The Agency Accelerator The Four Levels of Client Value in Account Management with Jenny Plant
In this week’s podcast, Rob talks to Jenny Plant from Account Management Skills about effective account management. They discuss the importance of building respectful relationships with clients and the value of sales training for account managers. They also delve into when and if you should be splitting account management and project management roles in your agency, touching on the benefits and challenges of doing so.
Key takeaways include the four levels of client value, the different DISC profiles of account managers and project managers, and the importance of acknowledging the different skill sets in agency roles.
Time Stamp
[01:58] Jenny outlines the importance of sales training for account managers and notes the missed opportunity for agencies without investing in this skill.
[07:27] 4 Levels of Client Value: Tips for Growth:
Level 1 is excellent service, Level 2 is delivering a fantastic customer experience. Level 3 is focusing on an outcome and Level 4 is discussing the future and upselling additional services.
[11:14] Account managers should prioritise delivering outcomes, being strategic partners, and proactively informing clients of additional services.
[18:37] Importance of considering natural behaviors and skill sets of different agency roles like project managers and account managers. Differences highlighted based on profiling data, with account managers focused on communication, presentation, and relationship building.
[23:21] Struggle of account managers with business development leads to hiring business development professionals who may not be successful. Splitting into account manager and project manager roles might alleviate it, but effective collaboration between the two is crucial.
[28:51] Good account managers recognise a respectful and balanced relationship with clients, step out of their comfort zones, identify opportunities, retain and grow clients. Final question to guest: what advice would you give your younger self starting out in business?
Quotations
“When they ask clients the question, would you like your agency to leverage the understanding they have working with other clients and share it with you? 100% of clients say yes, but less than 20% of agencies actually do that." — Jenny Plant
"Don't assume that as your career develops, you will naturally be a full, rounded account manager. Those skills need to be taught." — Rob Da Costa
"The Zone of Wasted Effort": "There's a point that you reach in the client relationship where you need to be bringing new ideas and painting a picture of the future, being critical, getting involved in their business and helping them develop further. But instead, you're just stuck in this retentive account retention loop."— Jenny Plant
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Useful links mentioned in this episode: