Account Team Archives - Agency Management Institute

Is your AE leaving money on the table?
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Is your AE leaving money on the table?

Account Team, Agency Management, Employees, Uncategorized

Is your AE leaving money on the table?

One of the more interesting takeaways from the research we have done over the years is the juxtaposition between two beliefs that our clients have about account executives. The first was that about a third of the respondents felt that AEs were too pushy when it came to sales and that was off-putting. But that same group of clients expected (not wanted) their account exec to bring them new opportunities. How our AEs sell matters. When they go at a client in the context of their business challenges and an opportunity that their business can take advantage of — it’s welcome. When they go in talking about agency services or new “stuff” that we can make for them, it feels like a pushy sales effort. I know that you know the difference. I know that you can have that level of conversation. But you can’t be the only person in your shop who is capable of doing that. How are you helping your AEs learn the language of business? Are you encouraging them to spend time on the factory floor, so to speak? (You can’t always bill for this time but it always comes back to you) Are you sending them to your client’s big industry trade show so they can listen to the speakers, walk the exhibit floor and absorb the business? Are you surrounding them with the trade pubs your clients are following? Are you having these sorts of strategic discussions in your one-on-one meetings? This level of learning will not happen by accident. And while some of your account execs will intuitively understand they need to do this work, others will not. You’re going to have to not only show them what [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Data is an agency’s new special sauce
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Data is an agency’s new special sauce

Account Team, Client Relationships, Digital Strategies, Uncategorized

Data is an agency’s new special sauce

Remember the good old days when we could just share the monthly Google Analytics with a client and they were wowed by our prowess? Sadly, those days are gone. One of the biggest challenges facing most agencies is how to help our clients understand the numbers and what they mean. They’re no longer content to see the data, they want to know how to use the information to make better decisions. If you have someone on staff who can interpret the data and translate it, you’re one of the fortunate few. Most agencies are struggling to level up their internal analytics team to truly deliver on this client demand. I recently wrote a story for Smart Insights on how agencies are solving this problem. This isn’t going to get easier and clients’ expectations aren’t going to get smaller. How are you prepping your team for this ongoing need? The agencies that get a handle on how to interpret the data and use it to guide future decisions are going to have a very compelling story to tell. I’d love to hear how you’re solving this need. This was originally published in the AMI weekly newsletter. To subscribe, click here.

By Drew McLellan|

As an agency, how nosy are you?
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As an agency, how nosy are you?

Account Team, Agency Smarts, Client Relationships, Uncategorized

As an agency, how nosy are you?

When I talk to agency owners about their employees, one of the common frustrations I hear is that they’re not strategic enough. Many owners feel like they have to stay in the day to day mix with clients because they’re the only ones who can develop fresh strategies and direction. In our AE Bootcamps, I teach the attendees to be nosy. We make so many assumptions about our clients’ businesses. But if we had to prove our assumptions, we’d be in trouble. The best and most strategic thinkers I know are the ones who ask the most (and most interesting) questions. I think agency people need to be good at sticking their noses into our clients’ operations. We should care about, wonder about and ask about everything from how billing is handled to packaging to who answers the phone. It’s all marketing. A great and easy exercise to do is to pull together your team (by accounts they work on) and make an extensive list of what you really don’t know about that specific client. Go into every aspect of their business from sales to production to distribution and operations and dig deep. Then, share them with your client and work on ways you can learn the answers. You’ll be amazed at how appreciative your client is, the things you’ll uncover and how much smarter your work will be. Teach your employees how to be nosy. Encourage them to go way beyond the questions on the creative brief. Celebrate when they start asking questions you hadn’t thought of. And best of all — watch how strategic they get.

By Drew McLellan|

What you measure is what matters
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What you measure is what matters

