Welcome to Episode 68. This is a shorter, solo episode in which I talk about growing your existing accounts. There's been a lot of talk about the coming recession. If so, how do we prepare for it? Mark Ritson has written about this in Marketing Week, and The Drum have been talking about how agencies can prepare for it. For agencies, it will be even more important than ever to look after their current clients. Not only look after them but also seek ways of growing them as well. So, I've to share with you four reminders, and some questions you could ask yourself, about how you can grow existing business, and why it helps you in your account management role.If this episode resonates with you, and you would like to go further into the other ways that you can grow your business, work with me for nine weeks so that we can work together to help you grow your accounts, and talk about all other aspects of growing your existing accounts, then my next Account Accelerator training programme starts on 15th of September. If this sounds like something that you're interested in, or maybe you think it's suitable for one of your team members, then please book a call with me, you can go to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and book a short call with me. And let's have a discussion and see if it's the right fit for you. Similarly, you can contact me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant.

Welcome to episode 67.  You're in for a treat as I chatted to a very experienced marketer, Gareth Turner, who's been an agency client for much of his career.He shares his own experience of being on the client side. He has also carried out a study of the best and worst client-agency relationships, and how to improve them, and he's published the results in a white paper. During our chat, we talked through the findings of this report. Whether you're in marketing on the client side or managing the relationship on the agency side, you're going to benefit from the insights he shares.If you're working in agency account management, and you'd like to get some formal training in how to offer the highest level of value to your clients, so you not only retain your client relationships, but grow your accounts, then visit my website at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training, and check out my Account Accelerator programme. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant

Welcome to Episode 66. We’re talking about diversity and inclusion in creative agencies with DE&I expert, Tutu Popoola, Lead HR Consultant and Managing Director at Sleek HR. She shares so many tips and advice and insight into how agency leaders are navigating their way through the topic in their agencies. If you're an agency leader, she shares:·         the areas of your recruitment systems and processes that you need to pay attention to ·         how you can inadvertently exclude a team members when it comes to agency social events·         the importance of consulting with your team, particularly before you talk about these topics on social media·         how to help your team talk about mental health issues by setting the example·         and lots more.  I would encourage you to get in touch with Tutu if this is a topic where you think some external counsel might be helpful. There's been a lot of talk about the changing financial climate that's coming and talk of recession. So, it's going to be even more important to make sure we're looking after those existing client relationships. If you'd like to talk to me about client retention and growth training for your account management team, or maybe for yourself, then please do get in touch. You can go to my website www.accountmanagementskills.com/training and find out more about my training programme Account Accelerator, or you can contact me on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant) and let's have a chat about whether it's right for you. 

Welcome to Episode 65. This episode will appeal to two types of people. 1) If you're already working in agency account management, but you're super ambitious, and you just want to see where your account management skills can take you in your career, or 2) you're an agency owner, and you want to scale your businessToday's guest is Danny Turnbull. Danny helps independent agencies grow their business, but he started his career in account management. He moved through the ranks of account management to various agency leadership roles and has ended up consulting with agency business owners. Dan talks to us about his career path and what helped him on his career path, and some revelations about what accelerated his career. But he also shares:-  some of the challenges agencies are facing right now- his view on whether working from home works for agencies-  and also why he encourages agencies to consider a pod structure business model. If you're an agency owner, and you haven't joined the free agency owner community, Agencynomics, or read the book, then go over to agencynomics.com, and you can find out a lot more about that. And if you'd like to chat to me about agency account management training, please go over to my website, www.accountmanagementskills.com where you can find details of my next Account Accelerator training programme, starting in September. 

Welcome to episode 64. Nicky Parker, founder of Bang Consulting, helps companies make sure their marketing is fit for purpose so she's very familiar with the realities of what our marketing clients do on a day to day basis and the challenges they face.In this podcast, Nicky shares:- Why agencies shouldn't be putting technical people in charge of a client relationship- How account managers can get more credibility and deepen the relationship with their client- Why account managers shouldn't be chasing invoice payments- Why you need to keep the client informed about team changesAnd lots, lots more. Nicky really provides some valuable golden nuggets having worked with many companies on their marketing strategy and operations over the years.I'm now taking bookings for my September training programme for those in creative agency account management. So if you want to learn how to retain and grow your client relationships, position yourself more as an adviser than order taker,  you can visit my Training page at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/training  and book a 20-minute call with me to see if this might be a good fit for you.

