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Account Executive Training
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Account Executive Training

Account Team

Account Executive Training

We just wrapped up one of our account executive training workshops -- we call it the Advanced Account Executive Bootcamp. A great group of dedicated account executives who all want to lead their team to even greater success. Whether I'm doing the advanced training or the Bootcamp for more entry level AEs -- we spend quite a bit of time talking about being a strategic thinker. Why? Because that seems to be agency owners #1 complaint about their account executive team -- great at following directions and taking orders but not so great at leading the client and growing that business. Are your AEs asking the right questions? I'm guessing not. Luckily for you and your agency, account executive training can fix that. I think there's a simple reason why your account executives are not performing as well as you'd like. They don't ask enough or the right questions. When a client calls and tells an AE they need to open a new project, the AE automatically goes into order taker mode. If they ask any questions at all, they're tactical questions about the deliverables the client is asking for. Most AEs have not been trained on how to step back and ask the why questions. They aren't comfortable suggesting that what the client is asking for might not be the right call. And they rarely know how to take that tactical request all the way back to the client's goals and objectives. Truth be told, depending on the sophistication of the client -- they might not know the answers if your AE did push back. But that's where the opportunities are buried. The sophisticated client will elevate your AE's status from vendor to thinking partner [...]

December 19th, 2013|

What Does An Account Executive Do?
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What Does An Account Executive Do?

Advertising Agency Training, Agency Management, Employees

What Does An Account Executive Do?

If you're wondering what does an account executive do all day in a successful agency management system -- you've come to the right place. At Agency Management Institute (AMI), we've trained hundreds of account executives, helping them understand their role with their clients and within the agency. To be able to perform the myriad of account executive tasks, a person must have proven or quickly demonstrable analytical, organizing, leadership, interpersonal, and oral and written communications skills, plus a solid understanding of marketing and advertising. Oh yeah...and your account executives need to understand how your agency works and how your agency makes money. This is certainly no job for the average beginner or for some lightweight, glib glad-hander who thinks that he or she can con his/her way through your world on a smile, a shoeshine, a few buzzwords, and a dazzling first impression. A good account executive is hard to find but is a huge benefit to your clients and your agency. Here's a quick overview of what I think an Account Executive should do in within an agency management system: Big picture for an Account Executive's clients: Understand each client's business goals and help them get there Prepare an annual marketing plan for each client and individual campaign plans as needed throughout the year (with SMART goals) Manage and strengthen (not merely maintain) client relationships Propose, sell to the client, and oversee market, media, and other research studies as required Continuously offer unsolicited ideas to increase the effectiveness of the client’s company and marketing activities Big picture for your agency: Understand how the agency makes money and how the account executive's work contributes to the agency's profitability through good management Be an advocate for [...]

May 16th, 2013|

Getting it all done
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Getting it all done

Agency Operations, Agency Smarts, Lifelong Learning, Uncategorized

Getting it all done

I can remember early in my career I was bemoaning the fact that I couldn’t seem to get it all done. My boss started laughing. Like belly, starting to cry laughing. At me. When he finally caught his breath, he said, “Drew, it’s never all done. This isn’t a 9-5, leave when the work is complete sort of job. You need to learn how to work smart but also not let the inbox (back then it was a literal inbox) get in your head. When you can get it all done, there’s a problem.” I’ve spent my entire career, as I imagine you have, trying to define and refine my own work habits to be as effective as possible. I have a much better sense of how I work, when I am most effective at certain tasks, and how to cleanse my palette so I stay fresh throughout the day. But, there are some days, like when I’m on planes all day (pre-COVID), that work has to get done and the time is now. Much of my job requires writing and I can’t wait for quiet, a muse, or inspiration. It’s due and it’s due now. Thrive Global asked me to share how I pack my plane trips with productivity and while my specific circumstance is probably not yours — I’m hoping these tricks and tools will be helpful in your quest to make the most of your workday. Being more effective and efficient is a key component (among many) in our Advanced AE and AE bootcamps (Sept 1-2, 3-4) as well. An AE needs to get the most not only from their own day but in how they frame up the work for the [...]

August 31st, 2020|

Did you email me?
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Did you email me?

Agency Smarts, Employees, Uncategorized, Workshops

Did you email me?

A couple years ago, I updated my OS on my laptop and it literally ate any email sent to/from me after 2015. I went through several weeks of trying to get back to all of the people who had emailed me and never heard back. They probably thought I had no manners but I promise — I was raised better than that. This illustrates a point that I teach regarding email. We depend on email too much and we assume it’s more reliable than it is. Which is ironic, given our own inboxes and how much clutter we dodge throughout the day. I was talking to an agency owner the other day and she was lamenting that their new business efforts are falling flat. As she described their efforts it was pretty clear that the problem was they were tossing the ball into the prospect’s court by email and then just waiting for it to bounce back. This is also a huge problem with your AEs. In our AE Bootcamps, one of the best practices I stress is not to just use email to shift the burden to the client/check the item off their To-Do list. Your AEs need to be adept at quickly accelerating a conversation beyond email. If you’re not coaching to the advantages and foibles of email with your team, you should be. If you’re not building out a more robust communication matrix with prospects and clients, you should be. If you would like your AEs to learn more about this best practice as well as many others, there is still time to sign up for one of our virtual AE Bootcamps here or here! This was originally published in the weekly [...]

