My Week: Tom Ewing of The Future Factory
Tom Ewing, senior account manager at new business agency at The Future Factory, shares a recap of a recent working week…
Monday is largely spent laying out the plan-of-attack for the week with our account managers - reviewing our approaches, tightening-up target lists and and making sure everything is in place for the week ahead before they head out to their respective agencies. Action plans in place, I make a few calls of my own to arrange secondary meetings and chase-up briefs. The weather is kind to us and so an impromptu game of football tennis in the park takes care of the evening!
Tuesday starts with a briefing session in Soho with a new client. Two hours of finding out what they think they do best and what it is they want to do more of. Following the information overload it’s back to the office to deconstruct and make sense of it all, then down to Borough Market for lunch. Post-pie and mash, the afternoon is spent working on marketing plans for a couple of our agencies and working with my account managers to fine tune how we talk about their respective agency’s propositions. The subtlest tweaks can make a world of difference when you only have 20 seconds to impress.
Wednesday finds me in Southwark working in the offices of my own client. The morning is spent head down making plenty of phone calls and emails, chasing up those tricky-to-reach contacts and ensuring that we’re front of mind with those who we’ve spoken to previously. The afternoon is an opportunity to catch up with the agency, both to update on progress from our end and to get feedback on how the recent meetings, proposals and pitches have gone. Following this it’s time to do some digging into those companies I’m finding difficult to crack and craft some targeted approaches to pique their interest.
Thursday and I’m in Spitalfields working with one of our account managers at a new digital agency client. The early weeks of a new client relationship set the tone for the coming months and so we’re keen to get off to a good start. I spend most of my day looking for good contacts in some of the bigger target companies and identifying opportunities/angles we can take to strike up a conversation. By the time that 5:30pm comes around we’ve got the ball well and truly rolling with two meetings booked - not bad for a first day!
Friday kicks off with a three-hour training session held in our offices in London Bridge. For those agencies outside of London, or those who manage new business & lead generation themselves, it’s a great way to share some of our knowledge and provide people with the tools they need to succeed at business development. The remainder of the day is spent reviewing our most recent activity, sending out client updates and catching up with the team. Beers and Learning Hour at 4:30pm, followed by many more beers after 5:30pm.
