Emily Brown, Client Services Director at Receptional, has over 12 years of experience and previously worked at IPG Media Brands. Joining her is Matt Loughlin, Partner and Commercial Director with 16.5 years in the field. Together, they delve into the transformative role of a head of client services, sharing insights from Emily's impressive first 90 days and the significant impact on the agency's operations. They discuss evolving client service strategies, the shift towards accountability within teams, and the importance of networking in enhancing client relationships.

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/3y2R8DNPodcast 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.  

Founder of Lodestar Agency Consulting, Brian Kessman, discusses transitioning to a value-led revenue model in agencies, emphasizing productizing agency value, restructuring teams for client problem-solving, and utilizing key performance indicators. The conversation includes insights on the impact of time sheets, customizing solutions, and transitioning to a transformational agency model.

Tim Williams, Founding Partner of Ignition Consulting Group, discusses why time-based pricing doesn't work for agencies, the influence of generative AI on pricing strategies, and key steps to transition to premium pricing. The conversation highlights the importance of modernizing pricing strategies to capture the value of services in a changing market.

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.comAbout 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.comhttps://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