Creative Agency Account Manager Podcast

Welcome to episode 138. If you're managing client relationships - or leading others who do - this episode is packed with practical advice. I'm joined by David C. Baker, widely regarded as "the expert's expert" in the marketing agency world. David has advised over 1,000 entrepreneurial experts through his consulting firm, Punctuation, which he founded back in 1994. He's the author of 7 books, including the influential "The Business of Expertise" and "Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors," and his latest book “Selling your professional services firm”. His insights have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and numerous other publications. As the co-host of the popular "2Bobs" podcast, David regularly shares his expertise on agency management. With decades of experience working with marketing services firms, David brings unparalleled insights into the nuanced relationship between account management and project management - which makes him the perfect guest as we prepare for the third annual Account and Project Management event in Atlanta in September 2025. Here's just a handful of the things we covered: • Why growing the account is the primary role of an account manager - and why order-taking isn't enough (particularly now) • The healthy tension that needs to exist between AMs and PMs - and what happens when one person does both • Why strong account managers read the room - not just run the meeting • How to lead clients without being pushy - and why honesty is your best sales strategy • Practical tips for handovers, managing workload, and setting account managers up for success • And why account managers can - and should - lead the AI conversation within the agency David also shares thoughts on leadership, compensation, and the future of AM in an AI-driven world. If this conversation sparked ideas for how you can grow your client relationships, lead more confidently, and future-proof your role - then imagine what could happen if you gave yourself two days completely focused on it. Join us in Atlanta this 23rd and 24th of September for the AM/PM Conference - the only event created specifically for agency account and project managers. This isn't just another conference. It's where you'll: • Surround yourself with people who get it - fellow AMs and PMs facing the same pressures and expectations you are • Learn practical strategies to retain and grow client accounts, manage tricky situations, and improve delivery - without burning out • Discover exactly how other agencies are using AI to work smarter, automate the boring stuff, and deliver faster, better outcomes • Leave with fresh tools, frameworks, and real-world examples you can put into practice the very next day I'll be there, David C. Baker will be there, and we're also joined by Brett Harned - founder of the Digital PM Summit and author of Project Management for Humans. If you're serious about growing your career and elevating your role - this is where it happens. Visit https://www.punctuation.com for all the details and to grab your spot.

Welcome to episode 137. If you've ever wondered when's the right time to introduce an account manager role into your agency - or how that change might impact the way you serve clients - this episode is for you. I'm joined by Cameron Magee, founder of event production agency avad3, trusted by clients such as Walmart and the White House. He shares with me: Why he waited until 30+ employees to hire a dedicated account manager What changed when Cameron stepped back from day-to-day client contact The growing pains of introducing account management into a production-led culture Advice Cameron would give to other agency owners ready to make the leap We also touch on where the live event industry is going - and why hybrid events might start to feel a bit more like first-class travel experiences. If you'd like to connect with Cameron, you'll find him most active on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/c-magee or go to the avad3 website: http://avad3.com/ If you want regular tips and updates about how AI is impacting the agency account management role then head over to my website and sign up for my newsletter. That's where I share tools, training and guest insights to help you strengthen and expand your client relationships. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 136. We're talking about a topic that's becoming a real game-changer for creative agencies - the power of personal branding and employee-generated content. If you're an account manager, this one's especially for you. Clients are increasingly choosing to work with people, not just businesses. So the way you show up online can directly impact trust, relationships and even new business opportunities. I chat to Claudia Cardinali, the Strategy Director for Personal Branding Agency, Great Influence where she works closely with CEOs & founders and senior leadership teams on their public image. Claudia has worked to build the personal brands of Political Party Leaders, Sunday Times bestselling authors, Premier League football players, Journalists & Unicorn Entrepreneurs. She was awarded a LinkedIn Top Voice last year, has gained an audience of over 65k followers and has built her career by sharing her thoughts on the platform, particularly around 'Becoming A Manager' and 'Employee Generated Content'. In this conversation, we covered: How employee visibility strengthens client relationships and eases handovers Why personal branding isn't just for founders Practical tips for sharing content online, even if you're not sure where to start How agencies can create a culture that encourages their teams to show up And how AI can help make the whole process quicker and easier If you're looking to build your presence online and become an even greater asset to your clients and your agency, you'll get so much value from this. Claudia's message is clear - personal branding builds trust, strengthens client relationships, and helps you stand out as a true advocate for your agency. https://greatinfluence.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/ccardinali9/ And if you want to sharpen your client development skills even further, check out my Account Kickstarter programme - a self-paced, eight-session online course designed to help you grow and retain your agency accounts with confidence. Plus, we've just added a brand-new bonus: AI for Account Managers - packed with practical tools to help you save time, personalise client communications and uncover new growth opportunities. All available now inside your Account Kickstarter dashboard. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-kickstarter

Welcome to episode 135. There's a quiet shift happening in the agency world - and today's episode gets right into it. More and more agencies are choosing to stay lean, move faster, and build businesses that are not just profitable - but more human. And that shift is changing everything, from how we use AI, to how we lead, to what it means to be an account manager. Carl Smith leads The Bureau, a community that connects and supports agency leaders. A former theater major, he ran his agency nGen Works for 12 years, experimenting with unconventional management. After attending a Bureau event in 2012, he saw the power of community and took over in 2016. Now, Carl helps leaders navigate the challenges of running an agency, ensuring no one feels alone. Through Slack, events, and collaborative programs, The Bureau fosters real connections and growth. When he's not building community, he's running, recording, or speaking about leading humans. In this episode, Carl shares with me: - Why staying small is becoming a competitive advantage - How agency leaders are managing burnout, uncertainty and shifting business models - How AI is accelerating workflow and value-based pricing - Why Gen Z is redefining what an agency is and why they're not calling it an agency at all - And what the future of account management looks like in this changing landscape If you're looking for community and connection in these changing times, do follow Carl Smith on LinkedIn and check out what the Bureau has to offer. Carl and the team are doing brilliant work to support agency leaders who not only want to stay ahead of the changes but feel less alone at the same time. https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-w-smith/ https://bureauofdigital.com/event/leadership-love-portland-oregon If you're leading client relationships and want to keep developing as the landscape shifts, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com I share practical client management tips, AI tools for the account management role, news about upcoming podcast episodes and you'll be the first to hear about trainings to help you stay confident as an account manager or agency leader.

Welcome to episode 134. I spoke to Kevin Gibbons, founding director of Re:signal, a specialist ecommerce SEO agency, driving organic search growth for clients including Under Armour, FatFace and ASICS. Kevin frequently writes/speaks within the search industry. Kevin covers: - how AI is shaking up SEO and what that means for agencies and their clients. - how AI is changing search and where it might go next. - the key conversations agencies should be having with clients right now. - how to think about visibility in AI search results and LLMs - how agencies can use AI to work more efficiently and lots, lots more. I took away so much from this discussion, particularly around how agencies should be preparing for the shift towards AI driven search. If you'd like to connect with Kevin, you can find him posting regularly on LinkedIn and I'd highly recommend you give him a follow. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevingibbons/ https://resignal.com If you're looking for more tips, strategies, and practical guidance on how AI is influencing client relationship management, account development, and account growth, then make sure you sign up for my newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com. I share regular updates, insights from expert guests, and tips about account management, and also training opportunities to help you stay one step ahead.

