Why clients 'bypass' account managers - and how to fix it
An agency owner told me last week,
“Clients say they trust my team, yet they still ask for me in every meeting.”
Sound familiar? When the owner leads the call, three things happen:
Clients feel they’re getting top-tier advice
Account managers feel up-staged
You stay stuck in day-to-day delivery instead of growth
Let’s fix the dynamic.
Put the account manager in the conductor’s seat
Before the meeting
Call the client and confirm the day/time, agenda and attendees; ask if there are any other topics the client would like to cover (sometimes clients say 'oh there's another project coming up I'd like to talk to you about)Huddle internally for five minutes - who’s owning which part?Arm the AM with one insight that proves market awareness i.e. something about an industry trend - or event - or something related to the client's customer or competitor e.g. the AM shares a screenshot of a competitor campaign they know the client is concerned about
During
AM opens the call, recaps goals.AM cues each speaker (including you) at the right momentAM shares that external insight - screenshare, stat, or campaign exampleAM pauses five minutes from the end, summarises the key actions and agrees follow up actions and who will be assignedAM closes and talks through a succinct recap with next steps
After
You back up the AM’s email with a quick “great summary looking forward to kicking off” type replyThe client now knows who’s steering day-to-day
If you’re still the main contact…
Is it a legacy account you’ve always handled? Tell the client you’ll still check in monthly, but [AM name] is first call for daily needs.
Is the team under-trained? Invest in coaching so they earn the client’s confidence.
Have you struggled with this hand-off before?
