Welcome to episode 126. In this episode, I chat to Brian Jacobs (Founder, BJ&A) and Crispin Reed (Founder, Skyscraper Consulting) about what’s wrong with the advertising industry. And what specifically prompted the launch of their ‘Who Cares?’ initiative, aimed at tackling the pressing issues affecting the advertising industry today. We cover: · what's actually wrong with the industry itself · the need for greater creativity and transparency in advertising · how Brian developed the ‘Who Cares?’ idea · how a one-off event has turned into a well-supported movement · how industry stakeholders can get involved to collaborate on initiatives I do hope you’ll listen to this important discussion and visit https://www.advertisingwhocares.org to find out more and get involved. If you’re an agency owner and would like to discuss account retention and growth training and coaching options – or would like to reserve a spot for the next Account Accelerator (January 2025) - you can schedule a no obligation call with me to discuss your needs, via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 125. Have you ever considered contacting your old clients to see if they’d like to work with you again? If not this episode may change your mind. Dan Pfister is the master of running client winback campaigns and here’s what he shares with me: · The compelling reasons why WinBack campaigns could be the most successful and profitable thing you ever do to grow your business (the ROI is staggering) · A step by step guide to how to approach running a client winback campaign – and what to avoid · Results and examples of campaigns from many companies who have been successful Dan is very passionate about this topic and he had me gripped with this episode, I hope you’ll end up putting some serious thought into running a client win back campaign after listening to this compelling chat. If you haven’t already you can find his book “Million Dollar Winback” on Amazon now. You can also connect with Dan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmpfister http://winbacklabs.com/ If you want to receive weekly tips on agency account management, learn strategies for client growth, get notified for any trainings I’m running and stay in the loop about our upcoming podcast episodes, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 124. This will be particularly interesting for you if you want to know how much the head of client services role can impact the agency's business. Listen in if you don’t currently have a client services team and you're perhaps thinking about having one, or your client services function isn't performing as you'd like it to and you're exploring options for perhaps bringing in a head of department. Or maybe you are the client services director in your agency and are curious to understand how someone else in this role operates. Emily Brown and Matt Loughlin joined me today from digital marketing agency, Receptional. I met Emily when she was just a few months into joining the agency and I've been very lucky to have the opportunity of working with her in my Account Accelerator programme, and that means I've been working with her for almost a year. This conversation reflects on what she's achieved as the new head of client service. Here are the key themes that we cover during our chat: • why the agency decided in the first place to hire a head of client service • Emily's first 90 days in the role, and how she pinpointed and tackled the key priorities and established herself with the team • the impact this CSD role has had on the agency's operations team and clients just 16 months later • and the learnings from both Matt and Emily's perspective of establishing this new role in the agency that hopefully you can benefit from in your agency. They share lots of detailed tips and examples that I'm sure you're going to find useful. You can connect with Emily and Matt here: https://www.receptional.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-brown-5073993a/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattloughlin/ If you'd like to discuss training and coaching for your client-facing account management team, then you can book a no obligation call with me via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com. You’ll be able to see the different training options I have available, from self-study to long term coaching, and also sign up for my regular newsletter.

Welcome to episode 123. This episode will be particularly interesting for you if you're responsible for your agency's internal operations. You might be the operations director, head of project management, or even a client services director, but if you think your internal agency operations could be more efficient and streamlined, then this episode is for you. Harv Nagra is an agency ops consultant, a former in-house agency ops director, and Head of Brand Comms at agency work management platform Scoro. He's recently launched The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast. Here’s just a flavour of what Harv shared in our chat: • how to assess how developed your operations are using a five-stage business maturity model • what you should typically have in place at each of the five stages and what actions you need to take to move to the next stage. • and some of the key trends Harv is seeing for agencies when it comes to operations. Please do follow Harv on LinkedIn because he shares really good insights and tips about agency operations and project management. http://linkedin.com/in/harvnagra The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast: Podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3y2R8DN Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Lrg9f0 If you'd like to hear about my upcoming podcast episodes, account growth training sessions, tips about account management and news about the agency industry, you can sign up to receive my regular newsletter by going to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to episode 122. This episode will be particularly relevant for you if you're an ambitious agency owner looking to accelerate the growth of your agency. - Maybe you think you're not standing out enough from your competitors. - Perhaps you feel your positioning needs dialling in because maybe you've lost some pitches or you've had to drop your prices. - Or maybe you just want to be seen as more specialized and expert. Agency consultant and CEO of Co:definery, Robin Bonn, joins me to bust the myth that the agency market is oversupplied, and he explains how helps agencies create a future proofed, high margin agency business by creating their market of one. Robin explains exactly what a ‘market of one’ is, and how he's helped many agencies accelerate their growth with this approach. We also discussed some of the challenges agency owners are facing right now, and Robin offers some tips for how to remain positive and navigate the current climate. You can get in touch with Robin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinbonn/ https://www.codefinery.com/ Finally, if you are in an agency account management role and you'd like to be kept up to date with the next episodes that I'm going to be sharing on the podcast, and you also want tips about the account management role and any trainings that I'm doing in the future, then you can sign up for my newsletter via my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 121. This is part two of a two-part interview with Simon Rhind-Tutt and Carey Evans, who are Co-Founders of Relationship Audits. If you missed part one, I would really recommend you go back and have a listen (it’s episode 120). Simon and Carey just packed it full of insights and tips for agencies when it comes to strengthening their client relationships. This episode is no exception and we talk about: - what every client wants but rarely gets from an agency - what a brain trust is and why you might want one for your agency - and why leveraging your learnings from other client relationships is often a huge missed opportunity. If you'd like notifications about future guests coming on the podcast, or notes from the episodes that I have with guests, as well as tips on agency account management and potential trainings, then you can sign up for my weekly newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 120, which is the first of two episodes covering my in-depth chat with Carey Evans and Simon Rhind-Tutt, Co-Founders of Relationship Audits®. I met Simon and Carey many years ago when I was working as client services director for Publicis life Brands. We were struggling with a client relationship, it was a very important client but it wasn't going well. Whilst we knew some of the reasons why the relationship was faltering, we didn’t know the whole story, so we invited in Simon and Carey to evaluate our relationship. Essentially, they went into the client’s offices and interviewed all of key client stakeholders to find out what was going on and their perception of the agency. Not only did they uncover what was going well and what wasn't going well, they also uncovered growth opportunities for us as an agency to go back into the client and crystallize what they needed in the future and provide extra value. If we hadn't have done that and they hadn't have provided that action list, report and their recommendations, we wouldn't have retained that client for another two years, worth £700,000 to the agency per year. Immediately, the return on investment for employing the services of Relationship Audits changed the game for us. That’s why I am delighted that they've joined us back on the show for this two part interview, talking about what your clients don't tell you. Whilst you might be evaluating the strength of your relationships with your clients and asking them questions, what Relationship Audits do, and they've been doing it successfully for years, is listen for what's not being said. They have a very established question set and they're able to spot things that you will miss. If you would like to talk to either Carey or Simon, please visit their website, https://www.relationshipaudits.com, or send them an email at [email protected] Finally, if you are in an agency account management role and you'd like to be kept up to date with the next episodes that I'm going to be sharing on the podcast, and you also want tips about the account management role and any trainings that I'm doing in the future, then you can sign up for my newsletter via my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 119. Today's episode is for you if you're curious to understand how another agency works, particularly when it comes to how they manage their client relationships and how they sell their services. I’m joined by David Huckerby, the owner, and Natasha Jones, the Account Director of creative communications agency, Conteur. Conteur is an award-winning full service creative communications agency. They help organisations in the health and social care, housing and hospitality sectors to stand out and grow through market leading PR , video and digital services. David and Natasha share so much insight into how they run their business, including: - why they follow the principle of providing a personalized seven star service to their clients - how they realized some of their clients weren't aligned with their own board and what they learned from that - how that then informed how they worked with their clients moving forward - why they introduced service packages as a result of filling a client demand and how that impacted the time spent on proposals - and why moving from a yearly client strategy focus to a quarterly focus helped the team's proactivity. You can connect with David and Natasha via their LinkedIn profiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-huckerby-05094330/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashajones24/ If you'd like to receive my weekly email where I share insights from the podcast, chats, tips and strategies to enhance your account management role, alerts for any training webinars I'm running, as well as all the training courses I run for the account management community, please visit my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and sign up for my newsletter.

Welcome to episode 118. On the last episode, I interviewed the brilliant Tim Williams from Ignition Consulting group about pricing strategies and why agencies need to sell outputs and value and not hours, particularly given the rise of generative AI. If you haven't listened to that, I'd recommend you go back and listen to episode 117 because Tim shares so many different aspects of why we need to do this as agencies. Today's guest, founder of Lodestar Agency Consulting Brian Kessman, continues this theme and shares how to make that shift to a value led revenue model. In this chat, we talk about: - what it means to productize your agency's value - the benefits it can have on your agency's financial and operational performance - how the agency is set up to work in this model by department - and the skills you'll need in your account management role to be successful with this new way of working. Please check out Brian’s website because there's a detailed 15 minutes presentation called ‘Shift Your Agency's Model from Commoditized Services to High Value Solutions’, and it's well worth a watch if you're interested, particularly in diving deeper into value led revenue models. https://www.lodestaragencyconsulting.com If you're responsible for managing client relationships and for delivering the commercial value to your clients and growing your accounts, I'm going to be running a mini training webinar in the summer of 2024, so if you'd like to be notified about when these go live, you can do that by going to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and signing up to receive my weekly emails. I typically share tips and strategies for commercially minded account managers.

Welcome to episode 117. This episode is going to be very relevant for you if you're responsible for pricing your agency's services. I first saw Tim Williams, Founding Partner of Ignition Consulting Group, speak at an IPA conference in London in 2016. He was talking to agency owners about why they needed to ditch the billable hour if they wanted a profitable business. I've been following Tim's work in agency pricing and positioning ever since, and for me, he's been the consistent voice of sanity throughout the years. Here are just a few of the topics we cover in our chat: • why the time based billing system doesn't work for agencies. • how generative AI is only accelerating the need for agencies to rethink their pricing strategies. • and Tim shares key steps you can take right now to start the transition to premium pricing. Ignition helps agencies and other professional service firms develop focused business strategies and transformative revenue models. You can follow Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timwilliamsicg/ or via the website: https://www.ignitiongroup.com. If you’re listening to this during the summer of 2024, I'm going to be running some free 20 minutes mini training webinars for agency account management soon. If you’d like to be notified about these first, please sign up to my email newsletter via https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 116. This episode is for you if you are responsible for managing projects in an agency. This one could be quite controversial, but equally very enlightening because my guest is going to be potentially challenging your belief about the role of project management. Jack's Skeel’s book is called ‘UNMANAGED’ and Jack makes a very compelling case for the fact that teams work more effectively when managed less, not more. During this chat we cover: • why agencies should be asking themselves what they need to start unmanaging rather than managing the origin of project management, and why it doesn't work in an uncertain environment like an agency. • how less management can boost profitability and productivity • what we can learn from Japanese management culture • what Jack sees as the future of the way agencies operate • and the biggest mistake agencies make when scaling. This is such a good chat and I enjoyed being challenged to think about what we consider really the ‘sacred cow’ agency operating structure. I love Jack’s work and I'd urge you to get in touch because he's saving agencies tons and tons of money by completely shaking their operations up. If you are listening to this in Summer 2024, I'm going to be running some 20 minutes mini training sessions in the coming months. If you like the idea of jumping on a Zoom call to watch a 20 minute live training in account management, then please visit my website and sign up for my weekly email and you'll be one of the first to receive an invitation. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com About Jack Skeels: Jack Skeels, author of Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, is a two-time Inc. 500 award winning entrepreneur, consultant, and former management sciences researcher at the think-tank, RAND Corporation. A noted author, expert and speaker, he been published and featured over 35 times including: Ad Age, Entrepreneur.com, Business Horizons, Wall Street Journal, Training, and many other publications. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackaskeels/ https://jackskeels.medium.com https://business.facebook.com/AgencyAgile/ https://twitter.com/AgencyAgile

Welcome to episode 115. If you're in agency new business or account management and responsible for contract renewals and account expansion, you're in for a huge treat because Tim Riesterer, author of ‘The Expansion Sale’ (Four Must-Win Conversations to Keep and Grow Your Customers), joins me. Tim is a powerhouse and working with huge enterprises in this area, but he also has a background working in agencies. We discussed data backed insight into: • the real reason prospects buy and how to change your approach to new business • why how you sell to prospects is not the way you should sell to existing clients • why overcoming the client's status quo bias is the key to unlocking client growth • why asking your client what problems they have just doesn't work • and so much more. I highly recommend following Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-riesterer or via the Corporate Visions website: http://www.corporatevisions.com/ and buying the book, ‘The Expansion Sale’: https://win.corporatevisions.com/The-Expansion-Sale.html We talk about Tim's research and what overcoming a client's status quo bias means for agency account managers in my training. If you’d like to discuss account management training and all the options that we offer, then please go to my website and book a call. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com Or alternatively, you can send me a direct message on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to Episode 114. If you're an agency owner who wants to stand out in a competitive market, then today's guest has written an entire book about it. Gareth Healey, author of "STAND OUT OR DIE" joins me to share: - what he learned from scaling and exiting his business - his seven step framework for standing out in a crowded marketplace - and his advice for other agency owners who want to productize their services and Stay competitive in the future. You can connect with Gareth Healey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethhealey/ And find his book here: http://mybook.to/STANDOUT if you're struggling with new business right now, and perhaps finding that your pipeline is drying up or taking longer to convert, maybe it's time to turn your attention to how you can add more value to your existing clients' business and grow your accounts. If you want to know the quickest and easiest ways that are working right now for other agencies, check out the details of my Account Accelerator programme. It's a year long coaching and training programme for those responsible for account growth in the agency who are managing those client relationships on a day to day basis. You can find all the details here: https://www.accountmanagementskills. com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 113. This will be particularly inspirational for you if you are currently a small agency owner with aspirations for huge growth. Jared Lopiccolo, CEO & Co-Founder of Noble Studios, built his agency from a single laptop to a multi million dollar agency. He shares some insight into what it took to achieve that growth and also his advice for other agency owners who may want to do the same thing. Jarrod also shares: • the pivotal moments that were the growth accelerator points in his business • how you need to change and adapt as a leader • how to build a strong culture of very engaged employees • some of the trends he's seeing in the agency landscape • how he thinks agencies need to adapt to what's coming. He shares so many more tips and insights into running the business. You can find Jarrod on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jarrodlopiccolo and via the Noble Studios website: https://noblestudios.com/ Many agency owners come to me to talk about account management training, but the three big outcomes that they really want from the training are to answer the following three questions: • how can I have more predictable client retention and revenue from existing clients? • how can I hardwire these commercial skills into the business and ensure I have a repeatable process that everyone can follow in the agency so that if that person leaves, everybody else knows what to do when it comes to account retention and growth? • How can I foster a more commercial mindset which will give me a competitive advantage in the marketplace? If any of those three outcomes resonate with you, please check out my Account Accelerator programme, which is on my website at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator. It is a one year coaching and training programme and it's designed for those who are working in an agency managing the client relationship, and responsible ultimately for the growth of that account.