August 17th, 2020|

Dealstorming Methodology: The Combination of Deal-Making and Brainstorming & How to Use it to Grow Your Business with Tim Sanders
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Dealstorming Methodology: The Combination of Deal-Making and Brainstorming & How to Use it to Grow Your Business with Tim Sanders

Agency Smarts, Evergreen, New Business

Dealstorming Methodology: The Combination of Deal-Making and Brainstorming & How to Use it to Grow Your Business with Tim Sanders

I know very few agency owners who love that the burden of sales sits squarely on their shoulders. Many of you don’t enjoy sales and would rather be back in the shop, creating or strategizing. Well, here’s some good news. You don’t and shouldn’t do it alone. My podcast guest and best-selling author (Love is the Killer App, Saving the World at Work and his new book Dealstorming) Tim Sanders believes that sales is a team sport which requires bringing together different perspectives from every corner of your agency and beyond. Tim has held the position of Chief Solutions Officer at Yahoo! and is now the CEO of Deeper Media, an online advice-content company. As a veteran sales, marketing and HR leader, he has some unconventional ideas for these unconventional times. His take on the combination of brainstorming and deal-making or “Dealstorming” will challenge your thinking about how to get sales done and may be just what you need to land that next big client. Follow Tim’s thinking as he and I explore: Tim’s start in sales working for a radio station Dealstorming methodology: how Tim took dealmaking and brainstorming and put them together The difference between collaboration and cooperation How to strategically build your dealstorm team Turning your peer group into “competimates” that you can collaborate with to make each other stronger Why you absolutely need diverse perspectives in the room (and why you should have an external voice on your dealstorm team) The secrets to making your dealstorm meeting a magic meeting with results New business through rapid problem solving The hacker, the chef, and the artist: the three personas for solving different problems How leaders lead culture Tim Sanders is a veteran [...]

May 19th, 2017|

The 4 Most Common Financial Mistakes that are Costing Your Agency Money
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The 4 Most Common Financial Mistakes that are Costing Your Agency Money

Agency Management, Evergreen, Money Issues

The 4 Most Common Financial Mistakes that are Costing Your Agency Money

Whether you like it or not, there are several financial mistakes being made in your agency today that are costing you money. You’re in business to make money, so every step you can take to prevent these mistakes is worth it’s weight in gold, literally. Most of these mistakes happen slowly over time and just eat away at your profits little by little. This solocast is all about these money draining mistakes and what you can do to plug any holes you may have. In this solocast I will cover: Gross Billings vs. Adjusted Gross Income How agencies lose money when pricing Why scope creep leads to little or no profit Why your agency needs to issue change orders and how to turn this into a process Why you need to use the one page business plan How to know if you need a better new business plan (hint: you probably do) Why you need a tax advisor not a tax preparer Drew McLellan is the Top Dog at Agency Management Institute. He has also owned and operated his own agency over the last 20-years. And all through the year, he straddles the fence of working in his agency and working with 250+ small- to mid-size agencies in a variety of ways. He works with agency owners in peer network groups, teaches workshops for owners and their leadership teams, teaches AE bootcamps, and does a lot of consulting. Because he works with a lot of agencies every year — he has the unique opportunity to see the patterns and the habits (both good and bad) that happen over and over again. He has also written two books and been featured in The New York [...]

July 11th, 2016|

What clients want from their advertising agency
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What clients want from their advertising agency

Account Team, Client Relationships

What clients want from their advertising agency

This article discusses client retention strategies, and explains what clients are truly looking for from their ad agency. In our AE training (both the bootcamp and the Account Service Advanced Training) we ask the participants to make a list of what they think their clients want from their advertising agency. It's a rare AE that thinks to actually ask their clients what they're looking for from their agency or agency liaison. But the answers often reveal that disconnect. When we asked CMOs, business owners and Directors of Marketing what they were looking for from their agencies, here's what they said: Industry knowledge Clients expect their advertising agencies to either come to them with a deep level of expertise in the client's business/industry or else, get up to speed in a hurry. Even more so -- they expect the agency to stay current and to make sure the client does too. It's pretty difficult to bring proactive ideas and solutions to the table if you don't know the game that's being played. Business Acumen In today's world, marketing touches every aspect of a client's business. Clients expect their agency to understand their entire business model from R&D to distribution. They need someone at the table who can recognize and solve business problems. Accountability Clients need their agency to do what they say they're going to do. That means bringing projects in on time and on budget. It means owning a problem until it gets resolved. It also means the flip side -- clients want an agency to hold them accountable too. They need to be nudged now and then to keep their eye on the ball and do their part in making the work a success. Accessibility [...]

November 5th, 2012|

Staff Workshops
Staff Workshops

Staff Workshops

Account Managers/Executives/Strategists (or whatever you happen to call them!) are the primary client facing members of your staff. Each AE basically runs a division of your company and that's division's success is resting on their shoulders. They create, hold and ideally grow the client relationship and your agency's profits. They have to understand: Marketing (not just advertising) Sales (for both the agency and the client) Your client's industries Finance (yours and the clients) Business operations and how to solve business problems All 4 Ps and the 4 Cs of digital marketing How to lead a team And be part salesperson, part relationship builder, part business mentor and part psychologist! That's no small feat and the truth is -- they sure don't learn it all in college. And let's be honest, when you hired them -- it was baptism by fire! Now they've been on the job for a bit and you'd like to groom them to be even better. That's where our three workshops come in. They will leave your place thinking they're advertising executives and come back understanding that they're business builders (yours and the clients!). We offer two AE workshops, based on the level of the employee's experience and responsibilities. AE Boot Camp: This two-day workshop is designed specifically for client facing agency employees who have been in the business for less than three years. They might be an account coordinator or AE who shows incredible promise and clients already love. We'll give them the core skills to understand their role in making your agency money and making themselves so valuable the clients can't imagine not working with you. (Learn more) Advanced AE Boot Camp: This two-day workshop is for your agency's more [...]

April 28th, 2012|

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