Results-driven business development for design, creative and digital agencies

Welcome to The Hand

We’re a specialist new business development and lead generation agency for the design and creative industry.

With us, you won’t find a cookie-cutter approach. We tailor our support to you and your business. We want you to feel that we’re part of your team; working alongside you to deliver great results.

Whether it’s strategic or tactical support you’re looking for, we’ve got you covered. As your strategic new business partner, we advise, action and deliver on all aspects of the business development process.

We love what we do.  We live it and breathe it.

Our expertise is what we’ve become known for.

Getting started

Our approach

From strategy through to implementation and training, we offer all levels of support. At the centre of this is your roadmap which we’ll work closely with you to create, refine and execute.

Our carefully considered, integrated approach includes creating a marketing and PR toolkit, proposal writing, pitching as part of your agency team and prospecting for new business.

Discover our New Business Development Services

Selection of agency clients

Our services

What we do

We partner with you, plugging into any size of creative business to become an integral, commercially focused part of your team.

We help design and creative agencies across all or any of the following areas:

Discover our Lead Generation Services

Our process

How we do it

We use an integrated approach, which involves telephone, email, face-to-face networking at events and social media resources, but we never ‘cold call’.

See how we can help you generate leads and new business

About The Hand

Who we are

The Hand are a team of expert consultants, each of whom have had in-house new business experience, and work hands-on with clients to implement strategies for winning business from new clients.

Natasha Ellard-Shoefield is Managing Director of The Hand and an accredited consultant in the field of business development on the DBA (Design Business Association) Experts’ Panel.

Meet the team

The Hand Talks

Latest posts

All posts

The Real Deal on Lead Generation for Creative Agencies: Why Qualification Matters

by The Hand

If you’re running a creative, marketing or digital agency in the UK, you already know how tough the competition is. The market can feel quite saturated, and standing out takes more than just a flashy website or a killer portfolio.

It takes a solid pipeline of opportunities and even more importantly, the right leads

But what does ‘the right lead’ even mean?

Let’s break down what lead generation should really be doing for your agency and why qualifying those leads is more important than ever.

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Why Creative Agencies Should Partner with a New Business Agency

by The Hand

In the fast-paced world of creative industries, staying ahead of the competition is essential. As a creative, digital or marketing agency, you already excel in delivering outstanding work for your clients, but growing your business requires far more than just creative flair. And it’s a process that requires you to invest time and resources on a regular and consistent basis.

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Testimonials

What our clients are saying

‘Working with Natasha and Alex at The Hand is a delight! They offer really tailored support and provide valuable expertise on how to approach our new business activity. Their knowledge and experience has been a huge help to us and they’ve become part of our team. With them, there’s no pushiness, no one-size fits all and no excuses. They’re all about delivering! Furthermore, they’re a joy to work with.’

— Client Services Director, Top 100 Creative Agency, Bermondsey, London

‘Working with the team at The Hand is refreshing and just how different The Hand’s approach is to other new business outfits has surprised us – the consultancy and activity that The Hand is providing and have seen some very positive results, and just 6 months into our relationship.’

— Director, Brand and Design Agency, Clerkenwell, London

‘The Hand are instrumental in our business development. Natasha’s sound strategic advice and experience over the past 3 years has shaped us a robust lead generation strategy that delivers results. Alex demonstrates a perfect pairing of tenacity with a friendly tone. She understands and reflects our company value and ethos when speaking with prospects, resulting in quality meetings. The business continues to grow.’

— MD, Brand Design Agency, Leicester