Despite headlines full of restructures and AI panic, independent agency owners are reporting that business is picking up - and the numbers partly back that up.

The skills clients consistently say they want from their agency (proactive strategic thinking, genuine understanding of their business, reliable delivery that proves value) are commercial skills in everything but name.

A lack of proactivity in agency account managers is consistently ranked as the top unmet client expectation in client-agency research, but the cause is structural, not personal.

Faster delivery does not mean cheaper delivery, and assuming it does is costing agencies money.

This article explains why ghosting happens between creative agency projects, and what to do differently.

The next eight weeks are the most important for getting in front of clients before things get quieter in the summer.

I've had a wide range of AI conversations with agency owners this month - and the split has been striking. 

I see a pattern with strong account managers who are good at account growth.

AI isn't the problem. The conversation is. Most agencies are still having a deliverables conversation when they should be having a business outcomes conversation.

Trust is something every account manager wants to build with their client – but it’s often elusive. According to research by consultancy firm Relationship Audits and Management, nearly two-thirds of agencies have never asked their clients this..

I recently recorded a conversation with Jon Gwillim and Kate Eversole from PharmaBrands. They spend their lives embedded in pharma and healthcare marketing – running events, upskilling teams, speaking to agencies and their clients every single week.

If you’re developing account managers, don’t treat soft skills as personality traits. Treat them as behaviours that can be practised.

Practise the moment you ask for the referral. Practise the wording that raises the out-of-scope CRO issue without sounding salesy. Practise the Friday scope creep conversation without wobbling or being defensive. Practise how you support your point of contact in a room full of seniors, while still leading the conversation.

That’s the human work around the work. And it’s where a lot of account growth lives.

This week I ran three account growth workshops with agency teams – all very different types of agencies but some common themes came up. Here are a few scenarios and takeaways that sparked great conversations – and might be worth a nudge for you or your team

AI is making agencies more efficient but most importantly it has the potential to free up account managers to spend more time deepening client relationships.