Welcome to episode 133. I'm chatting with Founder of G3NR8, Tom Head, about how AI is impacting business. G3NR8 is a consultancy for a new age, innovating business with AI. Tom has spent two decades in digital and built multiple 7 figure agencies. He's worked with brands such as Red Bull Racing, JP Morgan, Tesco, and The Guardian and is now helping companies succeed with AI by providing training, consultancy, research, and building out the right AI strategy to keep them ahead of the competition. We talk about: • where we are in terms of AI's evolution and advancement for both our clients and us as agencies. • why it's important to understand the client's needs and meet them where they are. • how AI is helping agencies quickly analyse data and uncover insights to help drive the creative output. • some best practices for agencies when using AI tools • how clients are starting to question the origin of content and where it's being generated from, and questioning the value and the role of an agency. You can follow Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-head-ai/ And sign up for the G3NR8 newsletter here: https://www.g3nr8.com/newsletter

Welcome to episode 132. This one will be particularly interesting and useful for you if you are responsible for marketing your agency's services. Agencies are experts in the field of marketing and are always focused on our clients' marketing success. But how often do we seek an external perspective on how we are marketing our own agency services? So if you're the owner of the agency, that might be you, or if you're working in a larger agency, you might be the head of marketing responsible for driving the leads and the sales for your agency. My guest, Janet Murray, is a business strategist and a copywriter and an ex-journalist. She works with businesses to create strategic copywriting campaigns that not only save the business time but also generate and convert leads and sales. Janet is also the founder of an education and training company and creates and sells digital education products for consultants, coaches, freelancers and small business owners. She is the host of the Courageous CEO podcast and her Courageous CEO Strategic Business Planner is used by thousands of business owners worldwide and includes tried and tested strategies and resources for business growth. You can reach out to Janet here: Website: https://www.janetmurray.co.uk Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janmurrayuk/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetmurrayofficial Twitter: https://twitter.com/jan_murray Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-murray74/ If you are responsible for managing, retaining and growing your existing client relationships, then head over to my website: https://www.account managementskills.com where you can sign up for my regular newsletter for account management strategies, AI tips, and news about upcoming guests on my podcast episodes.

Welcome to episode 131. If you are a healthcare communications agency owner, or an account manager working in healthcare communications, and you're looking to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of pharmaceutical marketing, then this episode is for you. I'm joined in the studio by Jonathan Gwillim and Kate Eversole from PharmaBrands. They are the organisers of the upcoming Age of AI Europe event, which, if you're listening or watching this at the beginning of 2025, is happening on March 4th in London. This is Europe's leading conference in GenAI in healthcare marketing and it features expert speakers from companies like Google, AstraZeneca, Novartis, ITV, Novo, Nordisk, Boehringer, Ingelheim and many more. In this episode, Jonathan and Kate share of insights about how healthcare agencies and their clients are using GenAI right now. They also share how creative directors feel about Gen AI's impact on the industry, and Kate also shares practical steps you can take as an account manager to confidently embrace AI in your role and some tips for having conversations with your clients. You can connect with Kate and Jonathan via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateeversole/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongwillim/ There were several resources and links mentioned in our recording: The Age of AI event, March 4, London: https://www.pharmabrands.ca/age-of-ai-europe PharmaBrands report on AI literacy: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65b7dd23f5d4facb3c95fdf7/678e3106eb089ba6a175a282_AI%20Literacy%20Report_2025%20(3).pdf Free webinar on Gen AI 101 : https://www.pharmabrands.ca/webinar Klick and Guardrail reference: https://www.klick.com/news/ai-compliance-breakthrough-wins-klick-prize-results-signal-industry-trends Recommended newsletter from Klick on all things health marketing: https://www.klick.com/klickwire Syneos Health reference: https://pmsociety.org.uk/results/pm-society-digital-awards-2024-results/pm-society-digital-awards-2024-digital-agency-of-the-year/ & their trends report: https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub/2025-health-trends Pfizer and Publicis reference: https://digiday.com/marketing/with-charlie-pfizer-is-building-a-new-generative-ai-platform-for-pharma-marketing/ Sanofi reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexzhavoronkov/2023/06/21/sanofi-goes-all-in-on-ai/ Novo Nordisk reference: https://www.novonordisk.com/content/dam/nncorp/global/en/investors/irmaterial/cmd/2024/P10-Data-Science-and-AI.pdf AI driven Video - Cires 21: https://www.cires21.com/ Text to speech leader - Eleven labs: https://elevenlabs.io/ Great content on marketing AI - Marketing AI institute: https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/ Tool to reduce meetings - Loom: https://www.loom.com/

Welcome to episode 130. I'm joined by Leadership Coach and People & Culture Consultant, Theresa Carter. Agencies are people businesses, so it's essential to the success of the agency to attract and recruit the right people with the right skills for the right roles. And this also means that, as the agency grows, the needs of the business change. For example, you might start your agency with small national clients, and then as you expand, you might begin to serve multinational clients that are much bigger, that operate differently. You might need different team members with different skills and experience that suits the agency's evolving needs. All of this starts with aligning your business goals with a solid people and culture plan. In our chat, Theresa Carter shares: · how to create your people and culture plan from your business goals · what happens when some of your team members are in the wrong seats · how to deal with that · how to create some accountability for delivering your people and culture plan · and lots more. If you want some guidance to build a really strong and successful agency team that's totally aligned with your values, then please do get in touch with her via email: theresaaustincarter@gmail.com or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaaustin/ And if you're responsible for the retention and growth of your existing client relationships at the agency, then you can go to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and sign up for my newsletter where I share agency account management tips, strategies, mini trainings, and also key points covered by my expert podcast guests.

Welcome to episode 129. In this episode Jenny breaks down the three key areas to focus on if you want to maximise the growth of your existing client accounts in 2025: 1. Finding COMMERCIAL CLARITY Agencies who predictably forecast revenue growth from existing accounts are clear where to focus their team's efforts and provide sufficient time and support for developing an account growth strategy. They have client development plans in place and work differently with 'growth' clients than ‘maintenance' clients. 2. Having CONSULTANCY CAPABILITY Spotting account growth opportunities and proactively developing ideas and solutions for them requires a consultative skillset and entrepreneurial mindset. Client-facing team members need to be able to have conversations about adding value and ask for testimonials and referrals comfortably. 3. Embedding CULTURAL CONTINUITY To make account growth systematic and scalable it needs to be embedded as a defined repeatable process in the agency that's followed by everyone. A process helps new joiners hit the ground running and ensures client-centric behaviours are ‘hard wired' into the business. She shares soundbites from participants of her Account Accelerator programme who provide tips and examples of how they've implemented strategies in each of these areas. If you're considering improving your client retention and growth skills, check out the training options on our website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and if you'd like to discuss your training needs with Jenny you can book a 20 minute call here: https://calendly.com/jennyplant/account-accelerator-discovery-call Sign up to receive our regular newsletter where we share account management tips, and notify you of upcoming podcast guests and trainings.

