Who it's for
This training series is designed for senior cross-functional team members throughout the agency who play an active role in new business pursuits.
See More >Why it matters
The agency new business landscape has changed dramatically and has no shortage of challenges – increasing commoditization, remote pitches, client in-housing, and budget limitations, to name just a few. In this new training series, learn new models and best practices you can immediately apply to capitalize on every new business opportunity.
How it works
This certification training program has two tracks to choose from: (Track One) Master the Pitch: The Four New Skills and (Track Two) Master Prospecting: Methodically Target & Convert Leads. Each track has 4 live remote sessions of 2 hours or less.
See More >Who it’s for
Track One (Master the Pitch) is for cross-functional team members who play an active role in pitching new business. Track Two (Master Prospecting) is designed for new business leaders and teams focused on generating new client leads.
Applicable to various roles
Depending on your agency’s structure, this may include new business, account management, project management, department leads, practice leads, etc.
Sending a group?
If you are sending a group, it is ideal to have those who work together on pitches (business development leads and those who work with them). When teams collaborate on the exercises, the impact on the pitch process is even greater. Groups of 2-4 people focused on one pitch prospect category are ideal. If sending more, choose more prospect categories to focus on.
How it works
This certification training program has two tracks to choose from: (Track One) Master the Pitch: The Four New Skills and (Track Two) Master Prospecting: Methodically Target & Convert Leads. Each track has 4 live remote sessions of 2 hours or less.
By participating in this training, your new business teams will learn how to:
- Better qualify the agency – and the prospect – to make more informed Go/No-Go decisions
- Uncover decision-maker intel and address the (real) objectives of a pitch
- Better differentiate the agency with a new, client-centric approach to capabilities presentations
- Build and convert a pipeline of high-value leads
- Leverage content marketing to pull prospects into the agency with a sense of urgency
- Create and deliver hard-hitting final pitch presentations
Interactive Breakout Exercises
To ensure attendees apply the training back to their own unique situations, participants will select one client prospect category to focus on. They will participate in exercises and apply the lessons back to this category. The training will conclude with new skills and plans to improve their ability to convert new business.
Sending a group?
If you are sending a group, it is ideal to have those who work together in new business pursuits (business development leads, core pitch teams, and cross-functional team members who work on pitches). When teams collaborate in the exercises, the impact on the new business process is even greater. Groups of 2-4 people focused on one prospect category are ideal. If sending more, choose more prospect categories to focus on.
More valuable new business teams
Ultimately, the goal of the training is to provide new methods, models, and tools to immediately improve the effectiveness and value of those who participate in new business pursuits for the agency.
Who it’s for
This training is for mid-level client-facing team members who manage accounts and projects.
Depending on your agency’s structure, this may include account management, client services, project management, department leads, practice leads, etc. For those in account management/client services, consider those who are Senior AE, up through Account Supervisor and Junior Account Director.
If you are sending a group, it is ideal to have those who work together on a client. The training is a series of sequential building blocks, with interactive breakout exercises that are applied back to an account in the agency. When teams work together on these exercises, the impact on that account is almost immediate.
Now two tracks of new business training
Master the Pitch: The Four New Skills
Master the Pitch
Scale an Unbeatable Pitch Process
Master the Pitch
Uncover & Address the (Real) Pitch Objectives
Master the Pitch
Position Your Capabilities to Break Through
Master the Pitch
Command the Room to Win
Master Prospecting: Methodically Target & Convert Leads
Mastering Prospecting
High-Value Targeting: Identify the Prospects You Can Most Easily Convert
Master Prospecting
Outreach Strategy: Accelerate Your Sales Cycle
Master Prospecting
Outreach Conversion: Generating First Meetings
Master Prospecting
First Meetings: Convert into First Projects
(pop up explains how to apply this new series)
Took Our Previous Training?
If you participated in the Account Mastery series in November 2022 or March 2023, you can contact our team for a custom experience which may include recorded sessions plus live sessions.
Past Mirren workshop attendees have included
Meet your instructors
Laura Matthews
Director, Agency Growth Strategy, Mirren
About 
Sharon Honjiyo
Director, Agency Growth Strategy, Mirren
About
Cristina Sarnelli
Associate Director, Agency Growth Strategy, Mirren
About
Laura is Director of Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren. She brings experience across a range of industries and agencies (digital, full service, PR) – giving her a well-rounded perspective in her training.
At Mirren, Laura trains agency teams on client retention, growth, strategy, and new business. In particular, she believes agencies need to lean in more with their clients. “Too often, agencies limit themselves to a vendor role where they’re seen as order takers. The most successful agencies make the effort to deeply understand their clients’ categories and bottom-line goals, and deliver work that is clearly positioned to impact those goals.”
Laura spent nearly six years with VMLY&R, where she led work for Bridgestone, Tennessee Tourism, and Intel, among other brands.
Originally from South Carolina, Laura moved to Seattle in 2019 after spending a decade in Nashville, TN.
Sharon is Director of Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren. She brings senior experience for the agency and client-side. As head of brand marketing at Holland America, she ran their agency rosters and competitive reviews. In her agency tenure, she ran accounts, strategy and new business pitches. All combined, this brings tremendous insight to her training.
At Mirren, she empowers agency teams to become more proactive and strategic business partners. In fact, she believes there are many untapped revenue opportunities for agencies. “As a client, I regularly experienced my agencies missing many of our strategic needs that would have resulted in significant additional work.”
Sharon led account management and strategy at a number of agencies, including DDB, HL2 and Hornall Anderson Design. Prior to joining Mirren, she ran the brand marketing team at Holland America, a premium cruise line within Carnival Corporation – the world’s largest leisure travel company.
Originally from San Francisco, Sharon currently lives in Seattle with her husband
Cristina is Associate Director, Agency Growth Strategy at Mirren, a firm that specializes in organic growth and new business training for agencies in digital, PR, advertising, media, experiential, and more. Each year, more than 700 agencies participate in Mirren’s annual conference, training programs, and webinars (www.mirren.com). Their team has trained CEOs and their senior management teams in every region around the world.
Cristina brings senior experience in B2B account management and strategy with a special focus in qualitative methodology. In addition to her agency background, she spent time consulting independently and in partnership with a management consulting firm on business growth strategies for brands in categories including luxury accommodations, SaaS, and industrial manufacturing. Her background in client leadership and qualitative analysis provides tremendous insight to her training.
At Mirren, she empowers agency teams by training on the importance of buyer journeys, true qualitative insight, irrefutable logic trails and their impact on agency growth. “I encourage agency teams to embrace the lost art of qualitative to uncover real target audience insights – some of the most valuable IP an agency can provide its clients. Ultimately, the goal is to understand and drive target behavior to make an impact to the client’s bottom line.”
Cristina spent the majority of her career running accounts agency-side in the B2B and B2B2C space for companies like Cox Automotive, Olam, FujiFilm Electronics, and Smithfield Foodservice. In her previous consulting role, she led research and delivered strategies to optimize business operations, R&D, and acquisition strategy for brands including Daxko, Private Suite (P/S), and Trane Technologies.
Originally from the Chicagoland area, Cristina moved to Seattle in 2022.
About Mirren
Mirren is a training firm that specializes in providing agency teams with the skills to capture a greater share of each client’s spend. Our team has experience client-side and at agencies that include Wieden + Kennedy, TBWA and VMLY&R.
We provide the new methods, models and tools to have agency teams more effectively lead clients, become indispensable partners, generate organic growth, and win more new business.
In addition to this training series, we provide Custom Training for agency teams and produce Mirren Live, the annual event focused on agency industry innovation and creativity.