The Overnight Expert: Adapting to New Industries as an Agency Staffer 

Variety is the spice of agency life: the opportunity to work with multiple clients, often across multiple industries, is what makes an agency such a great place for career growth. But all that variety can also leave you feeling out of your depth, especially when you jump into a brand new side of the business world. 

If you haven’t already, chances are, one day in your agency journey, you’ll join the team for a client that you know nothing about. Maybe you’re not starting from zero, but you’re still well out of your comfort zone; you’ve got the jitters at best, and at worst, a sense of crushing impostor syndrome.

“How do you expect me to be an expert on this stuff?” you think. “I just got here.” 

Adapting to a new client sector doesn’t require getting a degree or hours of training. However, it certainly takes more than a Google search or ChatGPT inquiry. Approaching your day-to-day work experience as active learning, rather than simply checking off your to-do list, will get you in the “sponge” mindset that will help you become a true subject matter expert.

How do you do it? Having worked across all of our portfolios here at SourceCode, spanning more than ten industries and twenty clients, here are some tactics I’ve collected to help you become the “overnight expert” in a new space: 

Use the Client as Your Guide

As humans, we naturally resist change. However, to provide the best possible service for our clients, we have to open our minds and embrace the discomfort of newness. They’re trusting us to be their partner, and in turn, we’re trusting them to be ours. When you’re added to a client in an unfamiliar industry, instead of seeing it as a challenge to overcome, see it as an outstretched hand, ready to guide you through. In the immortal words of the cast of High School Musical, “we’re all in this together.” 

Start with the client’s mission. 

Ask yourself this: if every company is founded to solve a problem, what problem is my client solving? If it’s something niche and specific, zoom out. Why does this problem exist, and how does it affect my client’s customers? What’s the impact on the greater industry? The community? The world? These lines of inquiry will help guide you to a more thorough understanding of a given industry or niche and how it operates. 

If a client has case studies, those are also a great place to explore their mission and understand how customer challenges arise in specific contexts. Case studies show you concepts in action, pushing you closer to that “aha” moment that will make you feel like you know your stuff.  

This is also the moment to exercise your empathy – both for your client, and their audience. Even the driest topics matter because they impact somebody’s everyday life. Approach a new client this way, and you’ll tap into that human perspective that sets your team’s work above the rest. 

Read your client’s priority media. 

If you’ve never heard of something, look for it in the headlines. 

Unfamiliar concepts are best understood in context, so it’s important to read the publications in your client’s space closely and actively when learning a new industry. An AI tool or Wikipedia page can give you the TL;DR on a particular concept, but you won’t have those with you when you’re out to dinner with the client or giving a live presentation. As tech PR professionalsPR professional, we want to go beyond what something simply means and look at how it’s applied. The media is where you find that. 

Your client probably has a laundry list of publications they’d like to be featured in, but the white whales of the WSJ and NYT won’t tell you the full story. Top-tier has the big buzz; industry trades and smaller presses have the nuance. 

Wherever you read the news, do so with an eye for depth. Don’t just ask, “is this story relevant to my client?” but, “how can my client be a part of this story?” and going even deeper, “how can my client push this story to its next evolution?”

Expertise is a three-step process: exposure, understanding, application. And spending time with target media can drive you through all three. 

Go back to the source. 

Remember: this new client chose your agency because they trust that you “get” their business. Your team has plenty of resources on hand to prove it. 

• Go back to your original pitch deck and any research associated with it. This is your starting line. 
• Learn from your teammates’ experience. Even when you’re new to a space, chances are, one of your teammates has the right niche market expertise. Proactively ask them for help, but also pay close attention to the feedback they give you. 
• Don’t be afraid to phone a friend. Your connections at other agencies can be incredibly valuable when you’re stepping into something new. Even better if you know someone who works in your target industry and can get an insider perspective pro bono. 

Don’t Let the Big Words Bite

I’m going to hold your hand when I tell you this: jargon is okay*. 

*In certain contexts. Learning the nuances of a new area of business is one of them. 

Getting a basic grasp of industry jargon, even if you’re going to simplify that jargon in public-facing texts like a press release, is crucial to intelligent communication. Think of it less as understanding jargon and more like building your industry vocabulary. 

For example, if you’re working on a cloud infrastructure client, you need to know about inference and latency as a baseline, but a more technical byline might require you to detail the advantages of a containerized web server. Working with AI firms? I hope you know the difference between machine learning and computer vision – and no, not all AI is generative AI. Telecoms client? Tell me what HPUE stands for. 

You get the picture. 

Perhaps more important than growing your industry vocabulary is knowing when and how to use it. Understanding processes and concepts in action is what adds that critical layer of authenticity to your industry-specific storytelling, allowing you to pitch your client’s stories with authority. It also helps you to build goodwill with the client itself; when they see that you’re taking the time to deeply understand the nuances of their business, they trust their image is in good hands. 

Take a Cross-Industry Approach

The entire business world is interconnected, and not just online. The macro-level problems that impact one industry are likely to impact another, albeit in different ways. Even seemingly disparate sectors are veined together through business contracts and ligamented by supply chains. Understanding these connections can help you draw insightful conclusions – and that’s exactly what your client’s audience is looking for. 

In taking a holistic view, you’ll also feel more empowered to bring in your expertise from other clients. An outsider perspective can be a boon for a client in a niche, insular market; if they’ve got a case of industry tunnel-vision, your cross-industry experience can widen their scope. 

Sometimes, it pays to be the new kid on the block. 

Don’t Forget the Basics

Your primary skills as a communications professional – writing, media relations, strategic planning, client service – will serve you no matter what industry you’re working in. When you’re navigating complex industries, remember the value you bring to your team and adapt it to the new material. A good story is a good story, no matter what it’s about. 

And remember, learning anything takes time. Despite the title of this blog, there really is no such thing as an “overnight expert.” That said, if you use your resources wisely and keep an open mind, you’ll get the hang of a new space faster than you think.