Welcome to episode 128. This conversation is going to be particularly interesting for you if you're keen to develop your leadership skills. It's for you if you're currently in charge of the agency and leading the whole team OR you're leading an AM team within the agency - and you want to go from being a ‘good' leader to being a ‘great' leader. Founder of Navigate The Journey and author of ‘What If There's More?: Finding Significance Beyond Success', Traci Schubert Barrett shares actionable tips and advice on how to lead with purpose, navigate the complexities of scaling an agency, and foster authentic connections both with your team and your clients. Whether you're an agency owner grappling with leadership challenges or an account manager aspiring to step into a leadership role, this chat is packed with wisdom and practical takeaways to help you grow. You can connect with and find out more about Traci Barrett here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracischubertbarrett/ Book: https://a.co/d/184VveL Website: https://www.navigatethejourney.com https://www.tracischubertbarrett.com If you'd like to stay updated with more tips and resources to enhance your account management skills, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com You'll receive updates about new podcast episodes, expert guest announcements, and information about training courses designed for creative agency account managers at all levels. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a review, and share this episode with a colleague who could benefit from these insights.

Welcome to episode 127. Thank you for listening in 2024. Looking back at this year, I've been reflecting on the superb guests I've had on the show. I thought I'd select a handful of soundbites from this year's podcast episodes to share with you. This isn't a comprehensive list - there have been so many standout moments - but these clips include tips, advice, or insights that stayed with me. I've shared 10 soundbites that I hope you find as useful or insightful as I did. Stick around until the end to hear a clip from one of the most popular episodes and one that I received the most positive feedback from listeners! You can also read more about each of these guests by visiting this episode's page on my website here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/top-10-tips-insights-from-the-podcast-in-2024-with-jenny-plant These episodes are mentioned: 1. Episode 125: Dan Pfister, "How to Win Back Clients for Exceptional ROI" 2. Episode 120 & 121: Carey Evans & Simon Rhind-Tutt, “What Your Client Don't Tell You” 3. Episode 116: Jack Skeels, "Why Agencies Need to Rethink Project Management" 4. Episode 117: Tim Williams, "Why Time-Based Pricing Doesn't Work" 5. Episode 114: Gareth Healey, "Stand Out or Die" 6. Episode 115: Tim Riesterer, “Why selling to client and prospects is different" 7. Episode 109: Michael Farmer, "Why the Agency Business Model Isn't Working" 8. Episode 91: Sharon Toerek, "How Agencies Are Navigating the Legalities of AI Use" 9. Episode 111: Alison Coward, "How a Workshop Culture Builds High-Performing 10. Episode 105: Benjamin Dennehy & Marcus Cauchi, "How to Sell" If you'd like to be kept up to date with who is coming on the podcast, the topics we're covering, receive tips about agency account management or to be notified about trainings I'm doing, you can sign up for my newsletter at my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 126. In this episode, I chat to Brian Jacobs (Founder, BJ&A) and Crispin Reed (Founder, Skyscraper Consulting) about what's wrong with the advertising industry. And what specifically prompted the launch of their ‘Who Cares?' initiative, aimed at tackling the pressing issues affecting the advertising industry today. We cover: · what's actually wrong with the industry itself · the need for greater creativity and transparency in advertising · how Brian developed the ‘Who Cares?' idea · how a one-off event has turned into a well-supported movement · how industry stakeholders can get involved to collaborate on initiatives I do hope you'll listen to this important discussion and visit https://www.advertisingwhocares.org to find out more and get involved. If you're an agency owner and would like to discuss account retention and growth training and coaching options – or would like to reserve a spot for the next Account Accelerator (January 2025) - you can schedule a no obligation call with me to discuss your needs, via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 125. Have you ever considered contacting your old clients to see if they'd like to work with you again? If not this episode may change your mind. Dan Pfister is the master of running client winback campaigns and here's what he shares with me: · The compelling reasons why WinBack campaigns could be the most successful and profitable thing you ever do to grow your business (the ROI is staggering) · A step by step guide to how to approach running a client winback campaign – and what to avoid · Results and examples of campaigns from many companies who have been successful Dan is very passionate about this topic and he had me gripped with this episode, I hope you'll end up putting some serious thought into running a client win back campaign after listening to this compelling chat. If you haven't already you can find his book “Million Dollar Winback” on Amazon now. You can also connect with Dan here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmpfister http://winbacklabs.com/ If you want to receive weekly tips on agency account management, learn strategies for client growth, get notified for any trainings I'm running and stay in the loop about our upcoming podcast episodes, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 124. This will be particularly interesting for you if you want to know how much the head of client services role can impact the agency's business. Listen in if you don't currently have a client services team and you're perhaps thinking about having one, or your client services function isn't performing as you'd like it to and you're exploring options for perhaps bringing in a head of department. Or maybe you are the client services director in your agency and are curious to understand how someone else in this role operates. Emily Brown and Matt Loughlin joined me today from digital marketing agency, Receptional. I met Emily when she was just a few months into joining the agency and I've been very lucky to have the opportunity of working with her in my Account Accelerator programme, and that means I've been working with her for almost a year. This conversation reflects on what she's achieved as the new head of client service. Here are the key themes that we cover during our chat: • why the agency decided in the first place to hire a head of client service • Emily's first 90 days in the role, and how she pinpointed and tackled the key priorities and established herself with the team • the impact this CSD role has had on the agency's operations team and clients just 16 months later • and the learnings from both Matt and Emily's perspective of establishing this new role in the agency that hopefully you can benefit from in your agency. They share lots of detailed tips and examples that I'm sure you're going to find useful. You can connect with Emily and Matt here: https://www.receptional.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-brown-5073993a/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattloughlin/ If you'd like to discuss training and coaching for your client-facing account management team, then you can book a no obligation call with me via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com. You'll be able to see the different training options I have available, from self-study to long term coaching, and also sign up for my regular newsletter.

