Blog
Practical, straight-talking advice for agency account managers who want to retain client relationships and grow accounts.
Expect clear frameworks, real examples and simple tools you can put to work immediately - from running tighter client meetings and QBRs, to spotting growth opportunities and handling tricky conversations.
How to keep top account management talent AND cut training costs
'Train the trainer' isn't new. But it is fairly new for agency owners who want to keep 'rising star' account managers but have tighter training budgets
How account managers can run a revenue boosting client win-back campaign
Ever thought about winning back your past clients? It could be one of the most impactful moves for your agency’s bottom line.
What to do when your client says they've found someone cheaper
An account director client of mine has been struggling with a client relationship.
Three ways to trip up your account manager
The account manager's role is hard. Some argue it's the hardest in the agency.
Why do clients ditch agencies?
Is the agency business model holding account managers back?
Why do your clients really buy your agency services?
Why do clients really buy your agency services? Most agencies want to understand what clients think. And it turns out prospective clients and existing clients are thinking different things.
Why the account manager ‘permission line’ is stopping growth
In 2019 Gartner conducted a study to understand why account managers were ineffective in growing existing agency client business.
How to prevent 3 difficult client conversations - a checklist for account managers
There are little things account managers can do well to avoid big client complaints. Here are 3 common scenarios in which an account manager has to have a difficult conversation.
How to solve a client's business problem as an agency account manager
Michael Farmer, a management consultant who has studied creative agencies for 30 years, said this during our recent interview: “Account managers need to be more like Bain consultants”
The trouble with account managers
I read as many reports I can about the state of agency account management and it makes for grim reading.
How to get account managers to ask better questions
Why do account managers miss new account growth opportunities in client meetings? Often it’s because they haven’t asked the right questions. Or they’ve asked some of the right questions but didn’t have the confidence to probe deeper in their questioning.
Account managers need to know this about client budgets
Results of a study have come out called "Building trust and revenue with existing clients". The Jan 2023 study was US-based so if you have US clients, you’ll find this compelling. But even if you don’t, hopefully it’ll make you think about your client’s budget.
What are the legalities of using AI for agencies?
Many agencies are using generative AI tools but some are concerned about:Client confidentiality i.e. anything you feed into a an AI tool relating to your clientCopyright and ownership (of inputs or outputs)Contractual agreements and AI policies
How a copywriting agency is embracing generative AI
Agencies use generative AI tools to make internal workflow more efficient and teams more productive. In the latest episode of the Creative Agency Account Manager podcast, Konrad Sanders CEO of The Creative Copywriter shares 3 use cases