Welcome to episode 112. I’m joined by Shannyn Lee, Managing Director of Win Without Pitching ®, which is widely recognised by the creative industry as one of the best quality sales training programs because it's specifically tailored to agencies. This episode will be particularly valuable for you if your job at the agency is winning new business and you'd like to know how to do that without having to go through a costly pitch process. During our chat, Shannyn shares: - the Win Without Pitching ® principles - what it takes to circumnavigate a client's pitch process - the common sales challenges faced by agencies today - her advice for agency owners who want to stand out in the market, and lots more. Please visit the Win Without Pitching ® website (https://www.winwithoutpitching.com) to find out more about everything the company does, find which workshops are coming up. and to buy Blair Enns’ book, ‘The Win Without Pitching Manifesto’, which is practically the industry bible. You can connect with Shannyn Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannyn-lee-2a32846/ If you're listening to this episode in April 2024 we are opening enrolments for our May Account Accelerator™ training for those in the agency who are responsible for existing client growth. If your job is to manage client relationships and grow your accounts, check out the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 111. This episode will be particularly relevant for you if you're heading up the agency or you're in charge of an agency team. Alison Coward is the founder of Bracket, a consultancy that partners with ambitious, forward-thinking companies to help them build high-performing and collaborative team cultures. She is a culture strategist, workshop facilitator, coach, trainer, keynote speaker and author of “A Pocket Guide to Effective Workshops” and “Workshop Culture: a guide to building teams that thrive”. Alison shares some data backed insights, some brilliant tips and actionable strategies for high performing teams, including: - why agency teams typically end up not working well together and how to address the issues - why creating a workshop culture is a solution to better collaboration and teamwork - how to make all the meetings you have more efficient and effective - her five pillar framework for implementing a workshop culture in your agency Connect with Alison: https://linkedin.com/in/alisoncoward https://www.bracketcreative.co.uk https://www.workshopculture.co.uk https://amzn.eu/d/h4VDgST Many agency owners ask me to help their client facing team with account management. Some don't have dedicated account managers, but they still want predictable client retention and growth, a repeatable, client centric client management process as well as ultimately a competitive advantage. According to Gartner, 80% of your future profits are going to come from 20% of your existing clients. Currently, many of my programme participants are just three months in and already getting very impressive account growth results, and this is down to them being coachable and also taking action on what we're covering, with me supporting them with the implementation. So if you're in charge of a client facing team, or maybe someone in your team is responsible for account growth and could potentially benefit from upskilling and having a strategy, then check out the details of my one year Account Accelerator training and coaching programme. You can find all the details at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 110. This episode is for you if you're an agency owner either interested in buying agencies to grow, or selling your agency at some point. It's also enlightening if you work in an agency and you want to understand the process of mergers and acquisitions. Jonathan Baker, Practice Lead in M&A at Punctuation joins me and shares a lot of tips and insights about the buying and selling process, including: - the current state of M&A and why right now might be a really good time to sell - the impact of AI on the changing agency landscape and his advice for content marketing agencies - why cultural alignment is key to a successful transaction - the criteria buyers typically use to assess an agency they might want to purchase - how concerned sellers should be about the terms of the transaction - how far you get through the transaction before bringing in a lawyer - how and when to tell your staff about the sale - why you should ask about buyer funding if you're being bought, and so much more. Jonathan has created a special webpage just for this podcast's listeners at https://www.punctuation.com/creative and through this link you can also chat to him about anything you've heard on this episode. You can also connect with on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//in/jonathandavidbaker Many agency owners come to me for account management skills training and to help their account managers develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And ultimately, what they are looking for are three things. They want more predictable client retention and growth, which is less expensive than pitching for new business. They want to hardwire account growth into the agency's internal processes so that account growth becomes repeatable. And they're also looking for ways to future proof their agency's business and gain a competitive advantage by offering the best client value and experience. If any of this sounds of interest, we are opening enrolments later this month for my Account Accelerator programme. It's a 12 month coaching and training programme and you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 109. My guest is Michael Farmer, a management consultant who has been looking at the agency business model for over 30 years. He's identified three burning issues for creative agencies. 1. Work is increasing in volume and yet agencies fees are declining. But because agencies aren't measuring scopes of work, they don't often realize the extent to which this is happening. 2. Agencies aren't helping clients achieve their business outcomes. Clients are paying them less and typically fire them every three years and generally treat them as order takers. 3. AI is now putting fuel on this fire and is threatening to reduce the amount of creative adaptation work that agencies do. It’s not all doom and gloom. I found this an enlightening conversation and I particularly enjoyed listening to the history of how it was before agencies priced their services by the hour. Michael talks about the problems, but he also offers solutions. I suggest you read his latest book ‘Madison Avenue Makeover’, which maps out the transformation of Huge’s business model step by step. http://linkedin.com/in/michaelfarmer If you are in an account management role or you're in charge of an agency account management team and you want to raise the value of this position, then please connect with me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant or check out my Account Accelerator programme by visiting my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to episode 108. Are you struggling to manage a remote agency team? If so, you're going to get a lot of value from my conversation with Gustavo Razzetti, CEO of Fearless Culture and author of ‘Remote, Not Distant’. He shared some very thought-provoking insights for agency leaders and agency teams, including • how remote working is only amplifying the positive and the negative aspects of your agency culture that were already present • how to fix the issues • how to make your remote brainstorming meetings more effective • why agencies need to strike a balance between being overly protective and having respectful friction • and how agencies celebrate individualism I'd highly recommend that you follow Gustavo on LinkedIn, go to his website where you can download some of his free resources, as well as investing in his book, ‘Remote, Not Distant’. Book Remote Not Distant: https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Not-Distant-Company-Workplace-ebook/dp/B09VXX4FN3 Blog: https://gustavorazzetti.substack.com Agency Website: https://www.fearlessculture.design Personal Website: https://gustavorazzetti.com/

Welcome to episode 107. If you’ve ever wondered if you’re pricing your services in the right way, this one is for you. Alfie Wenegieme, Managing Partner at Cactus, joins me and he shares: 1. Why agencies don’t lose pitches on price alone 2. How agencies price to ensure a healthy profit margin 3. Typical mistakes agencies make when pricing 4. And some useful tips for account managers and project managers when scoping projects If you’re listening to this episode in February 2024, I’m opening enrolments again for my Account Accelerator programme that begins on March 5th. It’s a 12 month training and coaching programme that’s specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management which means: • Having an effective account management and account growth process - that is understood and followed consistently by all your account managers • Having an end-to-end client growth framework (from onboarding to delivery) - so everyone knows what to do when, and you have all the templates and resources to help you implement • Having a Proactive Client Retention Strategy - so you increase the lifetime value of your ideal clients (and don’t have to keep feeding your sales pipeline) If you’d like to have a quick call with me to see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team, you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 106. If you’d like to know how one agency has been using AI since 2011 to predict the future for their clients, this chat will be interesting for you. It will also be insightful if you’re curious how the agency works with their global CPG and FMCG brands. ‌Nik Pearmine, Chief Strategy Officer at Black Swan Data, and I cover a range of topics including: - his view on what it takes to be successful in account management - what he thinks is in store for the future - and whether we should be worried about AI replacing our jobs. You can get in contact with Nik via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-pearmine-138bb612/ If you’re listening to this at the beginning of 2024 and are based in the US, I wanted to let you know I’ll be running a value-packed seminar with David C Baker and Jack Skeels on 12th and 13th March in Atlanta. ‌The event is all about the account management and project management roles. I’ll be talking about the essentials of account management, how to grow an account and how account managers work with project managers. ‌David is extremely well known in the agency industry as he’s an agency advisor, the author of “The Business of Expertise” and “Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors” as well as co-hosting the 2Bobs podcast with Blair Enns. ‌You can find all the details and book your tickets at David’s website: https://www.punctuation.com

Welcome to episode 105, I have invited two of my most popular podcast guests back for a second time, sales trainer legends; Marcus Cauchi and Benjamin Dennehey. ‌Both have been sales trainers for years and have worked with many agencies and tech companies. They shared some golden nuggets to help you with selling your agency’s services. ‌I had to throw away the list of questions I’d prepared and let the conversation flow naturally because I wanted to capture as much of their collective sales wisdom and tips as possible. I hope you’ll enjoy the longer length of this episode and ultimately come away with some practical things you can implement in your sales process. ‌‌· An understanding of the importance of having the ability to ask superb questions during the sales conversation with a prospect. · In our chat, Marcus and Benjamin role play a conversation and hopefully you can take the principles away and model some of the language they’re using in your next sales conversation with a prospect. You can reach Marcus Cauchi on LinkedIn, via [email protected], visit his website: https://www.laughs-last.com and The Inquisitor podcast. You can reach Benjamin at https://www.uksmosthatedsalestrainer.com/ If you’d like to chat to me about selling skills for agency account managers to help you with your your existing client accounts then you can go to my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and find out more about how I help build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management through my training programmes.‌

Welcome to episode 104. In this episode, I talk all things agency project management with Joanne Reid, Managing Partner for delivery at Cactus. We cover: - the challenges agencies face with project management - how Joanne assesses how well an agency's project management is working - how project management differs from account management and why she recommends agencies to have both roles - the target level of annual gross profit an agency should reach before investing in both roles - her recommendations for project management tools and how to evaluate whether you have the right one for you - what skills to look for when hiring a project manager - and Jo's thoughts on future trends she's seeing in project management. Make sure you follow her on LinkedIn because she shares some really useful tips for project managers and also agency owners when it comes agency service delivery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-reid-6220744b/ If you're an agency owner or you're heading up the agency's account management team and have realised your existing clients just aren't growing, it may be time to provide the right support for your account management team to do it. I'm currently enrolling for my Account Accelerator programme that starts on 11th January 2024. It's a twelve month training and coaching programme for account managers who are responsible for account retention and growth. It's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset and you'll come away with a proven account management and growth process, an end to end client growth framework, and a proactive client retention strategy for the agency. We already have some really self motivated senior account managers, directors and client services directors joining the programme who are often also responsible for leading a team in the agency. You can find the details of the Account Accelerator programme on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 103. This episode will be particularly relevant to agency owners who want to become less hands-on in their agency and just step away from the day to day operations.  I'm chatting to Karl Sakas, an agency growth consultant in the US and author of several books, the latest of which is called Work Less and Earn More a Practical Guide for Agency Owners to help them escape the daily grind of agency ownership. Karl has spent years consulting with agency owners and leaders and, I think because he originally had an operations background, he seems to have a wonderful way of explaining useful concepts and ideas using models and frameworks which are really easy to follow.  Karl shares some practical tips, his views on agency account management and why separating the role from project management makes sense. You can reach Karl, and make use of lots of his great downloadable resources at https://sakasandcompany.com/free-resources-for-agencies/ Book link: http://worklessearnmorebook.com/ If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to the final episode in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. In this episode, I share the key things you need to do to get your account managers adding value from day one and reduce churn. And this comes back to many of the things we've discussed already in this podcast series. I speak to so many agency owners who feel frustrated by high staff turnover.  Ultimately, reducing churn and retaining your best talent comes down to one thing - investing in your account managers, and particularly in helping them develop the entrepreneurial skills we've covered in this podcast series. If you haven't had the chance to listen to the previous four episodes, do go back and have a listen. Do let me know what you found particularly useful, along with what you'd like to know more about. You can drop me a line at [email protected].  If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 4 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. Why do so many account managers miss out on new account growth opportunities in client meetings? Often it's because they haven't asked the right questions. Or maybe they've asked some of the right questions but didn't have the confidence to probe deeper in their questioning. In this short episode, I share why investing the time to help your account managers ask better questions could make a big difference to your bottom line, particularly when it comes to increasing client lifetime value. If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. So if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could help your account managers, then email me at [email protected] to find out more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 3 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. Agency owners often tell me they wish their account managers were more confident in client meetings, including being confident enough to suggest new ideas for new projects. But, as with everything else, you can't expect your account managers to just know how to run an effective client meeting. In this episode, I share seven things that you'll want to make decisions about in order to approach each client meeting in the right way. If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. So if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could help your account managers, then email me at [email protected] to find out more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 2 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. In this episode we're looking at how to raise the value of account managers by taking them from an 'order-taker' to a trusted advisor. You can't just expect clients to treat your account managers as trusted advisors, because trust has to be earned. In this episode, I cover: - creating a culture where clients trust account managers from the off - creating the right conditions for the relationship to thrive - having the right internal processes in place to support your managers with account growth In bonus episode 3, I'll be covering how your account managers can run effective client meetings. Everything I'm sharing in this podcast series is covered in depth in my Account Accelerator programme and ultimately it's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management. You can read more about the programme here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator Or if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could potentially help your account managers, please email me [email protected]. Let's have a chat and see if this might be suitable for you or members of your team.

Welcome to the first in a series of five bonus podcast episodes. I've created this podcast mini series to show you how you can develop an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers, so they can: - help increase the lifetime value of clients - generate more referrals - help you maintain a healthy sales pipeline In this first short episode, I'll be tacking the 'elephant in the room'. Why do you feel your account managers are not spotting those growth opportunities? And over the next four episodes, I'll then be looking at the key qualities for entrepreneurially-minded account managers. By the way, everything I'll share in this podcast series is covered in my Account Accelerator programme and ultimately it's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management. You can read more about the programme here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator Or if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could potentially help your account managers, please email me [email protected]. Let's have a chat and see if this might be suitable for you or members of your team.

