This is a deck we share with all new hires.
It's about the front line of the service relationship.
Thought we'd share it out there and see what people think.
5. THISIS
OBVIOUSYouâd think most of it would go without saying.
That itâs standard practice not only in Velocity, but in every agency.
But it isnât.
6. Our lives are out of our hands. We have less fun.
Clients have less fun. And our work suffers.
WRONG
IFWEGETIT
7. BUT IF WE GET IT
Thereâs nothing we canât do. Literally nothing.
RIGHT
9. WEWINSOME
WELOSESOME
Itâs about persuasion, respect and compromise.
About knowing when to accept, when to question, when to fight⌠and how.
We bring ideas to our clients. They like some and donât like others.
The ones they like, they do. The ones they do, they change.
How we handle getting good ideas rejected or changed, is what this is all about.
10. 1ST
PRINCIPLES
There are no stupid clients
And letâs face it, marketing isnât
rocket science anyway.
A lot of our clients are not
experienced marketers
And may not be instinctive ones either.
Thatâs not their fault.
If a client makes the wrong decision,
thereâs only one cause:
Weâve failed to convince them of the
right option*.
*If we keep failing over and
over again, itâs probably the
wrong client for us.
11. OPPOSINGIMPERATIVES
This is a service business:
We make money by giving
clients what they want
(and getting them to want
the right things).
This is a consulting business:
Our authority is our product.
If weâre not respected as
experts, we become hacks
who deserve what we get.
13. *Itâs a human thing.
Even if they donât show it, clients often feel
uncomfortable criticising our work. Itâs stressful.
They donât want to appear unreasonable, picky, pedantic, ignorant or weak.
THEYWANTTOBELIKED*
For some clients, just being a client makes them feel insecure.
14. GOLDENOPPORTUNITIES
So when a client sticks their neck out and gives criticism,
itâs the perfect opportunity to:
Diffuse tension.
Surprise them with how open we are.
(and how passionate, when we fight our corner)
Help them relax so they can listen to us too.
Which will earn their gratitude and bank some
points that can be spent on future projects.
16. HOWTO
When theyâre right, admit it.
When theyâre wrong, point it out while showing youâre
not being defensive or taking things personally.
Have a sense of humour about it.
Respect their their ability to be open, listen and change their mind.
Donât assume theyâll be closed-minded.
Show that we know this is part of our job and we donât resent it.
Show we donât feel smarter than them.
17. GIVINGIN(SOMETIMES)
ISIMPORTANT
It shows:
Weâre open and professional.
We understand itâs their right to change things.
We respect their opinion and understand their agenda.
Weâre realists. We know that politics and egos can lead to unwanted outcomes.
We have perspective: knowing when and when not to push.
So we should actively look for places where giving in gracefully
is easy and doesnât hurt the project.
18. RESISTING(SOMETIMES)
ISJUSTASIMPORTANT
It shows that we:
Care about quality and effectiveness.
Care about their business not just our portfolio.
Made choices based on solid reasoning.
Evaluate options rationally (by holding them up against
goals and taking the target audienceâs point of view).
So actively looking for times to resist the wrong changes is important too.
it justifies our fees.
19. EVERYONELIKESTOBE
LIKEDANDRESPECTED.*
*Duh.
We all want colleagues to say behind our backs:
âSHEâSGREATTOWORKWITH.SMART,FAIR,OPEN&FRIENDLY.â
And the best way to encourage a client to be these things is to exhibit them ourselves.
If clients feel weâre saying this (and they can tell), theyâll love working with us.
If they feel the opposite, theyâll loathe it.
20. The best way to make a client do
this about us is to do it about them.
No one wants to
think weâre hanging
up the phone, calling
them a wanker, and
rolling our eyes -(
22. THINGSACLIENT
WHENWERESIST
ASUGGESTION:
They're lazy ⢠In a rush ⢠Embarrassed ⢠Being prima donnas â˘
Have their own agenda ⢠Are scared of their own creatives â˘
Aren't listening ⢠Don't value my opinion
THINKS
25. BOTTOMLINE
This is a service business.
We have to give the client what they want â
but itâs our job to get them to want the right things.
If we resist their input too much, theyâll think weâre arrogant
and theyâll take their work to an agency that will listen.
If we resist too little, they lose confidence in our
expertise and we lose control of the relationship.
PUSHINGBACKCONSTRUCTIVELYISESSENTIALTOOURSUCCESS.
26. SOMEUSEFULPHRASES
âOf course we can do that, but what aboutâŚâ
âIf we came up with a way to solve that issue without damaging XYZ,
would you be open to it?â
âI completely see where youâre coming from,
but it physically hurts me to change âsellâ to
âgenerate incremental revenue opportunitiesâ.â
âOkay, I lost this one but you canât say I didnât give it my best shot.â
âI understand what youâre up against. What if weâŚâ
27. CALLINGINREINFORCEMENTS
You donât have to manage the client relationship on your own.
If youâre losing a big one, bringing in reinforcements and escalating the
discussion can help. It can also blow up spectaculary, covering everyone in
the thick slime that is, after all, the essence of this zany marketing game.
28. If the relationship sours, it's usually our
fault and it makes everything harder.
If the relationship is open, trusting and postiive,
there's nothing we can't do together.
WEâREL CKYTO
HAVEOURCLIENTS
GOODLUCKOUTTHERE.
ANDTHEYâRELUCKYTOHAVEUS