Account Team, Agency Operations, Employees

What you measure is what matters

When I started my own agency is 1995 I was about 30 and the perfect combination of arrogant and ignorant. “How hard could running an agency be? If you knocked it out of the park for your clients and delivered results, everything fell into place, right?” As you might imagine, that blissfully ignorant attitude got a very fast course correction. I learned very quickly that being an agency person and running an agency were two very different things and I’d better learn how to run a business if I wanted to survive. One of the truths that quickly became apparent was that whether you are a one-man-band or have 500 employees, the numbers matter. Most of you are probably tracking the basics like gross billings and hopefully AGI. I’ve previously talked about the AGI ratios and how that money should be divided amongst your people expenses, overhead and profit. If you’re not monitoring those — get on it and get on it now. But those metrics are not enough. There are some other indicators that will tell you very quickly how healthy your agency is/isn’t and what you need to do to get back on track. An article I wrote on this topic for Hubspot’s blog back in 2016 is as relevant today as it was three years ago. In that article, I identified 5 overlooked metrics that every agency owner should be monitoring. By the way, you shouldn’t be the only one watching these metrics. Your Account Execs should play a role too. At our AE boot camps, we help your AEs understand how they can help the agency get stronger, more profitable and understand what you need from them every day. We’ve got [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Is your “nice” client talking behind your back?
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Is your “nice” client talking behind your back?

Account Team, Agency leadership, Client Relationships, Uncategorized

Is your “nice” client talking behind your back?

Let’s face it, having a nice client who doesn’t complain and just chugs along is a relief, now and then. But what if that nice client is simply non-confrontational and is actually unhappy? Where are they venting that frustration and will their silence precede you being surprised to learn that you’ve lost the business? It’s important that your account people (and you) understand how to get those clients talking, draw out the feedback that you need and actually build more honest rapport in the relationship. Chief Marketer asked me to explore how to recognize a Nice Guy client and how to get them to open up so you really know where you stand and how you can strengthen the relationship. Check it out and let me know what you think. Our September workshops, AE Bootcamp and our Advanced AE Bootcamp are getting close to maxing out. If you want to grab a spot — do it quick!

By Drew McLellan|

Why do agencies use the accrual method of accounting?
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Why do agencies use the accrual method of accounting?

Account Team, Agency leadership, Agency Management, Agency Operations, Money Issues

Why do agencies use the accrual method of accounting?

Most agencies use the the accrual basis method of accounting because it aligns more closely with how our businesses actually run and gives the agency owner more realistic numbers and metrics, so their decisions are better informed throughout the year. In the cash method of accounting – the day a business gets a check or cash from the client, it recognizes the revenue. This works well in a retail world. I walk into the grocery store. I pick up milk and bread and give the cashier some money. At that point, they have actually earned that money. Our transaction is complete. But in our world – in many cases, when a client gives us money, we haven’t actually earned that money. If the client asked for the retainer or the media pre-payment back, we have to return the money because it’s not ours yet. We haven’t done the work. But in the accrual model of accounting, transactions are accounted for when the transaction occurs or is earned, regardless of when the cash is paid or received. (Note: most agencies convert to cash for tax purposes.) Let’s play this out. You send a client an invoice for $30,000 which is 50% of a project’s fee, after they sign the scope of work. They send you a check. Your bookkeeper should book that $30,000 as a liability. Again – if they ask for the money back the next day, you owe them the $30,000. If your bookkeeper books that as a sale or revenue (like they would in the cash method) it would tell a lie. It would say that you did $30,000 worth of work in that month and you can spend that money without risk [...]

By Drew McLellan|

The Secret to Success for Agencies—The Sales Playbook
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The Secret to Success for Agencies—The Sales Playbook

Account Team

The Secret to Success for Agencies—The Sales Playbook

One of the first areas that many ad agency owners look to delegate is sales. Maybe they started their own firm because they liked the creativity and not the business side. Maybe they enjoy sales but it just takes up too much of their time. Or maybe they just aren't very good at it. The secret to success for agencies is the sales playbook. Why the sales playbook? Let’s take a look. It's common for owners to want to pass on the sales activities (and headaches) to someone else. Having a robust sales team—whether it's one person or ten—can be a key ingredient for successful agencies, and a sales playbook is an integral part of the process. Why? There are two things you have to keep in mind: As the head of your organization, you will always have some sales responsibilities—and that's the way it should be. You care more than anyone else, and you likely have the reputation, conviction, and authority that no one else in your organization does. If you just hire a salesperson, point them at a list of potential clients, and say, "Go get 'em!"... there’s a good chance they will fail, and an equally good chance your organization will struggle. Without a sales playbook, you are sending them out blind, expecting them to just figure things out on their own, which is rarely a recipe for success. Why Agencies Struggle to Develop Sales Systems When expanding to bring on salespeople, most agency owners think that when they hire a salesperson, he or she will ride in like a knight on a white horse and save the day—and they don’t really want to be involved in the process. They want to [...]