Welcome to episode 97. My first ever podcast was with Kate Whittaker, head of corporate communications at DUAL Group, so working on the client side. During that episode she was explaining the exceptional agency who worked with her, particularly about their excellent client service, but also how they really understand her and her business. So for this episode, I invited the leadership team of that agency, Free Partners, to talk to me about how they work and think. You'll hear from Managing Partner, Lorraine Jeckells, Brand Director, Greg Phitidis, and Creative Director, Guy Cornet.  We chatted about: - their agency's specialist positioning, focusing just in the insurance market and why that's beneficial to their business, to their team and to their clients. - their agency values and how they bring them to life through their ways of working. - their internal processes and how the three departments (account management/strategy/creative) work together in a client centric way. They also go deep into the importance of the creative brief, why they have a tactical and a strategic briefing process, and how they grow their own talent from graduate level so that they are moulded into the Free Partners ways of working. And finally, how they delight their clients by being proactive and bringing fresh thinking and initiatives without waiting passively for briefs. If you’re listening to this at the end of 2023 and you want to build a more entrepreneurial mindset in your account management role or your team, I'm enrolling right now for my twelve month training and mentoring program called the Account Accelerator. I created the Account Accelerator because agency owners were telling me they knew their existing client accounts could grow further but they needed their account managers to do three key things: 1. Act as trusted advisors rather than order takers, so they understood their clients business objectives and felt confident to have conversations about how the agency could help. 2. Spot upsell and cross sell opportunities and follow them effectively so they could increase retention and generate new business opportunities with existing clients. 3. Ask insightful questions to uncover client challenges and feel confident presenting new ideas and asking for referrals and testimonials so they could help a strong sales pipeline of new leads and capture proof of happy clients. So if all of this sounds interesting, then please visit my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, where you can book a call, have a chat with me and see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team.

Welcome to Episode 96. My guest is David Meikle, the author of ‘Tuning Up’, a book about improving performance and reducing stress in advertising and marketing. This chat will be particularly interesting for you if you're finding the pressure and stress of working in an agency unmanageable, or you're responsible for creating positive agency environment in which your team can thrive. We discuss: - why David describes the relationship between the agency, the client and the client's procurement department as the triangle of doom. - David’s signature relationship diagnostic tool, The Meikle Matrix, that essentially helps you pinpoint the heart of the problem with any relationship - how this diagnostic tool can help you in practical ways in your agency. I highly recommend you reading this book for me. You can visit David’s website at https://www.tuningup.co.uk for more information about the book and also to road test a prototype of The Meikle Matrix for yourself. If you’re listening to this at the end of 2023 and you want to build a more entrepreneurial mindset in your account management role or your team, I'm enrolling right now for my twelve month training and mentoring program called the Account Accelerator. I created the Account Accelerator because agency owners were telling me they knew their existing client accounts could grow further but they needed their account managers to do three key things: 1. Act as trusted advisors rather than order takers, so they understood their clients business objectives and felt confident to have conversations about how the agency could help. 2. Spot upsell and cross sell opportunities and follow them effectively so they could increase retention and generate new business opportunities with existing clients. 3. Ask insightful questions to uncover client challenges and feel confident presenting new ideas and asking for referrals and testimonials so they could help a strong sales pipeline of new leads and capture proof of happy clients. I've had 30 years experience in account management and, having trained account growth since 2016, I know not all account managers have the skills, the experience or the mindset to deliver at this level, and many agencies don't have the right internal processes in place to support their account managers with account growth. But, I believe with the right strategies, systems, processes and the support, your account managers can become more entrepreneurially minded, which could have a big impact on your agency's bottom line. So if all of this sounds interesting, then please visit my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, where you can book a call, have a chat with me and see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team.

Welcome to Episode 95. This episode is particularly relevant for you if you’re responsible for agency new business. I'm joined by Benjamin Dennehy, UK's Most Hated Sales Trainer, and I hope by the end of listening to our chat it might just change your thinking about how you currently qualify prospects and sell your agency’s services, , particularly if you’ve never received any professional sales training. Benjamin invites us to challenge our beliefs around pitching and giving away your ideas for free which is so typically entrenched in the marketing services industry. He also shares some great examples of how to approach things differently. NB: If you don’t like swearing this isn’t the episode for you. Please go and follow Benjamin on LinkedIn, his content is not only useful and practical it’s very different to the usual stuff you see about sales. http://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamindennehy/ www.salesmatrixcourses.com www.uksmosthatedsalestrainer.com www.youtube.com/c/UKsMostHatedSalesTrainer If you’re listening to this at the end of 2023, I’m opening enrolment soon for my one year Account Accelerator training and coaching programme that starts on 11th January 2024. It is designed to give those responsible for account growth in the agency the entrepreneurial skills and mindset to support the growth of your client accounts and your agency. If you're in account management at any level or you have someone in your team who this might be suitable for, please send me an email to [email protected] or drop me a DM on LinkedIn and I’ll let you have all the details when they’re available so you can decide if it’s a good fit. Places are limited for the January cohort. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

This episode is for agency leaders who are supporting their account manager to grow the existing client business. I’m going to share tips for ensuring the agency leadership team are providing the right level of support to their account management team in three key areas; 1. Providing the commercial context 2. Internal processes 3. Relationship risk management If you are an account manager, or you have an account manager or account director or client services director in your team, who you want to provide with the mindset and the skillset to grow the existing business, then we will be opening applications soon for the Account Accelerator programme, a year long programme we're kicking off in January 2024. We'll have an initial nine week period where we give you all the training, all the strategies, a toolbox of different ways that you can grow your business, and then you will also receive the support from me to implement. You'll also join a peer group on Slack with other account managers, account directors, group account directors, client services directors who are all doing the same thing. If you're interested, please contact me on LinkedIn or send me an email at [email protected] or visit the Account Accelerator programme page on my website. We'll be updating the website very soon with a full page of all the learning outcomes that you can expect to achieve.

Welcome to episode 93. If you’re working in creative agency account management you know how essential it is to have a positive relationship with your creative director built on trust. I asked Creative Director, Joey Tackett, to join me and discuss what’s most important to him about working with account managers so we can see account management through the lens of the creative team. Joey shares: 1. The key skills he believes AMs need to be respected by their creative team 2. Where the relationship can break down and why 3. How he diffuses tension between the AM and creative team 4. Some useful tips for making your client presentations more impactful I hope you enjoy the insights from my chat with Joey and pick up some tips to help you in your account management role. If you want to develop your account management skills, be seen less as an order taker and more like a consultant by your clients, then check out the details of my 9 week Account Accelerator and 1 week Account Booster programmes on my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to episode 92. This episode is for you if you’re curious to know how an SEO strategy agency is using AI tools to reduce the amount of repetitive, tedious tasks and free up the team to work on more of the strategic thinking for their clients. Dale Bertrand, Founder and President of Fire&Spark shares with me: • How AI tools have reduced his team’s workload and improved efficiencies • A step by step breakdown of his internal automated workflow • Why creating predictive models might end up being your agency’s secret sauce • What Dale now looks for when hiring new team members I think you’re going to enjoy this chat and hopefully come away with some inspiration to look more closely at your internal processes to see where you can speed them up or eliminate them altogether. I’m now sharing examples of relevant AI tools that account managers can use for those who come on my Account Accelerator training programme. The training is designed to help those in agency client service at every level to have a more systematic and predictable approach to client growth. The client-centric learning outcomes include being more consultative with clients, adding more value proactively and having sales conversations without feeling salesy. If you or a member of your team is interested to find out more, all the details about the 9 week Account Accelerator programme as well as my shorter 1 week Account Booster programme are on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 91. This episode is for you if you're interested in how the AI landscape is changing for agencies and what you need to know from a legal perspective about your use of AI. I chatted with Sharon Toerek, Founder and Owner of Legal + Creative| Toerek Law.  The topics that we covered include: - the ownership of the outputs - potential protection of your inputs - designing policies and contracts, including clauses that will cover your freelancers and relationships with contractors, and not to mention your strategic partnerships with other agencies. - future developments and what's foreseen to happen, as well as the current US legal environment. So lots and lots of different topics that we're going to cover today. We will include all of her details in the show notes on my website here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/podcast We also ran an AI for Account Managers webinar recently together with Roy Murphy and the recording has been asked for several times. If you don't want to miss out on any future mini trainings we're doing in this area, then please sign up for my newsletter via https://www. accountmanagementskills.com and we'll make sure that you get notified of future podcast episodes and any mini trainings.

Welcome to episode 90, which is for you if you’d like to know what a non-billable CSD does in an agency. Luke Bowler from Therefore Interactive joined me and he shares: · How he went from studying to be a designer to moving to the account management role · Why his CSD role is non-billable and how he decides where best to spend his time · How he interacts with the project management team who are running the day to day projects · How he cleverly keeps abreast of his client’s industry news despite the fact they’re spread across multiple industries · The project management tools his agency is using as well as how they’re incorporating AI If you’re listening to this episode before 20th July 2023 I’m running a free webinar on AI for account managers. Roy Murphy from Synthetic is going to provide an update on the current AI landscape, how brands & agencies are using AI, ethical considerations and challenges and we’ll be sharing some specific use cases for account managers. You can sign up to join live and also receive a recording. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Pxcr6NIuSZ-rs84h7Lap3A If you don’t want to miss out on future free trainings, you can sign up to my newsletter by going to https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 89. This episode is for you if you're curious to understand what a senior account director does in a brand strategy agency. I chat to Andy Kaye, senior account director at Mr B & Friends and we discuss: - the importance of being proactive with clients and staying informed about industry trends - share tips on staying up to date with your clients business - discuss how often you should be looking at your forecast - why and how to build strong client relationships that result in clients coming back to you - and how to transform your internal briefing process to make it more experiential - and lots more... You're going to take away some great tips from this episode that you can go back to your agency and use. And if you're in an agency account management role and you're keen to be seen by your clients as more of an advisor than a reactive order taker, then check out the details of my account management training courses. We are kicking off both the one week training and the nine week training in mid July 2023 and you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 88. My guest is Rob Da Costa, an agency growth consultant from Da Costa Coaching. We discuss a myriad of topics, including: - the process for hiring the right account manager at your agency - examples of how to set client expectations and boundaries - why having a written scope of work is key to successful project delivery - and Rob's thoughts in general on the agency landscape and the future of agencies. During our chat, one theme keeps emerging, which is ensuring you have the right systems and processes in place in your agency. You’ll therefore understand why he wrote ‘The Self Running Agency’, which free to download on his website. https://dacostacoaching.co.uk/

Welcome to episode 87. In this episode, I chat to Mike Lander, CEO of Piscari, a former procurement director who now assists sales teams in negotiating with procurement departments. Mike and I discuss: - the common mistakes agencies make when negotiating with procurement - what procurement looks for when selecting an agency - and why they are interested in your financials. We also dive into a five-step framework to help you negotiate more effectively and shed light on some questionable tactics employed by less experienced procurement professionals. During this conversation, you'll gain valuable insights into the world of procurement negotiations. Be sure to follow Mike on LinkedIn and grab a free copy of his guide from his website. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikelander/ https://piscari.com/negotiation-guide/

Welcome to episode 86, where I'm joined by Konrad Sanders, CEO of The Creative Copywriter agency, to discuss the impact of generative AI on copywriting. In this episode, we covered: - How Konrad's team is adopting AI tools and the most useful tools they've found. - The limitations of AI-written copy and what clients are saying about AI. - Advice on managing the process of change within your team and integrating AI into your workflows. https://www.linkedin.com/in/konradsanders/ If you're interested in exploring AI tools to speed up your workflow or want to keep up to date with how other account managers are using AI, sign up for my newsletter on my website at https://accountmanagementskills.com. Additionally, if you're considering account management training to add more value and grow your accounts, check out the details of my Account Accelerator programme here:https://accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator/

Welcome to episode 85. This episode is for you if you're interested in understanding how a project management team and an account management team work together in an internal communications agency. Sara and Lindsay are heads of department at US-based Brilliant Ink. They joined me to talk through their years of experience running this model. This episode could be interesting for you, if you're an account manager doing both project management and account management and you're curious to see how an agency separates them. It could be that you're a head of department and thinking about setting up this model to work for your agency and you want to know the nitty-gritty, because Lindsay and Sara really share all the details. They share: why they did this in the first place how it was working before how it's working now who manages the client relationship and what does each role do If you're interested in finding out about account management training, I've just updated my website with all my courses and prices. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com I'm also launching a new training course, 'Managing Difficult Client Conversations'. If you'd like to get onto the waitlist to be notified as soon as we go live, please use this link to register your interest: https://accountmanagementskills.activehosted.com/f/5

Welcome to Episode 84. If you're interested in the fast-changing world of generative AI, and how clients and agencies are using it, then you will love this conversation. Roy Murphy is the founder of Synthetic, an agency specialising in emerging technologies. Roy shares with me: - the main pain points that generative AI is solving for clients, and how he's currently advising his clients. - what you need to know right now as an agency account manager about the AI industry - how he thinks the AI landscape will evolve in the future - and why agencies should be looking to partner with AI experts to help position themselves one step ahead of their clients. There are not many people in the agency world who have such a deep understanding of emerging tech, so I was very lucky to grab his time. Please do get in touch with him if you're keen to discuss any aspect of what we covered. If you'd like to talk to me about agency account management training, I've just updated my website to include three of the main courses that I run to help you retain and grow your existing client relationships. I'm also launching shortly a ‘managing difficult client conversations’ training. If you're an account manager and you'd like to be notified when this goes live, please sign up for my weekly newsletter, also via the website. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 83. On this episode, we're talking about the split between the agency Account Manager and the agency Project Manager role, with Kate Vines and Kio Aghoghogbe from Hallam. This is going to be particularly interesting for you if you're working in an agency with a hybrid account management role, you're doing both sides of the role currently, you might also be an agency owner who's looking at splitting the roles out and not really sure exactly how each function is going to work together. Kate and Kio from Hallam are brilliant at breaking down what they do. We talk about: - how the roles and the skill sets are different - how they work together on projects and retainers - how they manage the client relationship - what friction points can occur and how they overcome them - their advice for agencies thinking of moving to an AM/PM model. As Kio says, the pure account management role is very much about understanding the client's business and market, looking proactively at how the agency can bring more value and having those client improvement conversations. And if that's something that you'd like to improve your skills in, you can go to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and book a quick call with me to see if training might be the right fit for you are a member of your team.