Welcome to episode 123. This episode will be particularly interesting for you if you're responsible for your agency's internal operations. You might be the operations director, head of project management, or even a client services director, but if you think your internal agency operations could be more efficient and streamlined, then this episode is for you. Harv Nagra is an agency ops consultant, a former in-house agency ops director, and Head of Brand Comms at agency work management platform Scoro. He's recently launched The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast. Here's just a flavour of what Harv shared in our chat: • how to assess how developed your operations are using a five-stage business maturity model • what you should typically have in place at each of the five stages and what actions you need to take to move to the next stage. • and some of the key trends Harv is seeing for agencies when it comes to operations. Please do follow Harv on LinkedIn because he shares really good insights and tips about agency operations and project management. http://linkedin.com/in/harvnagra The Handbook: The Agency Operations Podcast: Podcast on Apple: https://apple.co/3y2R8DN Podcast on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3Lrg9f0 If you'd like to hear about my upcoming podcast episodes, account growth training sessions, tips about account management and news about the agency industry, you can sign up to receive my regular newsletter by going to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to episode 122. This episode will be particularly relevant for you if you're an ambitious agency owner looking to accelerate the growth of your agency. - Maybe you think you're not standing out enough from your competitors. - Perhaps you feel your positioning needs dialling in because maybe you've lost some pitches or you've had to drop your prices. - Or maybe you just want to be seen as more specialized and expert. Agency consultant and CEO of Co:definery, Robin Bonn, joins me to bust the myth that the agency market is oversupplied, and he explains how helps agencies create a future proofed, high margin agency business by creating their market of one. Robin explains exactly what a ‘market of one' is, and how he's helped many agencies accelerate their growth with this approach. We also discussed some of the challenges agency owners are facing right now, and Robin offers some tips for how to remain positive and navigate the current climate. You can get in touch with Robin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robinbonn/ https://www.codefinery.com/ Finally, if you are in an agency account management role and you'd like to be kept up to date with the next episodes that I'm going to be sharing on the podcast, and you also want tips about the account management role and any trainings that I'm doing in the future, then you can sign up for my newsletter via my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 121. This is part two of a two-part interview with Simon Rhind-Tutt and Carey Evans, who are Co-Founders of Relationship Audits. If you missed part one, I would really recommend you go back and have a listen (it's episode 120). Simon and Carey just packed it full of insights and tips for agencies when it comes to strengthening their client relationships. This episode is no exception and we talk about: - what every client wants but rarely gets from an agency - what a brain trust is and why you might want one for your agency - and why leveraging your learnings from other client relationships is often a huge missed opportunity. If you'd like notifications about future guests coming on the podcast, or notes from the episodes that I have with guests, as well as tips on agency account management and potential trainings, then you can sign up for my weekly newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 120, which is the first of two episodes covering my in-depth chat with Carey Evans and Simon Rhind-Tutt, Co-Founders of Relationship Audits®. I met Simon and Carey many years ago when I was working as client services director for Publicis life Brands. We were struggling with a client relationship, it was a very important client but it wasn't going well. Whilst we knew some of the reasons why the relationship was faltering, we didn't know the whole story, so we invited in Simon and Carey to evaluate our relationship. Essentially, they went into the client's offices and interviewed all of key client stakeholders to find out what was going on and their perception of the agency. Not only did they uncover what was going well and what wasn't going well, they also uncovered growth opportunities for us as an agency to go back into the client and crystallize what they needed in the future and provide extra value. If we hadn't have done that and they hadn't have provided that action list, report and their recommendations, we wouldn't have retained that client for another two years, worth £700,000 to the agency per year. Immediately, the return on investment for employing the services of Relationship Audits changed the game for us. That's why I am delighted that they've joined us back on the show for this two part interview, talking about what your clients don't tell you. Whilst you might be evaluating the strength of your relationships with your clients and asking them questions, what Relationship Audits do, and they've been doing it successfully for years, is listen for what's not being said. They have a very established question set and they're able to spot things that you will miss. If you would like to talk to either Carey or Simon, please visit their website, https://www.relationshipaudits.com, or send them an email at info@relationshipaudits.com Finally, if you are in an agency account management role and you'd like to be kept up to date with the next episodes that I'm going to be sharing on the podcast, and you also want tips about the account management role and any trainings that I'm doing in the future, then you can sign up for my newsletter via my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 119. Today's episode is for you if you're curious to understand how another agency works, particularly when it comes to how they manage their client relationships and how they sell their services. I'm joined by David Huckerby, the owner, and Natasha Jones, the Account Director of creative communications agency, Conteur. Conteur is an award-winning full service creative communications agency. They help organisations in the health and social care, housing and hospitality sectors to stand out and grow through market leading PR , video and digital services. David and Natasha share so much insight into how they run their business, including: - why they follow the principle of providing a personalized seven star service to their clients - how they realized some of their clients weren't aligned with their own board and what they learned from that - how that then informed how they worked with their clients moving forward - why they introduced service packages as a result of filling a client demand and how that impacted the time spent on proposals - and why moving from a yearly client strategy focus to a quarterly focus helped the team's proactivity. You can connect with David and Natasha via their LinkedIn profiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-huckerby-05094330/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/natashajones24/ If you'd like to receive my weekly email where I share insights from the podcast, chats, tips and strategies to enhance your account management role, alerts for any training webinars I'm running, as well as all the training courses I run for the account management community, please visit my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and sign up for my newsletter.

Welcome to episode 118. On the last episode, I interviewed the brilliant Tim Williams from Ignition Consulting group about pricing strategies and why agencies need to sell outputs and value and not hours, particularly given the rise of generative AI. If you haven't listened to that, I'd recommend you go back and listen to episode 117 because Tim shares so many different aspects of why we need to do this as agencies. Today's guest, founder of Lodestar Agency Consulting Brian Kessman, continues this theme and shares how to make that shift to a value led revenue model. In this chat, we talk about: - what it means to productize your agency's value - the benefits it can have on your agency's financial and operational performance - how the agency is set up to work in this model by department - and the skills you'll need in your account management role to be successful with this new way of working. Please check out Brian's website because there's a detailed 15 minutes presentation called ‘Shift Your Agency's Model from Commoditized Services to High Value Solutions', and it's well worth a watch if you're interested, particularly in diving deeper into value led revenue models. https://www.lodestaragencyconsulting.com If you're responsible for managing client relationships and for delivering the commercial value to your clients and growing your accounts, I'm going to be running a mini training webinar in the summer of 2024, so if you'd like to be notified about when these go live, you can do that by going to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and signing up to receive my weekly emails. I typically share tips and strategies for commercially minded account managers.

Welcome to episode 117. This episode is going to be very relevant for you if you're responsible for pricing your agency's services. I first saw Tim Williams, Founding Partner of Ignition Consulting Group, speak at an IPA conference in London in 2016. He was talking to agency owners about why they needed to ditch the billable hour if they wanted a profitable business. I've been following Tim's work in agency pricing and positioning ever since, and for me, he's been the consistent voice of sanity throughout the years. Here are just a few of the topics we cover in our chat: • why the time based billing system doesn't work for agencies. • how generative AI is only accelerating the need for agencies to rethink their pricing strategies. • and Tim shares key steps you can take right now to start the transition to premium pricing. Ignition helps agencies and other professional service firms develop focused business strategies and transformative revenue models. You can follow Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timwilliamsicg/ or via the website: https://www.ignitiongroup.com. If you're listening to this during the summer of 2024, I'm going to be running some free 20 minutes mini training webinars for agency account management soon. If you'd like to be notified about these first, please sign up to my email newsletter via https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 116. This episode is for you if you are responsible for managing projects in an agency. This one could be quite controversial, but equally very enlightening because my guest is going to be potentially challenging your belief about the role of project management. Jack's Skeel's book is called ‘UNMANAGED' and Jack makes a very compelling case for the fact that teams work more effectively when managed less, not more. During this chat we cover: • why agencies should be asking themselves what they need to start unmanaging rather than managing the origin of project management, and why it doesn't work in an uncertain environment like an agency. • how less management can boost profitability and productivity • what we can learn from Japanese management culture • what Jack sees as the future of the way agencies operate • and the biggest mistake agencies make when scaling. This is such a good chat and I enjoyed being challenged to think about what we consider really the ‘sacred cow' agency operating structure. I love Jack's work and I'd urge you to get in touch because he's saving agencies tons and tons of money by completely shaking their operations up. If you are listening to this in Summer 2024, I'm going to be running some 20 minutes mini training sessions in the coming months. If you like the idea of jumping on a Zoom call to watch a 20 minute live training in account management, then please visit my website and sign up for my weekly email and you'll be one of the first to receive an invitation. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com About Jack Skeels: Jack Skeels, author of Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, is a two-time Inc. 500 award winning entrepreneur, consultant, and former management sciences researcher at the think-tank, RAND Corporation. A noted author, expert and speaker, he been published and featured over 35 times including: Ad Age, Entrepreneur.com, Business Horizons, Wall Street Journal, Training, and many other publications. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackaskeels/ https://jackskeels.medium.com https://business.facebook.com/AgencyAgile/ https://twitter.com/AgencyAgile

