How do you do it?

Agency new business is an odd thing.  The best new business simply seems to come from chatting to existing clients and people in your black book.  

"Oh yeah - Steve over at Lehmann Brothers was looking for an agency - give him a call.  Another glass of Sangiovese?  Don't mind if I do."

But how about the clients you'd kill to work with but don't know?  What do you do?

Should you call them?

I used to be a client, back in the miserable days before I ran my own agency.  I worked for a City investment and pensions company.  We got a LOT of calls from agencies.  An average day would see the phone ring at least four times.

"Hello, my name's Martha Moggins from Blue Dingo's Arse.  We're an agency that produces really great work for our clients and blah, blah blah blah..."

I never met one of them.  We had an agency - and a very good one too thanks to Kirsti and Peter who looked after us.  We weren't going to change agencies.  But the quality of calls wasn't great - lots of telling me stuff and not asking questions.  

So now the receiver is on the other ear, and I'm in charge of new biz for Freeman Christie, should I be calling you?

What do you think?  Useful to know what's out there in Agencyland or a pain in the bum?