Welcome to Episode 82. Emerging technologies like AI are taking the world by storm at the moment with the likes of Microsoft's Chat GPT, for example, and today's guest, Soumya Mohan, is the Co-founder of Poised, an AI-driven app that I've been using for a couple of months now. I believe it's pretty game changing for account managers to help them communicate on a much more deeper level with their clients. I invited Soumya to talk to me about it and share the features and benefits so you can decide for yourself. When using video conferencing tools like Teams, Zoom and Google Hangouts, it really is a very discreet and helpful way to improve your communication skills, and it will enable you to connect with your clients on a much deeper level. If you're in an agency account manager or director role, and you'd like to enhance your client growth skills, check out my Account Accelerator training programme. It's specifically designed to help you in your agency role and will give you a more systematic approach to client retention and growth. You can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills./training. You can also schedule a short call with me if you'd like to chat about whether this is a good fit for you.

Welcome to Episode 81. This episode is for you if you're looking for inspiration on how to enhance your clients' experience and lead them into the future. Katherine Strachan is the founder of CopyHouse, an award winning B2B content marketing agency for fast growing FinTech and Tech brands. In 2020, Kathryn was a freelance copywriter and just three years later, in February 2023, she has an agency with a team of 25 people. Her client base includes some of the biggest names in Tech and FinTech. She shares with me: - how she built the agency so fast - what she thinks it takes if you want to do the same - what's happening right now in the tech space and how she's supporting her tech clients - why she's building a client advocacy programme - how she's leading her clients into the future through education, and lots, lots more.

Welcome to Episode 80. My guest is Mark Sainthill, an agency M&A expert. If you're an agency owner, you're thinking about selling either now or at some point in the future, Mark talked about the main things you need to consider if you want to sell and why market conditions and timing are really key. He also talked about what's most attractive to a potential buyer, and the actual process of selling. We discussed the future, and why agencies need to keep evolving their services to keep ahead of changing data protection rules, and helping clients explore different advertising channels. If you want to know what your agency could be worth, or if now could be a good time to sell, contact Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-sainthill/ or perhaps get in touch with one of the team at Cactus: https://www.cact.us If you have an account manager in your team, or perhaps you are an account manager and you're looking to upskill, my next agency Account Accelerator (TM) training programme starts on March 28th 2023. You can read more here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training

Welcome to Episode 79. We're talking about personal branding, what it is, what it's not, and why my guest thinks many people are approaching it in the wrong way. Who better to talk about this topic than the founder of personal branding agency Great Influence, Ash Jones. Ash is the person who started working with Steven Bartlett on his personal brand when he founded his social media agency, Social Chain. Steven has gone on to become one of the most influential voices in entrepreneurship. If this makes you think about your own personal brand, whether you're an agency owner, or agency account manager, and if you are an agency account manager and you've never received any formal training in account management, you might like to read more about my Account Accelerator training on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training.

Welcome to Episode 78. Today's episode is for you if you're an agency owner, busy running an agency, but also facing challenge or adversity in your private life. Rebecca McIntyre-Smith is director of digital agency Primate, and founder of the Lemur Foundation. She has a remarkably touching story of tragedy, adversity and resilience. She also shares her practical tips for other agency owners. If you'd like to be a guest on Rebecca's own podcast to tell your story, then you can contact her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccamcintyresmith/ https://www.lemurfoundation.org/about And if you're listening to this at the beginning of 2023, and you want this year to be the year that you not only retain your agency accounts, but you grow your accounts, you can also connect with me on LinkedIn and let's talk about training for either you in your account management role, or a member of your team. You can also visit my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training

Welcome to Episode 77. On this episode, I chat to Dan Archer, a marketing expert for agencies. This episode is packed full of practical tips to help you with your own agency's marketing. Dan shares with me: - the biggest challenges facing agencies when it comes to marketing their services - practical and actionable advice for how to approach it - what the most successful agencies right now are doing to market themselves - and why you don't necessarily have to be the agency personality on LinkedIn. If you're not already a member of the free Agencynomics community, then go to https://agencynomics.com. See all the benefits of joining, it's absolutely free and for the value that you receive, you will not be disappointed. Growing your existing accounts is one of the most overlooked sources of new revenue. If your account managers are proactively looking for ways to help your clients reach their goals, you will grow your revenue too. So if you have one or more account managers in your team and you want to make sure that they have the skills to retain and grow their accounts, then make sure you're setting them up for success by investing in formal training. You'll find more details about my training programmes on my website https://www.account management skills.com/training. You can also book a quick call with me to talk about your specific needs.

Welcome to Episode 76. This is part two of a two part episode about raising your account management game. If you haven't listened to part one, I'd recommend you go back and give it a listen, it's episode 74. This two part series is relevant for you if you're in a more senior account manager role, and you want to either be promoted to account director, and you need to know what you need to do to get there, and you don't understand what tasks you need to do, how you need to be behaving differently to get that promotion. You might be sitting there frustrated that you aren't being recognised by your agency. So you want to raise your profile, or you're not really sure what you can do to be more effective in your account management role. I hope you enjoy this episode. If you'd like to raise your account management game, increase your confidence with your clients, add more value to your clients and be seen more as that trusted advisor that an reactive order taker, check out the details of my Account Accelerator programme. From January 2023, we not only have a nine week programme, where I work with you to help you not only with the core training principles, but also to implement what you've learned, we also have a taster version, which is a one week format. You work with me for 3 x 90 minute sessions over one week and you also get access to my online programme. Once you've been through that programme, you can join me in my Account Academy where you can connect with other people, and you have ongoing support with me. If any of this sounds interesting for either you or a member of your team, then go over to my website www.accountmanagementskills.com/training.

Welcome to Episode 75 with my guest Beth Sharma, Client Services Director at Hallam.  This episode is for you if you're interested in any of the following three areas: You'd like to know what the Client Services Director does in an award-winning digital marketing agency. You'd like some tips on how to get more client recommendations. What it means for the client services team if you work for a B Corp agency. After listening, check out Hallam's impressive profile on The Drum Recommends: https://www.recommendedagencies.com/hallam/ Given the current unstable economic climate, client retention for agencies is a real top priority right now. If you'd like some training for you or a member of your client-facing team in how to manage your client relationships, so you'll be seen more as a proficient proactive advisor, rather than a reactive audit taker, check out the details of my Account Accelerator programme (www.accountmanagementskills.com/training). You can book a quick call with me to see if it's the right fit.

Welcome to Episode 74, I get to speak to a lot of account managers who work in creative agencies. And I get a lot of questions about how they can progress their career, how they can be better at the account management role, and some of the key things that are most important when it comes to being more efficient and more effective in the role. And I sometimes get people who are frustrated that they're not progressing fast enough, that they really want to get promoted. Perhaps they're at senior account manager level, and they want to go to an account director. So this episode is for you, if you're in more of a senior account management role position in an agency, and you're looking to step up to raise your game. Listen out for part two. If you'd like help raising your account management game, then take a look at my Account Accelerator programme, where you work with me for nine weeks. I help you with the tools, strategies, and all the support you need to implement a repeatable and systematic approach to account growth for your agency. For more details, please go to my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training

Welcome to Episode 73. Are you asking your client for referrals to get more business, or does the very thought of it make you feel uncomfortable or awkward? If it does, you're definitely not alone. And you're also in for a treat because my guest, Stacey Brown Randall, will be providing guidance on how to get referrals without asking. Stacey has been helping agencies and service-based businesses for over 10 years, through her business, Building a Referable Business™, as the Award-Winning Author of Generating Business Referrals…Without Asking, and as Host of the Roadmap to Grow Your Business podcast. In this chat, she provides lots of tips, lots of reframing, and lots of different ways that you can approach the process of referrals. We all know it's cheaper and easier to get referrals rather than chasing new business, so these are some really special tips that Stacey shares. If you'd like to chat to me about account management training for you or your team, then head over to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and book a no-obligation call with me.

Welcome to Episode 72. This chat is packed full of tips for how to be successful in the agency account management role as you transition through the levels, to become a Client Services team leader. Vicky Janaway joins me from The Gate agency and she shares with me: what her role entails as client relationship lead what it takes to be an excellent account manager and account team lead some tips for making the transition from account manager to account director why she follows the philosophy of Radical Candour when giving feedback to her team and she also shares some great book recommendations for those who are keen to develop their own leadership skills. Finally, I’m really excited to let you know that my Account Accelerator training programme is now a year long. So not only do you get nine weeks of training and coaching with me, but you'll also get to connect with your peers who have also been through the training. And you'll continue to receive ongoing support and training from me throughout the year. The next programme starts on 18th October 2022 and you can see all the details on my website at https://www.acccountmanagementskills.com/training. You can book in a no-obligation 20 minute call with me, to see if the training is the right fit for you or your team.

Welcome to Episode 71. I invited Ryan Lisk, Founder of Hybrid Legal, to talk about why it's important to cover yourself legally when growing an agency. We chatted about: some of the risks agencies take by not having the right contracts in place the different legal areas agencies need to pay attention to at every stage of their growth and he also shared examples of how easily you can leave your agency business exposed when you don't cover all of the most relevant legal areas. If you have any questions or doubts that you might not have all of your legal bases covered in your agency, then please do contact Ryan via LinkedIn or his website. And as we've been talking about risk, if you want to reduce your client relationship risk, and would like to talk to me about account management training, then you can find out more on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 70. Have you ever experienced feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, or even burnout in your agency job?  We all know that working in an agency can be fun and rewarding. But it's also really fast paced. Many account managers are juggling lots of different client relationships, multiple projects, and reacting to the inevitable unexpected fires that also need to be put out. And, let's be honest, some days, weeks, or even months can be constantly busy and feel pretty relentless. Account managers need a high level of personal resilience, and also a certain degree of resourcefulness, and being able to keep your cool when dealing with problems. I recently had some training myself to help me with my own resilience, called Quality of Mind and it was unlike any other training I'd experienced before, because it was talking about how the mind actually works. It hasn't only helped me with my resilience, it's also impacted very positively in all sorts of areas of my life. # The foundations of this training that I did were based on what's known as non-duality, the direct path. And since the training three months ago, I've been pretty riveted by this topic and I've managed to read four books and I’ve watched a couple of documentaries on YouTube. I felt like I was discovering a big secret with this training, but I've been surprised to see that it was actually just this world that I knew nothing about, and that these principles that I learned, I have already been adopted by 1000s of individuals, business leaders and organisations. I've been so impacted about what I've learned that I wanted Piers Thurston to come on and share these principles of this Quality of Mind training with you. If my chat with Piers piques your interest and you're curious to go a bit deeper, or maybe you want to ask questions to see if it might help you or your agency team, then please join us for the free Quality of Mind for Agencies mini training at 1pm on Wednesday 14th of September 2022. Follow this link to register: www.bit.ly/qualityofmind

Welcome to episode 69, with agency profitability expert, Marcel Petitpas in which we talk about the agency account manager's role in making sure projects are delivered profitably in a creative agency. https://ca.linkedin.com/in/marcelpetitpas He shared: - the most common reasons agencies are unprofitable - some examples of where agencies can tighten up - what he's seeing the most profitable agencies doing differently - the importance of the account managers role in agency profitability - and what he thinks of value based pricing. There are lots of wonderful, useful nuggets of wisdom in this conversation and I found this discussion with him so valuable. Once you’ve listened to the podcast, don't forget to go over and see the resources that he's provided. He talks about his toolkit and also the agency pricing quadrant. Find the transcript at: https://accountmanagementskills.com/how-to-make-your-agency-more-profitable-with-marcel-petitpas/ A reminder that my next Account Accelerator training programme starts on 15th September and helps anyone in a creative agency account management position, and who is responsible for the agency's forecast, to grow their existing accounts. If you'd like to learn more about the programme, go to my Training page: www.accountmanagementskills.com/training. You can book a 20 minute call with me and we can see if it might be a good fit for you or someone else in your team. At the end of the podcast recording or transcript, you’ll find out what other participants have said about going on the Accelerator programme.

Welcome to Episode 68. This is a shorter, solo episode in which I talk about growing your existing accounts. There's been a lot of talk about the coming recession. If so, how do we prepare for it? Mark Ritson has written about this in Marketing Week, and The Drum have been talking about how agencies can prepare for it. For agencies, it will be even more important than ever to look after their current clients. Not only look after them but also seek ways of growing them as well. So, I've to share with you four reminders, and some questions you could ask yourself, about how you can grow existing business, and why it helps you in your account management role. If this episode resonates with you, and you would like to go further into the other ways that you can grow your business, work with me for nine weeks so that we can work together to help you grow your accounts, and talk about all other aspects of growing your existing accounts, then my next Account Accelerator training programme starts on 15th of September. If this sounds like something that you're interested in, or maybe you think it's suitable for one of your team members, then please book a call with me, you can go to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and book a short call with me. And let's have a discussion and see if it's the right fit for you. Similarly, you can contact me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant.