Welcome to episode 115. If you're in agency new business or account management and responsible for contract renewals and account expansion, you're in for a huge treat because Tim Riesterer, author of ‘The Expansion Sale' (Four Must-Win Conversations to Keep and Grow Your Customers), joins me. Tim is a powerhouse and working with huge enterprises in this area, but he also has a background working in agencies. We discussed data backed insight into: • the real reason prospects buy and how to change your approach to new business • why how you sell to prospects is not the way you should sell to existing clients • why overcoming the client's status quo bias is the key to unlocking client growth • why asking your client what problems they have just doesn't work • and so much more. I highly recommend following Tim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-riesterer or via the Corporate Visions website: http://www.corporatevisions.com/ and buying the book, ‘The Expansion Sale': https://win.corporatevisions.com/The-Expansion-Sale.html We talk about Tim's research and what overcoming a client's status quo bias means for agency account managers in my training. If you'd like to discuss account management training and all the options that we offer, then please go to my website and book a call. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com Or alternatively, you can send me a direct message on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to Episode 114. If you're an agency owner who wants to stand out in a competitive market, then today's guest has written an entire book about it. Gareth Healey, author of "STAND OUT OR DIE" joins me to share: - what he learned from scaling and exiting his business - his seven step framework for standing out in a crowded marketplace - and his advice for other agency owners who want to productize their services and Stay competitive in the future. You can connect with Gareth Healey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethhealey/ And find his book here: http://mybook.to/STANDOUT if you're struggling with new business right now, and perhaps finding that your pipeline is drying up or taking longer to convert, maybe it's time to turn your attention to how you can add more value to your existing clients' business and grow your accounts. If you want to know the quickest and easiest ways that are working right now for other agencies, check out the details of my Account Accelerator programme. It's a year long coaching and training programme for those responsible for account growth in the agency who are managing those client relationships on a day to day basis. You can find all the details here: https://www.accountmanagementskills. com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 113. This will be particularly inspirational for you if you are currently a small agency owner with aspirations for huge growth. Jared Lopiccolo, CEO & Co-Founder of Noble Studios, built his agency from a single laptop to a multi million dollar agency. He shares some insight into what it took to achieve that growth and also his advice for other agency owners who may want to do the same thing. Jarrod also shares: • the pivotal moments that were the growth accelerator points in his business • how you need to change and adapt as a leader • how to build a strong culture of very engaged employees • some of the trends he's seeing in the agency landscape • how he thinks agencies need to adapt to what's coming. He shares so many more tips and insights into running the business. You can find Jarrod on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/jarrodlopiccolo and via the Noble Studios website: https://noblestudios.com/ Many agency owners come to me to talk about account management training, but the three big outcomes that they really want from the training are to answer the following three questions: • how can I have more predictable client retention and revenue from existing clients? • how can I hardwire these commercial skills into the business and ensure I have a repeatable process that everyone can follow in the agency so that if that person leaves, everybody else knows what to do when it comes to account retention and growth? • How can I foster a more commercial mindset which will give me a competitive advantage in the marketplace? If any of those three outcomes resonate with you, please check out my Account Accelerator programme, which is on my website at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator. It is a one year coaching and training programme and it's designed for those who are working in an agency managing the client relationship, and responsible ultimately for the growth of that account.

Welcome to episode 112. I'm joined by Shannyn Lee, Managing Director of Win Without Pitching ®, which is widely recognised by the creative industry as one of the best quality sales training programs because it's specifically tailored to agencies. This episode will be particularly valuable for you if your job at the agency is winning new business and you'd like to know how to do that without having to go through a costly pitch process. During our chat, Shannyn shares: - the Win Without Pitching ® principles - what it takes to circumnavigate a client's pitch process - the common sales challenges faced by agencies today - her advice for agency owners who want to stand out in the market, and lots more. Please visit the Win Without Pitching ® website (https://www.winwithoutpitching.com) to find out more about everything the company does, find which workshops are coming up. and to buy Blair Enns' book, ‘The Win Without Pitching Manifesto', which is practically the industry bible. You can connect with Shannyn Lee on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannyn-lee-2a32846/ If you're listening to this episode in April 2024 we are opening enrolments for our May Account Accelerator™ training for those in the agency who are responsible for existing client growth. If your job is to manage client relationships and grow your accounts, check out the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 111. This episode will be particularly relevant for you if you're heading up the agency or you're in charge of an agency team. Alison Coward is the founder of Bracket, a consultancy that partners with ambitious, forward-thinking companies to help them build high-performing and collaborative team cultures. She is a culture strategist, workshop facilitator, coach, trainer, keynote speaker and author of “A Pocket Guide to Effective Workshops” and “Workshop Culture: a guide to building teams that thrive”. Alison shares some data backed insights, some brilliant tips and actionable strategies for high performing teams, including: - why agency teams typically end up not working well together and how to address the issues - why creating a workshop culture is a solution to better collaboration and teamwork - how to make all the meetings you have more efficient and effective - her five pillar framework for implementing a workshop culture in your agency Connect with Alison: https://linkedin.com/in/alisoncoward https://www.bracketcreative.co.uk https://www.workshopculture.co.uk https://amzn.eu/d/h4VDgST Many agency owners ask me to help their client facing team with account management. Some don't have dedicated account managers, but they still want predictable client retention and growth, a repeatable, client centric client management process as well as ultimately a competitive advantage. According to Gartner, 80% of your future profits are going to come from 20% of your existing clients. Currently, many of my programme participants are just three months in and already getting very impressive account growth results, and this is down to them being coachable and also taking action on what we're covering, with me supporting them with the implementation. So if you're in charge of a client facing team, or maybe someone in your team is responsible for account growth and could potentially benefit from upskilling and having a strategy, then check out the details of my one year Account Accelerator training and coaching programme. You can find all the details at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 110. This episode is for you if you're an agency owner either interested in buying agencies to grow, or selling your agency at some point. It's also enlightening if you work in an agency and you want to understand the process of mergers and acquisitions. Jonathan Baker, Practice Lead in M&A at Punctuation joins me and shares a lot of tips and insights about the buying and selling process, including: - the current state of M&A and why right now might be a really good time to sell - the impact of AI on the changing agency landscape and his advice for content marketing agencies - why cultural alignment is key to a successful transaction - the criteria buyers typically use to assess an agency they might want to purchase - how concerned sellers should be about the terms of the transaction - how far you get through the transaction before bringing in a lawyer - how and when to tell your staff about the sale - why you should ask about buyer funding if you're being bought, and so much more. Jonathan has created a special webpage just for this podcast's listeners at https://www.punctuation.com/creative and through this link you can also chat to him about anything you've heard on this episode. You can also connect with on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com//in/jonathandavidbaker Many agency owners come to me for account management skills training and to help their account managers develop an entrepreneurial mindset. And ultimately, what they are looking for are three things. They want more predictable client retention and growth, which is less expensive than pitching for new business. They want to hardwire account growth into the agency's internal processes so that account growth becomes repeatable. And they're also looking for ways to future proof their agency's business and gain a competitive advantage by offering the best client value and experience. If any of this sounds of interest, we are opening enrolments later this month for my Account Accelerator programme. It's a 12 month coaching and training programme and you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 109. My guest is Michael Farmer, a management consultant who has been looking at the agency business model for over 30 years. He's identified three burning issues for creative agencies. 1. Work is increasing in volume and yet agencies fees are declining. But because agencies aren't measuring scopes of work, they don't often realize the extent to which this is happening. 2. Agencies aren't helping clients achieve their business outcomes. Clients are paying them less and typically fire them every three years and generally treat them as order takers. 3. AI is now putting fuel on this fire and is threatening to reduce the amount of creative adaptation work that agencies do. It's not all doom and gloom. I found this an enlightening conversation and I particularly enjoyed listening to the history of how it was before agencies priced their services by the hour. Michael talks about the problems, but he also offers solutions. I suggest you read his latest book ‘Madison Avenue Makeover', which maps out the transformation of Huge's business model step by step. http://linkedin.com/in/michaelfarmer If you are in an account management role or you're in charge of an agency account management team and you want to raise the value of this position, then please connect with me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant or check out my Account Accelerator programme by visiting my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to episode 108. Are you struggling to manage a remote agency team? If so, you're going to get a lot of value from my conversation with Gustavo Razzetti, CEO of Fearless Culture and author of ‘Remote, Not Distant'. He shared some very thought-provoking insights for agency leaders and agency teams, including • how remote working is only amplifying the positive and the negative aspects of your agency culture that were already present • how to fix the issues • how to make your remote brainstorming meetings more effective • why agencies need to strike a balance between being overly protective and having respectful friction • and how agencies celebrate individualism I'd highly recommend that you follow Gustavo on LinkedIn, go to his website where you can download some of his free resources, as well as investing in his book, ‘Remote, Not Distant'. Book Remote Not Distant: https://www.amazon.com/Remote-Not-Distant-Company-Workplace-ebook/dp/B09VXX4FN3 Blog: https://gustavorazzetti.substack.com Agency Website: https://www.fearlessculture.design Personal Website: https://gustavorazzetti.com/

