Are you having a deliverables conversation or a business outcomes conversation?

AI isn't the problem. The conversation is.

You deliver the work in half the time. The client is pleased - but your fee stays the same.

That's where a lot of agencies are right now according to the latest findings in the Wow Company's 15th annual BenchPress report just published.

It's based on 811 UK independent agencies turning over £1m+ and the findings are stark.

68% of agencies are delivering faster. 54% say they're adding more value thanks to AI but only 4% are charging more for it.

A third of clients now expect to pay less. And 38% have taken work in-house altogether.

What this means for agencies

Most agencies are still having a deliverables conversation when they should be having a business outcomes conversation.

A deliverables conversation sounds like this:

 "What content do you need from us this quarter?"

"How many assets?"
"When do you need them by?"

A business outcomes conversation sounds like this:

 "What are you hoping this changes?" 

"Where's the pressure?"

"Is this about awareness, trust, lead quality, sales conversations or retention?"

One makes you easier to brief (reactive order taker) but the other makes you harder to replace - and the client sees you're a more valuable advisor applying their expertise and experience.

Agencies with a focus on outcomes are more profitable

If the conversation is only about delivering their request on time and on budget, that's fine but it's table stakes.

It means the client's perception is you're an 'order taker' and not a more valuable 'advisor' steering them using your expertise and experience (which might be exactly where they want you - which is again fine - as long as you want it to stay like that).

Behind every brief, there's a business problem that needs to be solved.

When you ask questions to get underneath the brief and understand that problem, you're in a very different position to help them make the right decision strategically.

And that's where the future value of account management sits.

The BenchPress data backs that up too. Agencies with a clear methodology or a focus on outcomes are consistently more profitable than those who can't clearly explain what makes them different.

The gap isn't tiny either - up to 5% more operating profit.

So what do you do with that?

If you're in account management, what kinds of conversations are you having when a client brings a new brief to you?

"We need a landing page." "We need three emails." "We need some social content."

Fine. But pause before you rush off and do it.

Start by saying something like "thanks for coming to us with the brief, do you mind if I ask a few questions....?"

Ask about the context, the background, what problem it's solving, why now, what are they hoping to achieve, what outcome are they looking for, how will you measure success? etc.

These kinds of questions change the shape of the conversation.

It takes you from being the person who delivers the output to the person perceived as understanding the client's business challenge, as someone who knows the commercial impact of your work on their business -  and helps them get a better outcome.

That's exactly what we work on in the Account Accelerator™ - my 12-week Sprint programme for people responsible for growing client accounts.

We cover how to ask better questions, how to have commercial conversations without sounding awkward and which are grounded in behavioural science -  and how to be seen as someone clients turn to for advice rather than just delivery.

The next cohort starts in September 2026. Find out more here →