Welcome to episode 67.  You're in for a treat as I chatted to a very experienced marketer, Gareth Turner, who's been an agency client for much of his career. He shares his own experience of being on the client side. He has also carried out a study of the best and worst client-agency relationships, and how to improve them, and he's published the results in a white paper. During our chat, we talked through the findings of this report. Whether you're in marketing on the client side or managing the relationship on the agency side, you're going to benefit from the insights he shares. If you're working in agency account management, and you'd like to get some formal training in how to offer the highest level of value to your clients, so you not only retain your client relationships, but grow your accounts, then visit my website at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training, and check out my Account Accelerator programme. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to Episode 66. We’re talking about diversity and inclusion in creative agencies with DE&I expert, Tutu Popoola, Lead HR Consultant and Managing Director at Sleek HR. She shares so many tips and advice and insight into how agency leaders are navigating their way through the topic in their agencies. If you're an agency leader, she shares: · the areas of your recruitment systems and processes that you need to pay attention to · how you can inadvertently exclude a team members when it comes to agency social events · the importance of consulting with your team, particularly before you talk about these topics on social media · how to help your team talk about mental health issues by setting the example · and lots more. I would encourage you to get in touch with Tutu if this is a topic where you think some external counsel might be helpful. There's been a lot of talk about the changing financial climate that's coming and talk of recession. So, it's going to be even more important to make sure we're looking after those existing client relationships. If you'd like to talk to me about client retention and growth training for your account management team, or maybe for yourself, then please do get in touch. You can go to my website www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and find out more about my training programme Account Accelerator, or you can contact me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant) and let's have a chat about whether it's right for you.

Welcome to Episode 65. This episode will appeal to two types of people. 1) If you're already working in agency account management, but you're super ambitious, and you just want to see where your account management skills can take you in your career, or 2) you're an agency owner, and you want to scale your business Today's guest is Danny Turnbull. Danny helps independent agencies grow their business, but he started his career in account management. He moved through the ranks of account management to various agency leadership roles, and has ended up consulting with agency business owners. Dan is talks to us about his career path and what helped him on his career path, and some revelations about what accelerated his career. But he also shares: - some of the challenges agencies are facing right now - his view on whether working from home works for agencies - and also why he encourages agencies to consider a pod structure business model. If you're an agency owner, and you haven't joined the free agency owner community, Agencynomics, or read the book, then go over to agencynomics.com, and you can find out a lot more about that. And if you'd like to chat to me about agency account management training, please go over to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com where you can find details of my next Account Accelerator training programme, starting in September.

Welcome to episode 64. Nicky Parker, founder of Bang Consulting, helps companies make sure their marketing is fit for purpose so she's very familiar with the realities of what our marketing clients do on a day to day basis and the challenges they face. In this podcast, Nicky shares: - Why agencies shouldn't be putting technical people in charge of a client relationship - How account managers can get more credibility and deepen the relationship with their client - Why account managers shouldn't be chasing invoice payments - Why you need to keep the client informed about team changes And lots, lots more. Nicky really provides some valuable golden nuggets having worked with many companies on their marketing strategy and operations over the years. I'm now taking bookings for my September training programme for those in creative agency account management. So if you want to learn how to retain and grow your client relationships, position yourself more as an adviser than order taker, you can visit my Training page at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and book a 20-minute call with me to see if this might be a good fit for you.

Welcome to Episode 63. A few months ago, I was invited to chat to Kap Chatfield from Rveal media about my podcast. During that interview, he grilled me not only about why I have the podcast, but he also asked me to share some tips for how to retain and grow client business. I thought it might be valuable to share the interview with you, if you haven't listened to it already, because we talked about: - the number one problem agencies have with account growth - ideas for how to address account growth problems - what holds agencies back from growing accounts - why quarterly strategy sessions are useful tips for understanding your client's business - how to be more valuable to your clients as an account manager - and how to be seen more like an advisor than an order taker.

Welcome to Episode 62. Usually, I have podcast guests but thought I'd do a quick episode to share with you some best practice tips if you're in the account management role and you're looking to do a bit of relationship risk management. I believe there are a few 'red flag moments' that every agency account manager needs to be aware of, and look out for. These are, essentially, points in the relationship where your client relationship is at risk, and the account is at risk. And not only are 'red flag moments' important to try to anticipate but, when they happen, it's the account manager's job to act very swiftly, because you are responsible for the client relationship for not only the retention of but also the growth of the account. So, I've just got five examples of what I call, 'red flag moments'. I want to explain to you why I think they're important and share a couple of ideas for how you can either anticipate them, or tackle them. I really hope you find this useful and that it's given you some ideas for what you need to be aware of with your client relationship risk management strategy. If you would like to join my next Account Accelerator programme, which is all about client retention and growth, then please contact me at Jenny Plant on LinkedIn  or send me an email [email protected]. You can also find more podcast episodes with lots of valuable information on the main podcast page on my website: www.accountmanagementskills.com/podcast. Pick a topic that's most relevant to you right now and enjoy it. Please keep in contact with me and let me know what you'd like to hear on the podcast.

Welcome to Episode 61. Today's episode is about people and culture in a creative agency. It's particularly relevant if you're an independent agency owner because my expert guest, Sarah Brewster, Managing Director of Fresh Seed talks to me about why attracting and retaining staff is the biggest challenge in the industry at the moment. She shares: - some tips for how to recruit effectively - advice for navigating issues such as diversity and inclusion, safety at work and the Me Too movement - and why she's seen a loss of kindness post-pandemic. She also shares why IR 35 has had a huge impact on freelancing, plus ways to ensure equal pay across the business. This episode is jam-packed with tips. If you'd like to receive weekly updates and tips about agency account management, then please head over to my website where you can sign up for my weekly email and check out the details of my Account Accelerator training programme, which is designed to help agencies expand existing client business.

Welcome to Episode 60. The most downloaded podcast episode to date is still my first chat with Kate Whittaker, a marketer of 30 years who shared insight into what it's like being a client, and what clients want most from their agencies. If you haven't listened to that one already, I'd recommend you go back and have a listen. (Episode 1) In this episode, Kate talks about what's changed for her since August 2020, which was when the pandemic forced us all to be locked down. She shares: what have been the biggest changes for her, her role and her organisation in the last couple of years how her needs have changed in terms of what she's looking for from agencies some suggestions for how you can strengthen your relationships with clients while working remotely. And we talked about lots more. Understanding how to develop client relationships and grow accounts is essential for any agency account manager. And yet, too often, there is no real guidance on how to do it. So if you're in a client-facing role and you want to hone your account management skills, then check out my Account Accelerator programme. Many agency account managers have told me the biggest shift for them after my programme is a newfound confidence when handling client relationships.

Welcome to Episode 59. My guest for this episode is Peg Dougherty Marcus, Co-Founder of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA). Peg is, quite frankly, one of the most inspiring women I've met in a long time. She started her career in a healthcare communications agency and she was just 23. In this chat, we talk about why and how she started the HBA in 1977, despite every obstacle, and also in a dominating 'boys club' culture. She also talks about why women were scared to speak out about harassment at work, and whether she thinks things have changed today. She shares some really practical tips for women's safety when you're travelling or maybe entertaining for business. She's a passionate supporter of women in business, she's a natural connector, and she champions every woman who works in healthcare. If you're working in the era of healthcare, and you're not a member of the HPA, then you can go to their website and check out all the amazing benefits of joining. It's HBAnet.org. I hope you find this chat as inspiring as I did because maybe it's going to inspire you to get involved in a relevant community that already exists for you in your area. You might even think about gathering some of your peers together in the industry and starting your own. A couple of quick announcements. A quick reminder that my Account Accelerator training programme for agency account managers and directors starts on 10th of May 2022 and it's filling up quickly. So, if you'd like to join me, you can check out all the details on my website www.accountmanagementskills.com/training. And you can book a quick call with me to check that it's a good fit for you. Secondly, my friend Tom Ollerton, owner of the AI-driven agency, Automated Creative, is looking for an account director. So if you fancy working for an AI-driven agency, and you happen to have some media buying experience, please contact Tom Ollerton on LinkedIn.

Welcome to Episode 58. This episode is for you if you're wondering how an Account Director in an international network agency operates, and how they lead a team. Faizan Ali is an account director at VMLY&R, and he shares with me: - what makes a successful agency account manager - what each level of account management should do (account exec, account manager and account director) - typical challenges you encounter in the role and some tips for how to overcome them. - why he likes to share tips about account management on LinkedIn - and his advice for anyone wanting to progress in an agency account management role. This is jam full jam packed full of tips, so I really hope you enjoy it. I'd also like to remind you that if you want to join me for my next nine week Account Accelerator training programme, it starts on 10th May 2022. I help you increase your confidence in the account management role. add more value to your existing clients in a repeatable way and grow your accounts. You get coaching from me, a system you can copy and adapt for your agency as well as the online programme to see if it's a good fit for you or your agency. You can find out more about the programme and book a 20 minute call with me by going to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to Episode 57. What's the metaverse? How is it different to Web 3? What do agencies need to pay attention to? I chat to agency owner Ben Fryer from Diverse Interactive who has been helping his clients create virtual experiences for years. He gives us his take on the Metaverse and the opportunities for agencies of all disciplines.

Welcome to Episode 56. I chatted to the author of 'The Art of Client Service', the legend that is Robert Solomon. If you haven't listened to his previous episode, number 46, I'd highly recommend you go back and have a listen because we talked about so many things relating to the account management role, including: - why there are fewer account managers doing more with much less experience - why some people believe the account manager role is becoming extinct - and why often the work of great account management isn't recognised. In this episode, Robert shares what to look for when hiring a great account manager, what he says to people who think the role of account manager is easy, and how to get respected by your colleagues as an account manager. And he shares some fantastic tips for how to manage challenging situations, which he's brought to life by telling a couple of his own account management stories. As an account manager, I think you'll find this both informative and entertaining. If you haven't bought his book, please go and grab a copy of the updated third edition of The Art of Client Service, so many people in account management have found this book highly valuable. I'd also like to remind you that my next Account Accelerator training programme starts on 15th March 2022. The programme helps those in agency account management with a systematic approach to adding more value to your existing clients and growing the accounts in nine weeks. You join a group of peers in other agencies where you can share best practice, you get group coaching from me, as I walk you through the different strategies, plus access to an online programme so you can go through the content at your own at your own pace. So if you'd like a quick 20 minute call to see if it's the right fit for you or your agency team, send me an email to [email protected] or book a call on my website www.accountmanagementskills.com.

This episode is going to be particularly useful for you if you are managing your agency team remotely and want some tips and ideas for how to keep the team engaged. Today's guests Fiona Edwards and Katie Langdon have been running their very successful healthcare communications agency, Skin and Blister remotely years before it became something we were forced to do in 2020 due to the global pandemic. They share: * Why they decided from the beginning to have this remote working model * The key areas they focus on to make remote working successful * Some practical advice and tips for you if you're struggling to manage your team remotely and lots of ideas you may find useful for developing your leadership skills. I hope you enjoy my chat with Fiona and Katie and have come away with some ideas for managing your team. If you'd like to receive weekly tips about agency account management and get notification of the topics I'm covering on the podcast then please sign up for my newsletter by going to the website www.accountmanagementskills.com. I am now taking bookings for my next Account Accelerator programme in March. If you want to expand your current client relationships and you're working in agency client service, my Account Accelerator programme is designed specifically for you. By the end of nine weeks working with me, you'll have a repeatable client centric strategy and a plan to help add more value to the client business and increase revenue from existing accounts. Drop me a line at [email protected] or find more details at www.accountmanagementskills.com/training

Welcome to Episode 54. I spoke to Jessica Bowler and Iris Gatzweiler, two senior procurement clients who shared some insights into the pitching process. It's particularly useful for you if you want to know why clients typically pitch out for business, procurement’s role in the whole pitching process, how the brief is developed and some insight into how the final decision is made. There are also some shared examples of where agencies have performed particularly well in the pitch process. Don’t forget to go back to Episode 9, where Jessica and Iris talked about how to approach and develop relationships with procurement. And if you want to expand your current client relationships and you're working in agency client service, my Account Accelerator programme is designed specifically for you. By the end of nine weeks working with me, you'll have a repeatable client centric strategy and a plan to help add more value to the client business and increase revenue from existing accounts. Drop me a line at [email protected] or find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant/

Welcome to Episode 53. On today's episode we talk about making client relationships more profitable. Business growth consultant, Chris Merrington, shares some golden nuggets of advice about how agencies can be more commercially savvy. We covered so many different areas including: What clients really value and how to talk the client language Why you need to raise your prices and how to do it Why you need to establish and nurture senior client relationships and so much more... At the end of the podcast, Chris makes a special offer to send three copies of his book to 3 people selected randomly who sign up to his monthly bulletin. This offer is valid until the end of January 2022 (although we do say the end of the year, because we recorded this episode in December 2021). So I'm going to give you a spoiler and suggest while you're listening to this fantastic episode, you go to Chris's website and be one of the first to sign up to his business insights bulletin. Please email him at [email protected] to let him know you've signed up as a result of listening to this podcast. http://spring8020.co.uk/.

Welcome to episode 52. Today we're taking a deep dive into the power of words with linguist Eloise Leeson. Eloise works as a freelance communications consultant and copywriter for both agencies and brands and I think you'll find this interesting whether you're thinking about copy in the context of your client's business or your agency's business. She shares with me: 1. How to recognise inherent bias in the copy you read 2. Some common mistakes businesses make with their copy and some practical tips to help you avoid them 3. What holds us back from asking our clients for honest feedback about our business proposition and messaging 4. Insights about what it's like to work as a freelancer And loads more nuggets of copywriting usefulness. I really enjoyed this chat, I learned a lot and felt I needed to completely overhaul my website copy afterwards! Please do get in touch with her if you think she could help you in your agency or for your brand communications. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eloiseleeson/ If you don't want to miss an episode of this podcast and want to receive tips for improving your agency account management skills, then please go over to my website and sign up for my newsletter at https://www.account managementskills.com. And make sure to connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant/ Drop me a line and let me know who you'd like me to interview on this podcast. And finally if you're an agency account manager or director responsible for growing your existing client accounts and firming up the forecast but you haven't got a clue where to start, my Account Accelerator training programme might be for you. It's a repeatable client-centric approach to adding more value, being more consultative and ultimately increasing revenue and improving forecast certainty for your agency. It starts on January 27th 2022 and if you'd like more information you can book a call with me to see if it's a good fit for you by going to my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to Episode 51. This chat is going to be particularly interesting for you if you're curious where agencies will be headed in the next 10 years. From everything I've researched over the last couple of months, the biggest change coming for agencies in the next decade is web3. Web3 is the next evolution of the Internet. And here to enlighten us about what web3 is, and how agencies need to be prepared for it is Jeff Kauffman Jr, Founder and CEO of Parachute, which builds and invests in web3 solutions for marketers and advertisers. If web3 is an area you want to keep your eye on, then join the Jump community and hundreds of other agency people and marketers who also want to stay ahead of what's changing. There's no such thing as a silly question in the community either. I've asked a few. We’re all learning together as web3 unfolds. If you're an agency account manager and you want to invest in your career, and upgrade your account management skills, my next Account Accelerator programme starts on 27th January 2022. You'll work with me for nine weeks and gain the skills and a repeatable client centric approach to adding more value to your existing clients business, and growing your accounts. If this sounds interesting, then drop me a line at [email protected] and we can see if it's a good fit for you.