By Dave Fisher|

3 Traits to Look for in any Great Account Executive
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3 Traits to Look for in any Great Account Executive

Account Team

3 Traits to Look for in any Great Account Executive

The toughest jobs are those that put people between two equally strong and demanding forces. Waitresses, for example, are at the mercy of their customers and cooks, yet their tips and livelihoods often depend on their abilities to provide high-quality service. Account executives are in similarly demanding positions. They have to serve their clients and their agencies equally. A great account executive functions as more than a mere liaison between client and agency, though. She is the client’s thinking partner, tasked with serving as both advocate and devil’s advocate. Account executives strive to understand the client’s entire business and to appreciate how marketing will influence every aspect of it. On the agency side, a great account executive is always working to make the company look good and, ultimately, improve its bottom line. He’s a student of business who knows how to build accurate estimates and then hold his team to those estimates so they come in on time and within budget. Above all, the great ones understand the job is all about balance and that losing balance means everyone involved takes a plunge. That’s why finding a genuinely talented account executive should be among all agencies’ top priorities. Asking the Right Questions When interviewing potential account executives, ask them to explain why they want the job. Ideally, they’ll tell you that their goals involve a love of driving business growth, both for you and for your clients. Ask about a time when the candidate had to explain to a client that a project was about to go out of scope. You’ll want to know how he handled objections and hear about the outcome. Similarly, ask about his systems for managing clients’ budgets and timelines. Great account executives have [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Hey Agency Owner — Ask Better Interview Questions
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Hey Agency Owner — Ask Better Interview Questions

Account Team, Agency leadership, Agency Staff

Hey Agency Owner — Ask Better Interview Questions

I was co-teaching a workshop on managing a multi-generational agency this week and one of the topics we covered was "interview questions for millennials" but I'm here to tell you -- these are killer questions for candidates of any agency or potential position. Remember to be a better interviewer, you need to be a better listener, which means talk less and listen harder/deeper. The problem is, you need to ask better interview questions to get better answers. So here are a bunch to get you started on the path of becoming a better interviewer: What are the two or three criteria you’re using in selecting your next company or position? What’s important to you at this point in your career? What would the ideal opportunity look like in terms of the industry, company, or title that you’re pursuing? What are your career goals? What do you think this job requires? What do you expect or hope to get out of your next job? How do you like to learn? What’s the coolest thing you’ve learned lately? Tell me about a time you failed. How did you react to the failure? What’s the one thing you’d change about your last job and why? Would you rather be an inventor or a leader? Would you rather have a small team, a shoestring budget and a lot of autonomy or a big team, big budget and multi-layered decision making processes? Tell me about a time when you felt helpless but you knew you would pull through Tell me about a time when you worked with a diverse group of people with different opinions Tell me about the volunteer or charity work you do. How do you like to [...]

By Drew McLellan|

Why Agencies Need to Get Involved in All Aspects of their Clients’ Business with John Fricks
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Why Agencies Need to Get Involved in All Aspects of their Clients’ Business with John Fricks

Account Team, Client Relationships, Evergreen

Why Agencies Need to Get Involved in All Aspects of their Clients’ Business with John Fricks

You’ve heard me say it time and time again and my podcast guest John Fricks is singing the same tune about client business. “I think the CEO of an agency today really has two primary functions. One is to head up new business development. And the other one is to foster relationships internally that allow you to grow your existing clients.” This is just one of the priceless nuggets that John offers up from his vast experience on both the agency and client sides of the fence as well as his life today as a consultant. Join John and I as we talk about agency life, agency growth and how critical your team is to the agency’s success: How John managed to get huge accounts at his small agency (Fricks/Firestone) How to appeal to a CEO’s insecurities What John does at his new agency AntonWest Why agencies need to get involved in all areas of their clients’ business, not just the advertising Staying up to date on new technology and ideas Having great relationships with vendors that make them feel part of the business How to recruit and retain top talent What a culture must have to be truly collaborative How to position your agency in the marketplace How account people can gain the trust of their creatives Why it’s important to allow your employees to fail (when trying) What agency CEOs need to be focusing on today A leader of such national accounts as the Home Shopping Network, The Disney Channel, CitiFinancial, and Papa John’s Pizza as the founder and sole principal of $110 million Atlanta-based Fricks/Firestone agency, John Fricks is focused on the same kind of growth at AntonWest. In the seven-year transition [...]

By Drew McLellan|