Welcome to episode 107. If you've ever wondered if you're pricing your services in the right way, this one is for you. Alfie Wenegieme, Managing Partner at Cactus, joins me and he shares: 1. Why agencies don't lose pitches on price alone 2. How agencies price to ensure a healthy profit margin 3. Typical mistakes agencies make when pricing 4. And some useful tips for account managers and project managers when scoping projects If you're listening to this episode in February 2024, I'm opening enrolments again for my Account Accelerator programme that begins on March 5th. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management which means: • Having an effective account management and account growth process - that is understood and followed consistently by all your account managers • Having an end-to-end client growth framework (from onboarding to delivery) - so everyone knows what to do when, and you have all the templates and resources to help you implement • Having a Proactive Client Retention Strategy - so you increase the lifetime value of your ideal clients (and don't have to keep feeding your sales pipeline) If you'd like to have a quick call with me to see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team, you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 106. If you'd like to know how one agency has been using AI since 2011 to predict the future for their clients, this chat will be interesting for you. It will also be insightful if you're curious how the agency works with their global CPG and FMCG brands. ‌Nik Pearmine, Chief Strategy Officer at Black Swan Data, and I cover a range of topics including: - his view on what it takes to be successful in account management - what he thinks is in store for the future - and whether we should be worried about AI replacing our jobs. You can get in contact with Nik via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolas-pearmine-138bb612/ If you're listening to this at the beginning of 2024 and are based in the US, I wanted to let you know I'll be running a value-packed seminar with David C Baker and Jack Skeels on 12th and 13th March in Atlanta. ‌The event is all about the account management and project management roles. I'll be talking about the essentials of account management, how to grow an account and how account managers work with project managers. ‌David is extremely well known in the agency industry as he's an agency advisor, the author of “The Business of Expertise” and “Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors” as well as co-hosting the 2Bobs podcast with Blair Enns. ‌You can find all the details and book your tickets at David's website: https://www.punctuation.com

Welcome to episode 105, I have invited two of my most popular podcast guests back for a second time, sales trainer legends; Marcus Cauchi and Benjamin Dennehey. ‌Both have been sales trainers for years and have worked with many agencies and tech companies. They shared some golden nuggets to help you with selling your agency's services. ‌I had to throw away the list of questions I'd prepared and let the conversation flow naturally because I wanted to capture as much of their collective sales wisdom and tips as possible. I hope you'll enjoy the longer length of this episode and ultimately come away with some practical things you can implement in your sales process. ‌‌· An understanding of the importance of having the ability to ask superb questions during the sales conversation with a prospect. · In our chat, Marcus and Benjamin role play a conversation and hopefully you can take the principles away and model some of the language they're using in your next sales conversation with a prospect. You can reach Marcus Cauchi on LinkedIn, via marcus@laughs-last.com, visit his website: https://www.laughs-last.com and The Inquisitor podcast. You can reach Benjamin at https://www.uksmosthatedsalestrainer.com/ If you'd like to chat to me about selling skills for agency account managers to help you with your your existing client accounts then you can go to my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and find out more about how I help build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management through my training programmes.‌