Welcome to Episode 50. This milestone episode is with Tom Ollerton, Founder of Automated Creative. If you're interested in seeing how artificial intelligence is being used by agencies right now, with some of the world's biggest client brands, to improve advertising performance, I think you're going to love this episode. If you're an account manager, you're looking for a new role, who likes the sound of working with such cutting edge technology and making an impact with his blue chip clients please visit my website and sign up for my newsletter at www.accountmanagementskills.com. You'll be sent regular updates about each of the podcast episodes, and tips for improving your account management skills.

Today's episode will be particularly beneficial for you if you're an agency owner looking to grow. I chat to ‘Agencynomics’ co-author, Peter Hoole, about some common challenges faced by agency owners today, when it comes to business growth. We also talk about: • the importance of looking at your team's skill set to make sure everyone's sitting in the right seats • what point in the agency's revenue growth does an agency typically employ their first account manager? • And the implications of having a hybrid account manager (someone who plays the combined account manager and project manager role, versus keeping the roles separate) Peter shares so many tips and lots of value during this interview. Don't forget to grab a copy of the book ‘Agencynomics’. I really don't know any agency owner who hasn't said it was a brilliant read. If you're an agency owner, and you want more certainty on your forecast when it comes to existing client growth, or you're an ambitious account manager who wants to know how to grow a client account, without being pushy and salesy, then my nine week Account Accelerator programme might be for you. You'll come away with a client centric system and repeatable approach to client growth. Drop me an email at [email protected] and we can see if it's a good fit for you or your agency.

Welcome to Episode 48. This episode is for you if you want to use LinkedIn in more effectively to grow your business, or to help your account management career. James Potter enlightens me on so many things I didn't realise about LinkedIn. We talk about: - why it's useful to know who could be looking at your profile - what typically holds business leaders back from posting - how to avoid making awful faux pas when connecting with people - the benefits of being more selective about who you add to your network - and lots more nuggets of usefulness. If you're in an agency account management role, and you're responsible for forecasting and firming up the account growth, I'm running my next Account Accelerator programme starting on 27th January 2022. By the end of nine weeks working with me, you'll have a repeatable, client centric approach to increasing revenue from your existing accounts. Now, if this sounds like you, or perhaps someone in your account management team, then please get in touch and let's see if it's a right fit for you. Email me at [email protected] or connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome to Episode 47. Have you ever wondered why sometimes you're just in flow at work? You're doing something you love, time seems to just stand still. And you feel like you could do this task for ages. And sometimes you're doing tasks that feel heavy, hard, difficult. And you look at someone else doing it and then think, why did why does that come so easy. I've invited business and performance coach Osman Sharif, to talk to us about how understanding your own unique superpower can help you enjoy what you do at work, get the best results, and embrace your unique talents. And ultimately, this makes your business and your career much more satisfying. If you're working in an agency environment in account management and you're ambitious, you want to accelerate your career and you want to increase your confidence with clients and improve your consultancy skills, so you can add more value to your client relationships and grow your accounts then my next Account Accelerator programme starts on January 27th 2022. If you'd like to know more, then please get in contact and let's see if it's a good fit for you. You can contact me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant or you can drop me an email at [email protected]

Welcome to Episode 46, with Robert Solomon. He's the author of the must read book for anyone in agency account management, 'The Art of Client Service'. In this chat, we talked about: - why there are fewer account managers doing more with much less experience - why some people believe the account manager role is becoming extinct and what we both think about that - and why often the work of great account management isn't recognised. Robert also talks us through his approach to managing difficult client conversations. And we talk about so much more. Robert's book, along with his workshops and his coaching have become foundational to building a new culture of client service and collaboration at many organisations of all different types and sizes and geographies. Robert is the founder of Solomon Strategic, and he provides marketing counsel to ad agencies, clients, and those in marketing looking for behaviour change. Robert, in his career, was a senior executive at several US based international advertising and marketing agencies. He was president and CEO of Rapp New York, president of direct and digital marketing at Ammirati Puris Lintas, General Manager of FCB Direct West and Senior Vice President and associate partner at Digitas. In this chat, we talked about: - why there are fewer account managers doing more with much less experience - why some people believe the account manager role is becoming extinct and what we both think about that - and why often the work of great account management isn't recognised. Robert also talks us through his approach to managing difficult client conversations. And we talk about so much more. Robert's book, along with his workshops and his coaching have become foundational to building a new culture of client service and collaboration at many organisations of all different types and sizes and geographies. Robert is the founder of Solomon Strategic, and he provides marketing counsel to ad agencies, clients, and those in marketing looking for behaviour change. Robert, in his career, was a senior executive at several US based international advertising and marketing agencies. He was president and CEO of Rapp New York, president of direct and digital marketing at Ammirati Puris Lintas, General Manager of FCB Direct West and Senior Vice President and associate partner at Digitas.

Welcome to Episode 45. Today's chat with Richard Long, Director of Strategy & Communications at earthware will be particularly interesting for you if you're curious to understand how management consultancies operate versus agencies, and why they could potentially be posing a threat to your agency business. This is going to be particularly relevant if you're working in healthcare communications, because Richard currently works for an independent healthcare digital agency, but was also working for a management consultancy where he was setting up the life science arm. Richard shares insight into: - how management consulting consultancies operate - what a land and expand approach looks like - and how you can differentiate yourself from any management consultancy that might be posing a threat to your client business. He also shared some top tips from his many years working in account management. I hope you enjoy this chat with Richard. If you're working in an agency account management role at any level, and you'd like a non salesy approach, to add more value to your clients and grow those existing accounts, then check out my Account Accelerator programme, starting again on 23rd September. If you'd like more details, drop me a line at [email protected] and we can see whether it's right for you.

Welcome to Episode 44. In this episode, I talk to Alex Raymond from Kapta about everything to do with account management processes. Not project management systems, not CRM systems, but having a dedicated system to guide the agency account management team, when it comes to managing and delve developing existing client relationships. Kapta is a key account management platform. We chatted about: - the importance of having a client development plan - the value of running quarterly business reviews - how to avoid client churn - and also how account management's going to evolve over the next three to five years. I hope you enjoy my chat with Alex and you can check out the details for KAMCon on the website which is https://kapta.com/kamcon A reminder also that my next Account Accelerator programme starts on 23rd of September. This is a transformational programme for agency account managers and account directors to take your agency from unpredictable project revenue to more predictable account growth. It's a playbook for growing existing business, a step by step process and a toolbox of strategies that you can take back to your agency and apply. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training On this page you'll also find testimonials from account directors and account managers who've been through the programme.

Welcome to Episode 43. This episode is for you if you're interested in the role of agency Client Services Director, or maybe you're just curious to see how our copywriting and content marketing agency works. Nina Whittaker is CSD for Stratton Craig, and she talked about everything to do with the CSD role: - the skills you need - the challenges you might find - and how she also adds value to her clients and keeps ahead of her clients' changing needs. I hope you enjoy the chat with Nina and have come away with a few ideas. A quick message about my Account Accelerator Programme. Designed for agency account managers and account directors, it kicks off again on 23rd September 2021. If you're interested, then go over to accountmanagementskills.com/training where you can find out more information about the programme. It's designed to take your agency from unpredictable project revenue to more predictable account growth.  

Creative agencies live and die by their ability to get, keep and grow clients. If you're a creative agency leader or in agency account management and want some useful insights and tips then listen to this episode. It's a compilation of soundbites from my guests who have shared some brilliant golden nuggets during the year I have been recording the podcast.

Welcome to Episode 41. In this episode, Phil Cookson and I talk about the current trends in the creative agency recruitment space. We talk about why agencies are struggling to hire right now, what they need to do differently to attract the right people, how the market is evolving. And there are also some tips for you if you are currently looking for a role and you want to find the right agency. I hope you enjoy this chat with Phil. I certainly did. A quick reminder that my next Account Accelerator Programme is starting on September 23rd 2021. This programme is all about building confidence for account managers. It's designed to take you from unpredictable project revenue to more predictable account growth. # You can find more details on my website at accountmanagementskills.com/training or get in touch on LinkedIn Jenny Plant, or pop me an email [email protected]

Welcome to Episode 40. For this week's podcast, I was delighted to speak to Zoe Scaman. We talked about the creator economy and fandoms; why the traditional agency business model is under threat, and we talked about her recent article called Mad Men Furious Women, in which she talks about misogyny in the ad industry. I hope you enjoy this episode with Zoe and come away as inspired as I was. If you're not already doing so, I'd highly recommend you follow Zoe on Twitter @zoescaman.

Welcome to Episode 39. This episode's for you if you're an account manager managing client relationships on a day to day basis. In this episode, I'm going to share with you three key steps to leading a client meeting. One of the many roles of an account manager is to lead meetings where you may have several clients involved, and also several members of the agency team. This might be a presentation of your new ideas, or it could be campaign results, or even you might be conducting a post project review: anything where there's meetings of several individuals from both the clients side and the agency side. As the main point of client contact, you're the one that needs to be seen to be facilitating and leading a meeting such as this. So I want to share with you three key steps you can take to make sure that you're covering all bases when you turn up at meetings.

Welcome to Episode 38. This is part two of a two part interview with Simon Rhind-Tutt and Carey Evans from Relationship Audits and Management. If you didn't catch the first part, I would urge you to go back to Episode 37 and make sure that you listen to that one, because we covered the three themes of their interviews with hundreds of clients over the last year: - Is your agency fit for purpose? - Are you nimble enough? - Are you communicating in the best way? This episode, we're going to cover three new themes: - Are you sharing learnings from other clients? - Are you better or worse a tech? - And did you realise that what drives perception of value for money has changed. I hope you enjoy this final part of the interview with Simon and Carey and come away with some ideas for what you could perhaps be doing differently with your agency right now, as a result of the insights that they both shared. If you have been listening to this podcast for a while, I would really love you to go and leave a review on Apple podcasts so that more people can get to hear it. I would love your review to be very honest.

Welcome to Episode 37. This is part one of a two part interview with Simon Rhind-Tutt and Carey Evans from Relationship Audits and Management. They've put together a report summarising what clients are telling them about agencies. They've taken this data from hundreds of interviews that they've conducted with clients over the last year. There are six themes in total, and they talk us through each theme, share some insights, share some quotes from clients, and then, most importantly, what they believe agencies need to do about it. What actions do we need to take? Part one covers three key themes: Is your agency fit for purpose? Are you nimble enough? Are you communicating in the best way? I would urge you to tune in to the part two, next week where we're going to follow the theme and cover three more topics - are you sharing learnings from other clients; are you better or worse at tech; and did you realise that what drives perception of value for money has changed.

Episode 36 is all about personal branding. I spoke to experts in this area, Ryan O'Keeffe, and Steve Richards from Jago. They work with entrepreneurs, business leaders and employees and they've done a lot of work with agencies and agency owners particularly. They share some really powerful insights and tips, not only how personal branding works for agency owners, but also how it can benefit agency account managers. We cover: What is personal branding? Why is it important to pay attention to your personal brand The impact of focusing time on your personal brand Where to start with personal branding. They also shared some really insightful examples of how it can transform your agency business. I hope like me, you come away inspired by this episode and with some 'aha' moments. I would highly recommend you follow Steven and Richard on LinkedIn. They share some brilliant content and they really are super, super guys. A quick reminder, if you are an agency account manager and you're listening to this, you'll find lots of resources here on my website at www.accountmanagementskills.com. There's a quiz you can take on the Home page in which you evaluate how good you are at developing client business. You can also sign up for my newsletter, where I share weekly tips and podcast episodes and information specifically for the agency world.

This week I invited my good friend, Ceylan Boyce to talk to us about strategic thinking and getting brief writing right. We talked about: Why it's so important for an agency account manager to have that important skill of writing briefs Why it's important to agencies and clients to get the writing of the brief right What's the implication of having a shitty brief Where briefs go wrong and some of the important elements to include in a good brief. I'm also asked J to share some experiences that she's had, where the agency has written a brief and challenged the brief with their client. And it's proven very, very fruitful. I hope you enjoy the episode with Ceylan, and you come away with a few ideas about brief writing. Now, if you are interested in the brief writing workshop that we're running, please visit my Training hub at www.accountmanagementskills.com/training.  You can reach out to me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant, or send me an email at [email protected].

Welcome to Episode 34. One of the things that account managers who come on my Account Accelerator programme tell me is that they have a barrier to growing existing business, because they don't feel like they're talking to the decision maker. They say that their client contact is not senior enough, or a major decision maker, and therefore, are not really going to be open to new thoughts, new ideas, and have any authority to open the door to other people within the organisation, or to say yes or no to new ideas that they're presenting. So today's episode is all about how do we reach more senior people within the same organisation, without upsetting your key contact. I hope this episode gives you a few ideas to consider when thinking about trying to establish relationships with more senior clients. There are a few more ideas, which we cover in the Account Accelerator programme. So if you're interested in finding out more, it's all about creating a client centric plan to increase your revenue from your existing clients. And I will be running that in September 2021 again, so if you're interested in more details, please get in contact. It's Jenny Plant on LinkedIn, or [email protected].

This episode's for you if you have a difficult client situation to manage. At some point or other as an agency account manager, we have to manage difficult clients. It's kind of part of the job. And in this interview, I love how Dr. Mark Goulston weaves some practical tips and examples of how to manage difficult people into his engaging stories. If you're old enough to remember the OJ Simpson case, like I am, he also shares how he was subpoenaed to appear at the trial, and how he handled the moment the lawyer tried to bully him. I highly recommend Mark's book, 'Just Listen', it really does include loads of tips for managing difficult clients. (NB: This episode was recorded and published before the death of F Lee Bailey on 3rd June 2021) If you're in an agency account management role, or maybe you have a team of account managers, and you want to have a roadmap and a playbook to grow those existing accounts by adding more value, expanding the relationships and also being comfortable asking for referrals, then check out my account accelerator programme. It starts again in September 2021. And you can find out more details by going to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com/training or drop me a line at [email protected].

