Good Morning. Clay just rolled out an official AI writing policy across their company, and I’m all for it. One of the rules is… more time should be spent writing a document than consuming it. There’s not much worse than a coworker dropping a 29 page AI-generated doc in your lap that took them two sentences to create and 0 minutes to read. The founder of Figma also chimed in and said: if AI was used in the writing process, their policy is to put “written with AI” at the top. AI slop is officially getting an HR policy, and I love it. Now, let’s get into today’s Follow Up. (:

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When a new CMO joins a company, the marketing plan, budget, and vendors all come up for review.

The new CMO is under a microscope and needs to show results quickly. Just like a superstar athlete joining a new team… they need to start scoring goals to prove their worth.

Which usually means they’re going to shake things up.

And this creates the exact situation where most agencies lose customers.

In Ad Age’s recent report, agency search consultant Matt Ryan says marketing department turnover is the biggest source of agency churn.

But losing your champion doesn’t automatically mean losing the account. Let’s take twoxfour, an advertising agency, as an example, and its client Shedd Aquarium, a public aquarium in Chicago.

In 2024, a new marketing leader arrives at Shedd, and twoxfour has to compete to keep its business. According to agency president Jessica Romaniuk, her team wins by treating the pitch like a new opportunity.

That applies whether you’re an agency protecting a client from churning, or a sales rep with an unsigned contract.

Today we’re breaking down what to do when your champion leaves, and how to earn the new decision maker’s business.

By far, the most valuable thing you can do in sales is build a relationship with an insider.

And I’m not talking about someone who responds to your emails. I’m talking about someone who texts you the inside scoop. The gossip & drama that happens inside of companies.

You’re looking for someone who tells you, “The new CMO wants to cut agency spending, and she’s already talking to the agency from her last company.”

This lets you know what you’re dealing with so you can act before any big decisions are made.

The time to build that relationship is before you need it. And it doesn’t need to be directly with your champion. It could be your champion’s direct report or one of the end users of the thing you sell.

And to really make this work, you want them in a text message thread. Ask if they’re comfortable with it, then shoot them a text message ASAP.

Company gossip doesn’t happen the same way in Slack or email as it does over text.

(Preferably in a blue iMessage bubble. But if saving the account requires a green message, do what you have to.)

When you find out your champion is leaving, figure out who’s taking over and ask for an introduction as soon as you possibly can.

Ideally, get all three of you on a call. You want your champion to be the one to explain why they brought you in, what you’re working on, and why it matters to the company.

It’s like having a friend introduce you at a party. You can skip the awkward part where you have to try to explain who you are.

If this is a new deal you’re still trying to close, ask your champion to explain what still needs to happen to get it approved.

If they’re already a customer, have them walk through the results and what’s been accomplished so far.

And any chance you get, do the work for them. Give them a short summary, or an email template they can pass along. Because any time you ask them to do more work that benefits you (especially when they’re on the way out the door), it’s unlikely to get done.

When a new decision maker comes in, there’s a good chance you hear something like, “Give me a little time to get settled, and then we can reconnect.”

That’s fair. But the stuff they do while ‘getting settled’ can put your deal at risk.

It’s like moving into a new house. You still have a bunch of boxes to unpack, but you already know which ugly bathroom you want to remodel.

You want to meet them before they decide you’re the ugly bathroom.

If there’s enough business on the line, I think it’s worth getting on a plane. Ask for a short meeting at their office or offer to take them to lunch.

Give them a reason to say yes:

“I’m planning a trip to your city and would love to grab lunch with you (and your team). Are you free sometime next week?”

Or even better…“I’ll be in town next week. Could I stop by the office on Tuesday?”

Then spend the time getting to know them. What are they trying to change? Where do they need to show results? What made them join the team in the first place?

The sooner you start building that relationship, the sooner you can figure out how to help.

(P.S. - Get the meeting confirmed before you book the flight. Showing up at reception with a suitcase can get awkward.)

You can do all of this and still lose the business. A new leader may already have another vendor in mind before they even get the job.

Sometimes, that’s just how life works.

So when it comes down to it, don’t be afraid to ask directly:

“Are you still deciding who to work with? If so, what do you need to see from us to feel confident continuing with us?”

Use the answer to decide how much more time to invest. Update your forecast or flag the renewal risk to your team.

The new decision maker has a choice to make, and it’s your job to give them a reason to keep you around.

Check out The Follow Up Guy on LinkedIn.