RSW US

Congratulations to Cory Esselman on 15 incredible years with RSW/US!

We’re grateful for the hard work and commitment you bring to both RSW and your clients every day. Thank you for everything you've done over the years, and here’s to many more ahead!

The most effective first meetings are the ones where the spotlight is squarely on the other person. The goal isn’t to close a deal in 30 minutes, it’s to build trust, uncover needs, and create a natural reason for a follow-up conversation.

Download the RSW/US Definitive Outline for a Productive First Prospect Meeting here: https://www.rswus.com/eBook/the-rsw-us-definitive-outline-for-a-productive-first-prospect-meeting/

In the final episode of our mini-series, 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, we cover the often-skipped step between writing your message and using it in a real conversation.

A strong prospecting script should sound natural—not rehearsed, and quickly communicate where your firm has a right to win.

Before your next outreach effort, ask yourself:

• Does the message sound like our team?
• Is the value clear right away?
• Has anyone tested it before it reaches a prospect?

We share several practical ways to pressure-test your script, including one simple approach that may surprise you.

Watch Episode 3 👇

How to Practice Your Sales Pitch With AI Before a Real Prospect Call Episode 3 wraps our series, Why You Need a Script for Prospecting, ...

For many agencies, referrals are the go-to source of new business.

But relying on referrals alone creates a major risk: 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹.

Here are 4 reasons agencies need to look beyond referrals for new business 👇

𝟭. 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁-𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁
Just because someone was referred doesn’t mean they have the right budget, scope, timeline, or strategic fit.

Without a clear qualification process, your team can easily spend valuable time pursuing work that isn’t profitable—or sustainable.

𝟮. 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲
Referrals tend to follow the same market cycles as your clients.

When their businesses slow down, introductions often slow down too.

That makes referrals difficult to forecast, and even harder to scale.

𝟯. 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺
Small and mid-sized agencies are increasingly competing with larger firms for opportunities that may not have been on their radar before.

The referral opportunities you once counted on may become more competitive, or disappear altogether.

𝟰. 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁
In our survey research, 86% of respondents said they are becoming more aggressive with inbound and outbound activity.

Whether every agency follows through is another question. 🙂

But the direction is clear: 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴.

The takeaway?

✅ Keep nurturing referrals.
✅ Continue delivering work worth recommending.
✅ Build a repeatable outbound and inbound engine alongside them.

Because referrals are an excellent channel. They just shouldn’t be your only channel.

How much of your agency’s new business currently comes from referrals?

Episode 2 of our new mini-series gets specific about the outreach foundation too many teams skip: writing the script before prospecting begins.

We cover the three channels every agency BD effort relies on most:

• Your prospect call opening
• Your voicemail
• Your email

And there’s a hard rule for how quickly you need to make your case (likely much faster than you think!).

We also address the habit that quietly weakens outreach: sending messages that feel like templates instead of something built for the person receiving them.

Watch Part 2 here:

Your Prospect Call Opening, Voicemail, and Email Every Agency Should Write First Episode 2 of our series, Why You Need a Script for Prospecting, get...

A great first prospect meeting can still go nowhere.

Especially when agency, marketing services, and PR firm principals end those meetings with the vague: “Let’s stay in touch.”

It sounds polite.
But it creates no momentum, and rarely leads to a next step.

Instead, make the ask for a second meeting easier on both sides.

Try this approach:

1. Propose a specific, low-pressure next step

Frame the follow-up around their priorities by suggesting:

• A second conversation with a key stakeholder
• A brief strategy audit
• A targeted capabilities review
• A working session around a current initiative

-and-

2. Use time-based language

Tie your follow-up to a real event or timeline they mentioned:

“Would it make sense to reconnect in two weeks, once you’ve wrapped the campaign you mentioned?”

The goal isn’t to pressure a prospect into another call. It’s to give a promising conversation a clear, useful path forward.

What’s your go-to language for turning a positive first meeting into a scheduled next step?

Most agencies don’t struggle with business development because they have a messaging problem.

They struggle because they start prospecting before they’ve worked out what they actually want to say.

So, before you begin your outreach, try writing out your call openings, voicemails, and emails in full.

Not to read word-for-word like a telemarketer, but to pressure-test what you plan to say.

This simple exercise can reveal when you’re:

• Taking too long to get to the point
• Talking about yourself instead of the prospect
• Missing a clear answer to “Why should I care?”

Without that work, it’s easy to sound like every other agency competing for attention in a prospect’s inbox.

In the first episode of our latest Business Development from the Ground Up mini-series, we break down why scripting is an essential starting point for more effective prospecting.

Watch it here:

Why You Need a Prospecting Script (And What I Really Mean By That) Kicking off Series 2 of Business Development from the Ground Up (Wh...

Congratulations to Julie on 9 years with RSW/US! Thank you for your hard work, dedication to your clients, and leadership of our philanthropy program. Here’s to continued success in the years ahead!

Today, we’re celebrating Brandon Buttrey's 13th anniversary with RSW/US!

Thank you, Brandon, for the hard work, dedication, and positive attitude you bring to work every day. We’re grateful to have you as part of our team. Here's to many more, great years together!

Apple, Google, and Microsoft all use AI-generated email summaries, and each platform handles them a little differently.

So how can agency teams check whether their message will still come through clearly?

In the final episode of our "Business Development from the Ground Up" mini-series on AI email summaries and prospecting, we cover:

• Whether dedicated testing tools exist
• What those tools typically cost
• Practical ways to test your emails without adding another expensive platform

A small check before you hit send could make a meaningful difference in how prospects receive your outreach.

▶️ Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/zi9w8Gb2fGU

How are you adapting your outreach for AI-generated inbox summaries?