Which prospects fit your strengths, your culture, and your margins? A short list of the right prospects beats a long list of “any and all” prospects.

Describe your ideal client in specifics: industry, size, budget, the kind of work they need, and the kind of partnership they value. Then build your list against that description.

Include former clients and your best referral sources, too. Relationships that have gone quiet can be among your warmest leads.

The right clients value your best work and pay for it. They’re also where profitable growth lives, which is why I connect business development with agency profitability in my consulting work.

When you know how much you want to earn, and from whom, the plan nearly writes itself.

Why This Year Matters

The past few years have been tough for many agencies.

Today’s wave of agency mergers and acquisitions is also creating opportunity. When agencies combine, some of their clients take the moment to reassess their partners.

Mid-sized agencies are especially well positioned to benefit, provided they’ve decided which clients they want and are ready to pursue them.

Earlier this fall, I wrote about leading through consolidation. For agencies outside those deals, consolidation is also an opening. A plan helps you see it, and act on it first.

Why Agency Business Development Is a Leadership Decision

Agency business development is often treated as a sales function. At its core, it’s a leadership function.

Your team can carry important parts of the plan. The plan itself, and the commitment behind it, belong to you.

Leading an aggressive new business initiative is one of the most important things an agency leader can do in 2027, and a strategic business development plan is the first step.

Setting the number is a commitment. When you share it with your team, you’re putting your name on it.

Choosing the right clients takes courage, too. It means passing on opportunities that don’t fit, even when the revenue is tempting.

Bring your senior team into the process. Ask each account leader to propose a growth goal for their clients, with the reasoning behind it. People commit to numbers they helped set.

And a plan only works when people own it. Decide who leads growth on each current account, who pursues each prospect, and who keeps the plan moving.

Business development thrives when it’s shared across the agency. Your job is to set the direction, assign the roles, and hold everyone to them, starting with yourself.

Protect the Time

The busiest agencies often struggle most with business development. Client work fills every hour, and growth gets pushed to next week.

Make business development part of your senior leaders’ roles, with time set aside each week to do it. Model it yourself: block the time on your own calendar, and keep it.

Your team will take business development as seriously as you do.

Turning the Plan Into Action

Too many business development plans end up in a drawer. The plan that matters is the one you put to work, month after month.

That takes regular reviews, clear ownership, and the discipline to keep the number while adjusting the path.

This is the work of my Business Development Engagement. Agency leaders start with virtual training sessions, work through 12 Critical Questions, identify the right clients, and write their plan. Then we work together as they put it into action.

Agency leaders who’ve worked through it describe the results in their own words.

Ask Yourself

Before you finalize next year’s plan, take a few minutes with these questions:

• What’s our likely fee income by December 31, 2026?
• What’s our revenue goal for 2027? (What percentage over 2026 is both reasonable and ambitious, based on our assessment of the marketplace? And what’s our stretch goal above that?)
• How much will come from current clients, and how much from new ones?
• Which prospects fit us best, and why?
• Who on my team owns which part of the plan?
• How much time will each of us invest in business development every week?
• When will we review our progress, and who will hold us accountable?

The Best Time to Plan Is Now

November and December give you the window to answer these questions before January’s demands arrive.

Use the weeks before the holidays to set the number, name the clients, and assign the owners. Share the plan with your team before the year ends.

Then open January with a kickoff meeting that puts the plan front and center. Your team will start the year with momentum instead of waiting for direction.

Planning agency business development now means your team starts the year knowing the target, the clients, and their roles.

My perspective comes from both sides of the table: 25+ years in agency leadership and 20 years advising agencies on new business.

If you’d like help building your agency’s 2027 business development plan, I offer a complimentary consultation. You can schedule it here.

And if you’re not sure coaching is right for you, email me at ken@jacobscomm.com or send me a DM on LinkedIn. Sometimes it helps to just talk it through.