Welcome to Episode 32. In this episode, I chat to Matt and Emma in the account management team at Purpose Media. They've shared with us their tips and insights into their role. And they've shared: - how they approach client management - how they run their discovery workshops - the key questions they asked their clients at the beginning of the relationship - and how they always aim to position themselves as trusted advisors to their clients from the start. There's lots more. I think this chat will be particularly interesting for you if you are looking to get into the role of account manager or senior account manager in a full service independent agency. Or maybe you're already in that role, and you're curious to see how other account managers operate. Now, if you are an ambitious agency account manager and you really want to accelerate your career by improving your agency account management skills, then check out my Account Accelerator programme. The next cohort starts in September 21. You'll meet your peers and go through a 12 week programme, which is a clear roadmap and plan to add value to your existing accounts and increase revenue in 90 days. So if you want more information about that programme, then go over to www.accountmanagementskills.com/training.

Welcome to Episode 31. This episode's for you if you're interested in the idea of podcasting becoming part of your new business strategy. Perhaps you've been considering having podcast for a while. Or maybe you've got one already, and you're looking for some tips to make it even better. Or maybe you're just simply open to the idea of having a podcast or maybe you're dead against it. Hopefully, Nathan Anibaba is going to shed some light on this. He is an expert in this area, having hosted his own podcast, and he's now at 140 episodes, Agency Dealmasters. He shared with us lots of tips, lots of insight into the world of podcasting. He explains why it's so beneficial to businesses for generating new leads, where people go wrong with podcasting and the key steps to consider. I really hope you find this valuable.  If you haven't done so already, please come over to my website and check out all of the information I've got there for agency account managers. You can take a quiz, which is all about agency growth. You can also sign up for my weekly news newsletter where I share advice and tips for agency account managers and all of the episodes of the podcast. I look forward to speaking to you on the next one.

This episode is for you if you're interested in the finance and operations side of the agency business. Mark Probert is an expert in helping agencies scale fast. In this episode, he shares with me some of the most useful financial benchmarks that high growth agencies use, such as what a healthy financial position looks like in terms of liquidity, typical revenue, target per staff member, average billable rates, and lots more. He also shares why agencies are hiring ahead of the business need currently, and also shares his thoughts on the most conducive agency business model for growth. I learned loads in this episode, and I really hope you do too. If you're an account manager with two to three years experience working in an agency, and you really want to - fast track your career - be recognised for adding more value to your existing accounts, and growing the existing business then the next Account Accelerator Programme starts on 2nd September 2021. This is a 12 week programme, where I help you create a client centric plan to add value to your existing accounts and increase the revenue from those existing accounts in 90 days. Places are limited on this course and I'm taking enquiries now. So if this sounds like you then drop me a line. It's [email protected] or find me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant.

This episode is for you if you're interested in the role of account management within an app development company. Tim Moore, account director at Sonin joined me. He shared his experience of working in an app development agency; what he believes makes a successful account manager in his agency, the typical types of projects he gets to work on, and he also talked through the process that they follow from initial concept all the way through to final app development. This is a fascinating episode, I really enjoyed my chat with Tim, and I hope you get some value from it. Now if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, I'd love to ask you a huge favour. Would you please go and leave me a review on Apple podcasts? That means that the podcast gets seen by more people, and I'm able to help more people in the account management role in the creative agency.

Welcome to Episode 28. This episode's for you if you're interested in managing other people. Maybe you're in an account manager role now and you're thinking that the next step up for you is going to be an account director role, where you're going to be responsible for a team. And you're wondering what skills you need and how you should prepare yourself for the role. So I persuaded an expert to come and talk to us. We talked all about how to manage other people,  and what skills you need to do the job effectively. the biggest changes people have to make when transitioning to managing others, and some of the biggest mistakes people make when managing others for the first time. the top three things people should consider when wanting to make that move, and some examples of the most successful people in manage managerial roles. Lots of value here and lots of tips and takeaways for you if you are thinking about this role. You may also notice that I'm quite familiar with the guest. This is because it's my brother, Matt Plant. He's been in training for over 20 years, working with with training companies like Hemsley Fraser, Virgin Atlantic, and he was in the training department for Energy Development Oman in the Middle East. He's worked with clients such as Rolls-Royce, Cancer Research, the Bank of England, and many, many other organisations, helping them with training and general learning interventions for lots of different topics. So he's probably the most expert person that I know. And whilst I do have many years managing others, I was never officially trained. So I hope you come away with some ideas for yourself when it comes to managing other people. And please do get in contact with Matt, to find out more details about his course that's coming up for managing others for new managers. 

Welcome to Episode 27. This is the top 10 tips to be successful in agency account management. And the reason that I'm giving you top 10 tips is because we've now passed 26 episodes on this podcast, and we've had some fantastic guests sharing really, really brilliant advice for agency account managers to up their game, to be more proficient in what they do, and to be much more successful in their role. So I thought what I'd do is reflect back on some of those interviews, and pull out some of the best tips that I think have been shared on the podcast. So this episode is highlighting all of the top tips that are going to help you in your role. A quick reminder if you are interested in knowing who's coming up on the next podcast, and also listening and hearing new tips and advice for agency account managers, then come over to my website, accountmanagementskills.com and sign up for my newsletter. The newsletter goes out every week, or two weeks, and I try to include as many tips as I can, new tips that I've learned through listening to someone on the podcast myself, or things that I'm reading and sharing. And I can let you know about forthcoming trainings.

This episode is for you, if you're interested in improving your listening. You're going to learn why listening is a strategy and not skill; the only way we can tell if someone's listening to us, which I found really fascinating; some great tips for training yourself to listen better; and also why there are four listening habits, and how you can assess which listening dominance you have, and how that can help you connect better with others. I think there are loads of tips here for account managers who are dealing with their clients. And listening is such an important thing to do well. I hope you enjoy the chat with Dr Laura Janusik and you come away with lots of tips and ideas to improve your listening. And I hope that you'll go ahead and take the Echo profile test which Laura mentions, to see which dominance you have and how that can help you in your communication with your clients. A quick reminder also that if you are interested in more tips and ideas for your role in creative agency account management, then come over to my website. It's accountmanagementskills.com, where there are lots of information and resources for agency account managers. I look forward to seeing you on the next one.

This episode's for you if you are looking to create more rapport with your clients and build trust. Dr Mark Goulston explains why empathy is so powerful and why people are afraid to empathise in business. He talked about how you can get your clients to trust you and you'll be asking yourself are you a plus-er or a minus-er or a topper? I hope you enjoy the chat with Mark and come away with a few ideas for how you could perhaps empathise more with your clients. If you would like to receive a weekly newsletter with tips for account managers and sound bites from podcasts, and news and events then come over to my website accountmanagementskills.com and you can sign up to receive a weekly newsletter.

Today's episode was a real treat. For me, I have the pleasure of talking to David C. Baker, who is a legend in the agency world. We discussed everything to do with account management, including why David thinks the account management role is the most difficult role in the whole agency. Also the problem with account managers doing project management tasks, where he sees performance deficiencies in account management, and some brilliant advice for how to address those deficiencies, and also up your account management game. Why he suggests agencies asked their clients to take personality profile tests, why account management don't receive guidance from agency owners, and so many more topics. I really enjoyed this chat, and I know you're going to come away with some value.

This episode is for you if you're working for a creative/digital agency and are thinking about becoming an agency owner. It's also one to listen to if you're in a planning role (sometimes referred to an agency strategist) or are wondering whether your talents might be suited to this role. Simon Barbato is the founder of Mr. B and Friends. Like me he started his career in advertising in the 1990s in client service. He quickly then transitioned into a strategist/planner role and then eventually became an agency owner. In this episode, he is going to share his journey, the ups the downs, and also his advice for you if you're considering something similar. He's also going to share why he believes now is a great time to make that leap. I've asked Simon to share with us a little bit more about the role of a planner in an agency, how they work with the account management team, how it adds value to clients and leads to client retention and at what point an agency should consider having one. Enjoy.

In this episode Martin Lucas, Mathematical Psychologist and Founder of the company Gap In the Matrix is about to blow the lid off many of the sacred cows in the agency world. He has spent four years studying why humans don't understand humans and how brands are missing a trick when it comes to engaging their customers and understanding why they make purchasing decisions. Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy said this about Martin's company: "Gap In the Matrix is one of a tiny number of people in the world who understands that it is psychology which offers the greatest potential to revolutionise marketing in the next ten years and beyond.” In this fascinating episode he shares the results of his four year study and drops bombshells like: * Why $265bn of online ads don't get interacted with and the average Facebook ad click through rate is a tiny 1.61%, Google display ad 1.91% and programmatic 0.035% * Why measuring impressions isn't useful * Why brand strategy is stuck in its ways and should be called "performance branding" * Why defining "personas" for a brand isn't helpful * Why the attribution model for measuring online ad performance is wrong * How he is now helping global FMCG brands increase certainty in their marketing spend and save on average 18-21% of their advertising, increasing their profit margins by 3-21% and achieving 70-120% above industry average for open rates and click through rates. I hope you find this episode as intriguing and eye opening as I did.

This episode is for you if you're in a digital agency project management role or are aspiring to work in project management in an agency. It's also for you if you're an agency leader who is looking to ensure the role of the project manager runs smoothly. Nadine Schofield is the Founder of Project Management on Demand and she'll be sharing with us: * The core (hard and soft) skills you need to be an effective project manager * Where agencies go wrong with approaching project management * The differences between an agile, waterfall and wagile way of working * Differences between the role of the account manager and project manager and how they can work together efficiently * The downsides of the hybrid role where the project management and account management function are in a combined role * Some suggestions for how to decide which project management system to use in your agency * How working from home has affected the project management role in agencies * How a temporary project manager can be inserted into the agency for one off projects on an ad-hoc basis * Some of the core processes you need for the project management role in your agency

Sam Bridger is an interim Marketing Director and consultant. She has worked in marketing for over 25 years, 14 of which have been spent as interim marketing director. Throughout her career she's managed many different agencies and so is in a very good position to provide the 'client side' perspective on how agencies manage her business. In this episode, she shares lots of tips and insights into what its like being a client and how you can improve the way you work with your client: * How to engage with your clients when they're not responding to you * Why you need to understand the role and associated pressures of your client * One of the best ways to make a cold approach to a prospective client * Why she thinks it's a great idea to ask your client for referrals where the relationship is strong * The worst thing agencies can do during client meetings and pitches * Why being genuine and empathetic is so important to the account management role * Why you need to take an interest in the client's product and learn as much as you can to be credible for clients * How to treat the client when having meetings and do your homework before meeting clients * The importance of taking the time to do your research before client meetings and pitches * Why she believes the traditional pitch process needs to change to a shorter term project approach before assigning all the business * Why helping the client deliver their objective is your key role * Why agencies don't ask for feedback enough after a pitch and her suggestion for how you can approach this * Why clients don't always know what needs to go into a pitch brief so asking the right questions is key

Paul Kirkley has spent his entire career in agency account management. He knew from a young age he wanted to work in advertising and has certainly fulfilled his ambition. He now works for one of the UK's top creative agencies, MadeBrave as Client Services Director and his experience includes 20 years with JWT (now Wunderman Thompson) working as Global Business Director for brands such as Nestle, Jaguar and Kenco (JDE) where he also lead a client services team of 120. In this chat, he shares: * Why always being curious and genuinely interested in the client's business is key to success * How seeing the world through the eyes of each agency department and understanding their motivations sets you up for success in your account management role * Why the best briefings come out of the best questioning and listening * Tips for how to become a client's trusted advisor * How to lead, inspire and set the account management team up for success * The skills you need to be an effective client services director * How to make sure you stay relevant and valuable to your client * The biggest challenges faced by client services directors and how to prepare for them * How remote working has changed the way account managers now interact with clients * What skills you need to work with global brands * How to be introduced to the client's C-Suite * How agencies will evolve in the future and lots more...

James Aldrich is a major account manager with over twenty years experience in both business development and account management in the software industry. James's sector speciality is telecommunications and I invited him to share his experience to see similarities and differences between the account management role in the creative industry and software industry. Despite starting his career wanting to be a film director or a guitarist in a band, he found himself in account management which has not only opened up many career opportunities but has also allowed him to fulfil his ambitions outside of work. In this brilliant chat, James shares his thoughts on: * How your own network is one of the most important aspects of your role and how it can bring value to your clients, your company and to your own career * Why it's important to choose a company to work for that aligns with your personal values * How and when to ask for referrals * Why business development and account management are similar roles * How sharing insight into how other industries work can bring value to your clients * How 'buddy systems' enable junior account team members to get up to speed quickly * Why taking a 'customer first' approach to everything you do leads to success * The importance of ensuring every client communication and touchpoint reflects your company values * Why you should learn from how other industries operate * Why you should always be curious and look ahead to what's changing in your industry and your client's industries I really enjoyed this chat and I hope you come away with some reminders and inspiration for other things you could be doing in your career or role that will be valuable to you, your client and your agency.

In this episode I reflect on some recent research on how status quo bias affects a client's decision making process and why that's important for us to know when presenting new ideas. In this episode we dive into why when presenting new ideas to our clients that require them to make a big change, it's useful to understand the psychology of why they might be reluctant to. By knowing this we're then able to present the ideas with this in mind and provide the information that they require to make their decision. I hope you enjoy this episode and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Andy Young and Laura Cohen are both strategic account managers for Skeleton Productions, a full service agency specialising in video production. In this chat, they share some brilliant tips and ideas for account managers who want to enhance their account management skills. They share: * Why shifting from being a good relationship builder to taking more of a 'challenger' approach with your clients works * How to build trust with your client so they take risks to do bigger and bolder projects * Why keeping your finger on the pulse with future trends in your specialism is key to ensuring your clients see you as an advisor rather than order taker * What a pre-flight questionnaire is an how to use one * Why you shouldn't be scared of the word "strategy" * Tips for how they've kept decision makers engaged throughout projects and how to get things back on track if the project goes awry I hope you come away with lots of ideas to implement in your role.