Welcome to episode 104. In this episode, I talk all things agency project management with Joanne Reid, Managing Partner for delivery at Cactus. We cover: - the challenges agencies face with project management - how Joanne assesses how well an agency's project management is working - how project management differs from account management and why she recommends agencies to have both roles - the target level of annual gross profit an agency should reach before investing in both roles - her recommendations for project management tools and how to evaluate whether you have the right one for you - what skills to look for when hiring a project manager - and Jo's thoughts on future trends she's seeing in project management. Make sure you follow her on LinkedIn because she shares some really useful tips for project managers and also agency owners when it comes agency service delivery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-reid-6220744b/ If you're an agency owner or you're heading up the agency's account management team and have realised your existing clients just aren't growing, it may be time to provide the right support for your account management team to do it. I'm currently enrolling for my Account Accelerator programme that starts on 11th January 2024. It's a twelve month training and coaching programme for account managers who are responsible for account retention and growth. It's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset and you'll come away with a proven account management and growth process, an end to end client growth framework, and a proactive client retention strategy for the agency. We already have some really self motivated senior account managers, directors and client services directors joining the programme who are often also responsible for leading a team in the agency. You can find the details of the Account Accelerator programme on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 103. This episode will be particularly relevant to agency owners who want to become less hands-on in their agency and just step away from the day to day operations.  I'm chatting to Karl Sakas, an agency growth consultant in the US and author of several books, the latest of which is called Work Less and Earn More a Practical Guide for Agency Owners to help them escape the daily grind of agency ownership. Karl has spent years consulting with agency owners and leaders and, I think because he originally had an operations background, he seems to have a wonderful way of explaining useful concepts and ideas using models and frameworks which are really easy to follow.  Karl shares some practical tips, his views on agency account management and why separating the role from project management makes sense. You can reach Karl, and make use of lots of his great downloadable resources at https://sakasandcompany.com/free-resources-for-agencies/ Book link: http://worklessearnmorebook.com/ If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to the final episode in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. In this episode, I share the key things you need to do to get your account managers adding value from day one and reduce churn. And this comes back to many of the things we've discussed already in this podcast series. I speak to so many agency owners who feel frustrated by high staff turnover.  Ultimately, reducing churn and retaining your best talent comes down to one thing - investing in your account managers, and particularly in helping them develop the entrepreneurial skills we've covered in this podcast series. If you haven't had the chance to listen to the previous four episodes, do go back and have a listen. Do let me know what you found particularly useful, along with what you'd like to know more about. You can drop me a line at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com.  If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 4 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. Why do so many account managers miss out on new account growth opportunities in client meetings? Often it's because they haven't asked the right questions. Or maybe they've asked some of the right questions but didn't have the confidence to probe deeper in their questioning. In this short episode, I share why investing the time to help your account managers ask better questions could make a big difference to your bottom line, particularly when it comes to increasing client lifetime value. If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. So if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could help your account managers, then email me at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com to find out more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 3 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. Agency owners often tell me they wish their account managers were more confident in client meetings, including being confident enough to suggest new ideas for new projects. But, as with everything else, you can't expect your account managers to just know how to run an effective client meeting. In this episode, I share seven things that you'll want to make decisions about in order to approach each client meeting in the right way. If you'd like support with upskilling your account managers, check out my Account Accelerator™ programme. It's a 12 month training and coaching programme that's specifically designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your account management team. It covers all the areas in this special podcast series and much more. So if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could help your account managers, then email me at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com to find out more. https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to number 2 in my mini series of five bonus podcast episodes created to show you how to build an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers. In this episode we're looking at how to raise the value of account managers by taking them from an 'order-taker' to a trusted advisor. You can't just expect clients to treat your account managers as trusted advisors, because trust has to be earned. In this episode, I cover: - creating a culture where clients trust account managers from the off - creating the right conditions for the relationship to thrive - having the right internal processes in place to support your managers with account growth In bonus episode 3, I'll be covering how your account managers can run effective client meetings. Everything I'm sharing in this podcast series is covered in depth in my Account Accelerator programme and ultimately it's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management. You can read more about the programme here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator Or if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could potentially help your account managers, please email me jenny@accountmanagementskills.com. Let's have a chat and see if this might be suitable for you or members of your team.

Welcome to the first in a series of five bonus podcast episodes. I've created this podcast mini series to show you how you can develop an entrepreneurial mindset in your agency account managers, so they can: - help increase the lifetime value of clients - generate more referrals - help you maintain a healthy sales pipeline In this first short episode, I'll be tacking the 'elephant in the room'. Why do you feel your account managers are not spotting those growth opportunities? And over the next four episodes, I'll then be looking at the key qualities for entrepreneurially-minded account managers. By the way, everything I'll share in this podcast series is covered in my Account Accelerator programme and ultimately it's designed to build an entrepreneurial mindset in account management. You can read more about the programme here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator Or if you'd like to have a conversation about how I could potentially help your account managers, please email me jenny@accountmanagementskills.com. Let's have a chat and see if this might be suitable for you or members of your team.

Welcome to episode 97. My first ever podcast was with Kate Whittaker, head of corporate communications at DUAL Group, so working on the client side. During that episode she was explaining the exceptional agency who worked with her, particularly about their excellent client service, but also how they really understand her and her business. So for this episode, I invited the leadership team of that agency, Free Partners, to talk to me about how they work and think. You'll hear from Managing Partner, Lorraine Jeckells, Brand Director, Greg Phitidis, and Creative Director, Guy Cornet.  We chatted about: - their agency's specialist positioning, focusing just in the insurance market and why that's beneficial to their business, to their team and to their clients. - their agency values and how they bring them to life through their ways of working. - their internal processes and how the three departments (account management/strategy/creative) work together in a client centric way. They also go deep into the importance of the creative brief, why they have a tactical and a strategic briefing process, and how they grow their own talent from graduate level so that they are moulded into the Free Partners ways of working. And finally, how they delight their clients by being proactive and bringing fresh thinking and initiatives without waiting passively for briefs. If you're listening to this at the end of 2023 and you want to build a more entrepreneurial mindset in your account management role or your team, I'm enrolling right now for my twelve month training and mentoring program called the Account Accelerator. I created the Account Accelerator because agency owners were telling me they knew their existing client accounts could grow further but they needed their account managers to do three key things: 1. Act as trusted advisors rather than order takers, so they understood their clients business objectives and felt confident to have conversations about how the agency could help. 2. Spot upsell and cross sell opportunities and follow them effectively so they could increase retention and generate new business opportunities with existing clients. 3. Ask insightful questions to uncover client challenges and feel confident presenting new ideas and asking for referrals and testimonials so they could help a strong sales pipeline of new leads and capture proof of happy clients. So if all of this sounds interesting, then please visit my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, where you can book a call, have a chat with me and see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team.

Welcome to Episode 96. My guest is David Meikle, the author of ‘Tuning Up', a book about improving performance and reducing stress in advertising and marketing. This chat will be particularly interesting for you if you're finding the pressure and stress of working in an agency unmanageable, or you're responsible for creating positive agency environment in which your team can thrive. We discuss: - why David describes the relationship between the agency, the client and the client's procurement department as the triangle of doom. - David's signature relationship diagnostic tool, The Meikle Matrix, that essentially helps you pinpoint the heart of the problem with any relationship - how this diagnostic tool can help you in practical ways in your agency. I highly recommend you reading this book for me. You can visit David's website at https://www.tuningup.co.uk for more information about the book and also to road test a prototype of The Meikle Matrix for yourself. If you're listening to this at the end of 2023 and you want to build a more entrepreneurial mindset in your account management role or your team, I'm enrolling right now for my twelve month training and mentoring program called the Account Accelerator. I created the Account Accelerator because agency owners were telling me they knew their existing client accounts could grow further but they needed their account managers to do three key things: 1. Act as trusted advisors rather than order takers, so they understood their clients business objectives and felt confident to have conversations about how the agency could help. 2. Spot upsell and cross sell opportunities and follow them effectively so they could increase retention and generate new business opportunities with existing clients. 3. Ask insightful questions to uncover client challenges and feel confident presenting new ideas and asking for referrals and testimonials so they could help a strong sales pipeline of new leads and capture proof of happy clients. I've had 30 years experience in account management and, having trained account growth since 2016, I know not all account managers have the skills, the experience or the mindset to deliver at this level, and many agencies don't have the right internal processes in place to support their account managers with account growth. But, I believe with the right strategies, systems, processes and the support, your account managers can become more entrepreneurially minded, which could have a big impact on your agency's bottom line. So if all of this sounds interesting, then please visit my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com, where you can book a call, have a chat with me and see if this might be a good fit for you or a member of your team.

