A message for agency owners and CEOs
I was on a call this morning with the Founder and CEO of a midsize firm in our industry. We were having a conversation about sales, part of which was how they were doing with their existing clients. Evidently, pretty good… according to him. “Our clients really like the work our firm is doing for them.” Great!
I followed that up by asking if he spent any time with his clients, particularly his largest accounts. He said, “Not really.”
So, this is what I recommended. Once each quarter, schedule a zoom call (or in-person meeting, preferably) to talk with your clients’ leadership teams. Your presence will reinforce for them, as the agency leader, that their business is important to you and your firm.
And here’s the thing… you don’t have to talk about their projects. If they come up… fine. But that’s not the point. Your goal is to understand your clients at a higher level.
- Talk about their business – both the company, as a whole, and their department, specifically. Make sure you understand the company, their clients, their industry, their products and (most importantly) their business challenges.
- Talk about their general perception of your firm and how you can serve them better.
- Talk about the MR industry and how the coming trends will impact them.
- Talk about non-work things. Get to know them as people, not just as clients.
There are a number of reasons to have these kinds of conversations:
- The more conversations that take place, the more likely you are to develop a trust-based relationship. And it’s those sorts of relationships that are the foundation for your longest-standing clients.
- People do business with people they like. That’s always been the case… and always will be. From the CEO down to their front-line project managers, build and nurture authentic relationships.
- Because your front-line employees – project managers, researchers, and analysts – are usually neck deep in a project, it’s difficult for them to see the bigger picture. But as the firm’s leader, when you come in for these higher-level conversations, you are more likely to gain exposure to other opportunities within that same client company.
- It’s important to get to know as many people as possible on the client side. That way, if your key contact goes away, you can continue working with the others there. That also works in the other direction! What if your operational employee (who is the key contact with the account) goes away? Well, because you’ve been involved, they are likely to continue working with your firm because they now know you, like you and trust you.
Conclusion
As the leader of an agency, you have a lot to do… but maybe nothing is more important than helping to secure your business by being engaged with your current clients. So, right now, take a look at your client list (especially the biggest ones) and start a program of reaching out to them for at least 30 minutes, four times a year.
It’ll be the smartest thing you do all day!