This episode is for you if you're an agency leader or you're managing a team. My guest is a good friend of mine Nadine Powrie who is an executive leadership coach and workplace mediator who specialises in helping people have difficult conversations. Nadine has helped hundreds of people enhance their leadership ability through her coaching and training. and is an expert in her field. Her podcast "Leading the Coaching Change" is currently celebrating its 80th episode and she has a weekly LinkedIn live session with other leadership coaches where they discuss topics that are relevant to those who want to develop their skills and keep abreast of changes in their field. In this chat, Nadine shares her thoughts and insights into: * What makes an exceptional leader * How two leaders in her career made a lasting impact on her life (and what you can learn from it) * Why having a clear vision, strategy and values defined are so key to being a successful leader * The surprising truth about hiring the right people for your team * How to set yourself up for success before having a difficult conversation I could have discussed these topics with Nadine all day as she has a wealth of experience and knowledge and I'd like to invite her back to share some more tips with the account management community.

This episode is particularly useful for you if you are working as account manager in a creative agency and aspire to be an account director. It's also useful if you're already an agency account director and are looking for some ideas and learnings from other account directors in the creative industry to apply in your role. Sarah Deakin and Ruby Beagan are account directors for Thursday Studio, an insight-led design studio in Winchester. The reason I invited them on to the show is to share their day to day experience of what it's like in the role of account director in a creative agency. During this interview, they share: * What they believe is the value the account management role brings to an agency and its clients * Difference between the account manager and account director role * Examples of where they've made a difference to the client's business * Their thoughts on why clients stay with agencies for the long term * Their approach to client retention and growth * The challenges those in account management are facing right now with remote working and some ideas for how to overcome them * Advice for others in agency client service who want to improve their account management skills and accelerate their career * The key areas account directors should be focussing on in their role ....and lots more nuggets of wisdom. Enjoy.

This episode is for you if you're responsible for an agency team and you want the team to be working together more collaboratively. Today's guest is my friend Alison Coward who is the founder of Bracket Creative and an expert in team culture. In this episode Alison explains: * Why it's important for agencies to pay attention to their team culture and impact a positive culture has on productivity * What to look for if you suspect your team culture needs attention * Some examples of where agency leaders go wrong with team culture * How remote working is affecting team collaboration and what you can do to bring the team together Alison shares insight she's gained from many years working with high performing teams and what shines through in this chat is Alison's vast knowledge and passion for the subject and the many compelling reasons why team culture, particularly now is so important to keeping us all working together in the best possible way. Enjoy!

In this solo episode I talk through the four steps of the client value ladder and the skills you need to deliver value at every level. It's particularly relevant for you if you are managing the day to day client relationships but are also responsible for account growth and delivering on your agency's forecast. Many of us in agency account management know that acquiring a new client is 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one (1) & increasing client retention rate by 5% increases profit by 25% to 95% (2), but another study by Gartner reported that a whopping 80% of a company's future sales will be derived from 20% of their existing client base! (3). This makes the skill of growing existing business very important. What's less well known, and also shown in another study by Gartner called 'Why your accounts aren't growing and what to do about it', is that the account management skills required to retain accounts are DIFFERENT to those required to grow (4). The report showed that providing exceptional service leads to retention, not growth. This means that as agency account managers we need to be thinking about how we need to behave differently if we're responsible for growing our existing accounts. The report concluded that mastering “client improvement conversations” increases your ability to grow an account by 48% and increases likelihood of renewal or retention of spend by 94% (4). If handled poorly or indelicately however these conversations could damage relationships and trust (4). 'Value improvement conversations' are defined by the three following actions: 1. Provide customers with a unique, critical perspective 2. Paint a vision of the customer's future business 3. Provide customers with an ROI on the entirety of the relationship I hope you enjoy this episode and come away with ideas for the skills you need to develop or that you are indeed on the right track with your client development strategy.

If you have an interest in branding, feel your agency brand needs a makeover or you're looking for help to offer branding workshops to your clients, this episode is for you. Bill Wallsgrove has been helping companies with branding for 30 years. He's worked on some of the most exciting and well known brands such as Heineken, Budweiser and Benetton to name just a few and has held Creative Director roles for some of the most prestigious strategic design agencies such as Coley Porter Bell and Future Brand. He has been guiding agencies with their brands for years and his brand consultancy services include mentoring the likes of Studio Blup (recently bought by the LAB Group) known for their work with brands like Nike, MTV and Ministry of Sound. Today I pick his brains on everything branding related and ask him to share his thoughts, opinions and observations about how branding has changed during his career. In this episode Bill chats to me about: * His definition of a brand * Why he disagrees with many companies who believe they need a brand purpose * What a 'digital first' approach to branding means * How brands and the process of branding has changed over the years * Why we are in the third generation of branding and examples of brands who are leading the field * Why and how he works with agencies to help them with their brands * Why he believes agencies need account managers and some tips for great account management ....and lots more.

Today's guest is the lovely Lucy Snell the co-founder of Cherry Consulting. Cherry helps creative and digital agencies to generate new business and Lucy started the company in 2004. She's been featured three times in the BD100 list as one of the UK's most influential business developers and during this interviews shares many tips for agencies who are looking to generate more leads. In this episode, she shares: * Some of the biggest challenges she's seeing agencies have for approaching prospects right now * Tips for how to get cut through when prospective clients aren't responding * What she did to get a 50% open rate on one of her email campaigns * What she finds agencies need the most help with in the area of new business generation * Her thoughts on why some agencies are thriving at the moment * Exactly what she believes you should be spending your time on in the area of new business depending on the size of your agency. If you're working in agency new business or have aspirations to do so, this is a great interview and full of practical real life examples and advice. Enjoy!

Today's guests are Iris Gatzweiler and Jess Bowler who have been working in marketing procurement for many years in the pharmaceutical industry. I asked them to share more about their day to day roles in procurement and shed some light on how agency account managers can develop stronger relationships with them. In this episode we discuss: * What they look for in long term agency supplier relationships * Where they see the value in agency account management and some tips on how to keep the relationship on track * Advice for how to approach someone in procurement when you don't have a relationship currently * Why involving procurement in how you expand your relationships within a company makes sense * How they make an agency selection and how you can stand out from the rest There are so many golden nuggets in this episode, you'll want to grab a pen and make some notes. I hope this will prompt you to review your current client relationships and identify where perhaps your relationship with procurement isn't very strong and also ideas for how to strengthen it.

Louisa has a powerful message for you if you are working in an agency. She successfully built and sold her healthcare communications agency Woolley Pau in 2012 but her health suffered as a result and she ended up hospitalised. In this episode she shares her journey and provides advice and guidance for others who may be inadvertently heading in the same direction. In this episode she shares with us: * The 10 signs you may be heading for burnout without realising it * Why trying to be the 'hero' at work can have a detrimental affect on you, your health and those around you * What resilience is and why it's not just about 'bouncing back' * The difference between healthy and unhealthy stress and how to spot the tipping point * Why stress goes undetected until it's too late * Where to seek support if you think your health is suffering as a result of pressure, challenge and stress * The first few steps you can take right now if you think this may be affecting you * What she is doing now in her new business Otherboard to help those in agencies to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of stress or challenge I think this topic isn't discussed enough in agencies, environments that tend to operate at a hundred miles an hour most of the time. Louisa provides some sage advice and guidance having trodden the path and who now dedicates her time to helping others . If you recognise yourself in what Louisa was describing I would urge you to seek help by contacting Louisa to discuss your situation.

In this episode I'm delighted to have as my guest Spencer Gallagher who took time out of working on the second edition of his best selling book, Agencynomics, which he co-wrote with his partner Peter Hoole, to share his thoughts on agency leadership and client management. Having built and sold his own agency in 2008, he now runs the UK's leading growth consultancy for agency owners, Cact.us and is co-founder of the Cact.us Academy, a training portal for agency owners. He also heads up the not for profit global community of agency owners, also called Agencynomics and co-hosts the vodcast Agencyphonics where he interviews owners and thought leaders about growing an agency business. In this episode we cover everything from what he thinks is most important when leading an agency and how he approaches agency growth, to the biggest agency trends he's seeing and how to stay up to date and relevant in this time of digital transformation. We cover: * Key habits of highly effective agency leaders * What successful agency leaders are doing now to accelerate their agency's growth * What Spencer would do differently if he was starting an agency again * Key trends in the agency landscape * Why you need to keep learning to keep yourself relevant * Why agencies need to start thinking beyond social media and websites to supporting clients with their digital transformation.. ...and lots more nuggets you'll want to hear if you're an owner, leader or account manager.

Today's episode is with the founders of Relationship Audits and Management, Carey Evans and Simon Rhind-Tutt. They are invited in by creative agency leaders and client services directors to assess the strength of their client relationships and provide recommendations and guidance for how to retain and grow the accounts. In this episode they share tip after tip from years of experience talking to agency clients about what they want most from their agencies. They remind us of many of the fundamental principles of account management having spoken to hundreds of clients and having built up years of benchmarking data from client interviews about what works and doesn't work when it comes to successful agency client relationships. In this episode you'll hear: * Why becoming the go to person within your agency for a chosen topic can accelerate your career * The winning agency formula for any pitch * What clients say 64% of agencies never do but should * How you can make your client's life easier * The average % time clients have to spend of their day liaising with all their agencies * How to create instant rapport with your client * A method we can borrow from professional services firms for how to get to know your client's business quickly * Five of the biggest trends they are seeing about what clients want most from their agencies right now..... ....and lots more valuable tips and reminders for how to make sure you excel in your account management role.

Do you often feel overwhelmed by how much you have to do? This is a short quick fire episode where I answer a question I hear most frequently from creative agency account managers. The subject of productivity, time management and general overwhelm with number of tasks needed to be completed comes up a lot. Often being stuck managing the day to day firefighting distracts us from doing the things that are more valuable like thinking about ways of adding more value to the client’s business, looking at trends, working on client relationship expansion, client development planning etc. So here are 10 tips (plus an extra bonus one I added!) for ensuring you get as much of your Day to day workload completed as possible so it frees up space to do more thinking and planning. Account managers who want promotion to account director realise the only way they can work on more strategic tasks (client development plans, solving client business & communications challenges) is to be more time efficient. Let me know if these tips have been helpful and please share any others you’ve found beneficial so I can share with everyone else.

Phil Lancaster has worked his entire career in agency account management. He's worked for some of the most successful agency holding companies such as The Lowe Group and WPP where he lead global account management teams and held the role of Global Business Director for brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Reckitt Benckiser, Bayer and Bank of America. He has a wealth of experience working with clients at the board level and believes strongly that agency account managers need to have a relationship with the C-Suite in a client company. Other points we discuss are: * The value of the role of account management for both agencies and client (this has been debated recently in an IPA report) * One of the most important ways an agency account manager can save the client money * How account managers can position themselves as trusted advisors rather than order takers * Where agency account managers get client management wrong * Why C-Suite relationship building is essential * Advice for agency account managers to strengthen relationships amidst current remote working conditions * Phil's thoughts on how the agency landscape is changing and the future of the role of agency account management * Phil's top advice for you if you are starting out in your career in account management..... .....and lots more nuggets of wisdom and reflection from years of experience so this is one not to miss.

Marcus Cauchi is probably one of the most well known salesman and sales trainers in the UK. I was fortunate enough to be trained by Marcus in the Sandler selling methodology and meeting him changed the course of my career as I suddenly realised selling skills could have been hugely beneficial when I started out in advertising in the 1990s. In this episode, Marcus shares with us: * What agencies need to do to win new business * The metrics he uses to evaluate a new business team's effectiveness * Why asking questions to gather information is a waste of yours and your client's time * How agencies can manage the handover from their new business to account management team * How understanding human psychology can aid us in selling * The most overlooked area of account expansion agencies miss * The three myths agencies have bought into about selling.... ....and so many more nuggets of selling wisdom, you'll want to grab and pen and make some notes.

In this episode, Tina Fegent, marketing procurement consultant with almost 30 years experience shares tips for what procurement want from agencies and specifically agency account management. Tina has worked both client side for companies such as Orange and agency side in the role of Commercial Director so really understands what works and doesn't work when it comes to creating and developing relationships with the procurement team. In this episode Tina shares; - The most common complaint she hears from clients about agency account management - What great account management looks like for her - Why developing relationships with procurement is good for agency business - Ideas you can try right now for how to engage with procurement - What to avoid when pitching - What management consultancies are doing really well that agencies should be doing more of.... ....and lots more! So grab a pen and get ready to take some notes because she shares some golden nuggets of wisdom for you.

In my first episode I'm delighted to be chatting to Kate Whittaker, Head of Corporate Communications at DUAL International. As a marketing client, Kate Whittaker has 30 years experience managing agency relationships so is very well placed to give her perspective on what agency account managers could be doing to win their clients over. In this episode we cover: 1. How Kate selects her agencies and what she suggests you do if you're considering cold calling prospective clients 2. The qualities she looks for in a potential agency partner 3. Examples of where agency account managers have won her over and built her trust as well as where agencies get client management wrong 4. Some advice for how agencies can present additional ideas during the course of working on another project 5. Why you need to be asking your clients for more referrals 6. Her tips for how to position yourself as more of a trusted advisor 7. What's changed for her in light of COVID-19 and what she'd be interested in hearing from agencies right now 8. Some great tips for how to maintain and develop strong client relationships during this time of remote working I hope you enjoy this episode. It's packed full of nuggets to help agency account managers with client retention and growth. The sound isn't optimal and my interviewing skills need some work but I do hope you come away with some actionable tips you can put into practice in your agency account management role. If you'd like more information about how you can retain and grow existing client relationships, you'll find information about the latest training for agency account managers here: https://bit.ly/accountaccelerator. If you're an agency leader with three employees or more and haven't already joined the Agencynomics free community, here's a link to join: https://community.agencynomics.com/. If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love your support by leaving a review and also drop me a line at [email protected] if you know someone in a client role who would like to be interviewed and can share some great advice for helping agency account managers with their role.