Welcome to Episode 95. This episode is particularly relevant for you if you're responsible for agency new business. I'm joined by Benjamin Dennehy, UK's Most Hated Sales Trainer, and I hope by the end of listening to our chat it might just change your thinking about how you currently qualify prospects and sell your agency's services, , particularly if you've never received any professional sales training. Benjamin invites us to challenge our beliefs around pitching and giving away your ideas for free which is so typically entrenched in the marketing services industry. He also shares some great examples of how to approach things differently. NB: If you don't like swearing this isn't the episode for you. Please go and follow Benjamin on LinkedIn, his content is not only useful and practical it's very different to the usual stuff you see about sales. http://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamindennehy/ www.salesmatrixcourses.com www.uksmosthatedsalestrainer.com www.youtube.com/c/UKsMostHatedSalesTrainer If you're listening to this at the end of 2023, I'm opening enrolment soon for my one year Account Accelerator training and coaching programme that starts on 11th January 2024. It is designed to give those responsible for account growth in the agency the entrepreneurial skills and mindset to support the growth of your client accounts and your agency. If you're in account management at any level or you have someone in your team who this might be suitable for, please send me an email to jenny@accountmanagementskills.com or drop me a DM on LinkedIn and I'll let you have all the details when they're available so you can decide if it's a good fit. Places are limited for the January cohort. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

This episode is for agency leaders who are supporting their account manager to grow the existing client business. I'm going to share tips for ensuring the agency leadership team are providing the right level of support to their account management team in three key areas; 1. Providing the commercial context 2. Internal processes 3. Relationship risk management If you are an account manager, or you have an account manager or account director or client services director in your team, who you want to provide with the mindset and the skillset to grow the existing business, then we will be opening applications soon for the Account Accelerator programme, a year long programme we're kicking off in January 2024. We'll have an initial nine week period where we give you all the training, all the strategies, a toolbox of different ways that you can grow your business, and then you will also receive the support from me to implement. You'll also join a peer group on Slack with other account managers, account directors, group account directors, client services directors who are all doing the same thing. If you're interested, please contact me on LinkedIn or send me an email at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com or visit the Account Accelerator programme page on my website. We'll be updating the website very soon with a full page of all the learning outcomes that you can expect to achieve.

Welcome to episode 93. If you're working in creative agency account management you know how essential it is to have a positive relationship with your creative director built on trust. I asked Creative Director, Joey Tackett, to join me and discuss what's most important to him about working with account managers so we can see account management through the lens of the creative team. Joey shares: 1. The key skills he believes AMs need to be respected by their creative team 2. Where the relationship can break down and why 3. How he diffuses tension between the AM and creative team 4. Some useful tips for making your client presentations more impactful I hope you enjoy the insights from my chat with Joey and pick up some tips to help you in your account management role. If you want to develop your account management skills, be seen less as an order taker and more like a consultant by your clients, then check out the details of my 9 week Account Accelerator and 1 week Account Booster programmes on my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to episode 92. This episode is for you if you're curious to know how an SEO strategy agency is using AI tools to reduce the amount of repetitive, tedious tasks and free up the team to work on more of the strategic thinking for their clients. Dale Bertrand, Founder and President of Fire&Spark shares with me: • How AI tools have reduced his team's workload and improved efficiencies • A step by step breakdown of his internal automated workflow • Why creating predictive models might end up being your agency's secret sauce • What Dale now looks for when hiring new team members I think you're going to enjoy this chat and hopefully come away with some inspiration to look more closely at your internal processes to see where you can speed them up or eliminate them altogether. I'm now sharing examples of relevant AI tools that account managers can use for those who come on my Account Accelerator training programme. The training is designed to help those in agency client service at every level to have a more systematic and predictable approach to client growth. The client-centric learning outcomes include being more consultative with clients, adding more value proactively and having sales conversations without feeling salesy. If you or a member of your team is interested to find out more, all the details about the 9 week Account Accelerator programme as well as my shorter 1 week Account Booster programme are on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 91. This episode is for you if you're interested in how the AI landscape is changing for agencies and what you need to know from a legal perspective about your use of AI. I chatted with Sharon Toerek, Founder and Owner of Legal + Creative| Toerek Law.  The topics that we covered include: - the ownership of the outputs - potential protection of your inputs - designing policies and contracts, including clauses that will cover your freelancers and relationships with contractors, and not to mention your strategic partnerships with other agencies. - future developments and what's foreseen to happen, as well as the current US legal environment. So lots and lots of different topics that we're going to cover today. We will include all of her details in the show notes on my website here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/podcast We also ran an AI for Account Managers webinar recently together with Roy Murphy and the recording has been asked for several times. If you don't want to miss out on any future mini trainings we're doing in this area, then please sign up for my newsletter via https://www. accountmanagementskills.com and we'll make sure that you get notified of future podcast episodes and any mini trainings.

Welcome to episode 90, which is for you if you'd like to know what a non-billable CSD does in an agency. Luke Bowler from Therefore Interactive joined me and he shares: · How he went from studying to be a designer to moving to the account management role · Why his CSD role is non-billable and how he decides where best to spend his time · How he interacts with the project management team who are running the day to day projects · How he cleverly keeps abreast of his client's industry news despite the fact they're spread across multiple industries · The project management tools his agency is using as well as how they're incorporating AI If you're listening to this episode before 20th July 2023 I'm running a free webinar on AI for account managers. Roy Murphy from Synthetic is going to provide an update on the current AI landscape, how brands & agencies are using AI, ethical considerations and challenges and we'll be sharing some specific use cases for account managers. You can sign up to join live and also receive a recording. https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Pxcr6NIuSZ-rs84h7Lap3A If you don't want to miss out on future free trainings, you can sign up to my newsletter by going to https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 89. This episode is for you if you're curious to understand what a senior account director does in a brand strategy agency. I chat to Andy Kaye, senior account director at Mr B & Friends and we discuss: - the importance of being proactive with clients and staying informed about industry trends - share tips on staying up to date with your clients business - discuss how often you should be looking at your forecast - why and how to build strong client relationships that result in clients coming back to you - and how to transform your internal briefing process to make it more experiential - and lots more... You're going to take away some great tips from this episode that you can go back to your agency and use. And if you're in an agency account management role and you're keen to be seen by your clients as more of an advisor than a reactive order taker, then check out the details of my account management training courses. We are kicking off both the one week training and the nine week training in mid July 2023 and you can find all the details on my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 88. My guest is Rob Da Costa, an agency growth consultant from Da Costa Coaching. We discuss a myriad of topics, including: - the process for hiring the right account manager at your agency - examples of how to set client expectations and boundaries - why having a written scope of work is key to successful project delivery - and Rob's thoughts in general on the agency landscape and the future of agencies. During our chat, one theme keeps emerging, which is ensuring you have the right systems and processes in place in your agency. You'll therefore understand why he wrote ‘The Self Running Agency', which free to download on his website. https://dacostacoaching.co.uk/