Welcome to Episode 63.  A few months ago, I was invited to chat to Kap Chatfield from Rveal media about my podcast. During that interview, he grilled me not only about why I have the podcast, but he also asked me to share some tips for how to retain and grow client business. I thought it might be valuable to share the interview with you, if you haven't listened to it already, because we talked about:- the number one problem agencies have with account growth- ideas for how to address account growth problems- what holds agencies back from growing accounts- why quarterly strategy sessions are useful tips for understanding your client's business- how to be more valuable to your clients as an account manager- and how to be seen more like an advisor than an order taker. 

Welcome to Episode 62. Usually, I have podcast guests but thought I'd do a quick episode to share with you some best practice tips if you're in the account management role and you're looking to do a bit of relationship risk management.I believe there are a few 'red flag moments' that every agency account manager needs to be aware of, and look out for. These are, essentially, points in the relationship where your client relationship is at risk, and the account is at risk. And not only are 'red flag moments' important to try to anticipate but, when they happen, it's the account manager's job to act very swiftly, because you are responsible for the client relationship for not only the retention of but also the growth of the account. So, I've just got five examples of what I call, 'red flag moments'. I want to explain to you why I think they're important and share a couple of ideas for how you can either anticipate them, or tackle them.I really hope you find this useful and that it's given you some ideas for what you need to be aware of with your client relationship risk management strategy.If you would like to join my next Account Accelerator programme, which is all about client retention and growth, then please contact me at Jenny Plant on LinkedIn or send me an email jenny@accountmanagementskills.com. You can also find more podcast episodes with lots of valuable information on the main podcast page on my website: www.accountmanagementskills.com/podcast. Pick a topic that's most relevant to you right now and enjoy it. Please keep in contact with me and let me know what you'd like to hear on the podcast.

Welcome to Episode 61. Today's episode is about people and culture in a creative agency. It's particularly relevant if you're an independent agency owner because my expert guest, Sarah Brewster, Managing Director of Fresh Seed talks to me about why attracting and retaining staff is the biggest challenge in the industry at the moment.She shares:- some tips for how to recruit effectively- advice for navigating issues such as diversity and inclusion, safety at work and the Me Too movement - and why she's seen a loss of kindness post-pandemic. She also shares why IR 35 has had a huge impact on freelancing, plus ways to ensure equal pay across the business. This episode is jam-packed with tips. If you'd like to receive weekly updates and tips about agency account management, then please head over to my website where you can sign up for my weekly email and check out the details of my Account Accelerator training programme, which is designed to help agencies expand existing client business.

Welcome to Episode 60. The most downloaded podcast episode to date is still my first chat with Kate Whittaker, a marketer of 30 years who shared insight into what it's like being a client, and what clients want most from their agencies. If you haven't listened to that one already, I'd recommend you go back and have a listen (Episode 1)In this episode, Kate talks about what's changed for her since August 2020, which was when the pandemic forced us all to be locked down. She shares:what have been the biggest changes for her, her role and her organisation in the last couple of yearshow her needs have changed in terms of what she's looking for from agenciessome suggestions for how you can strengthen your relationships with clients while working remotely.And we talked about lots more.Understanding how to develop client relationships and grow accounts is essential for any agency account manager. And yet, too often, there is no real guidance on how to do it. So if you're in a client-facing role and you want to hone your account management skills, then check out my Account Accelerator programme. Many agency account managers have told me the biggest shift for them after my programme is a newfound confidence when handling client relationships.

Welcome to Episode 59. My guest for this episode is Peg Dougherty Marcus, Co-Founder of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA).  Peg is, quite frankly, one of the most inspiring women I've met in a long time. She started her career in a healthcare communications agency and she was just 23. In this chat, we talk about why and how she started the HBA in 1977, despite every obstacle, and also in a dominating 'boys club' culture. She also talks about why women were scared to speak out about harassment at work, and whether she thinks things have changed today. She shares some really practical tips for women's safety when you're travelling or maybe entertaining for business. She's a passionate supporter of women in business, she's a natural connector, and she champions every woman who works in healthcare. If you're working in the era of healthcare, and you're not a member of the HPA, then you can go to their website and check out all the amazing benefits of joining. It's HBAnet.org.  I hope you find this chat as inspiring as I did because maybe it's going to inspire you to get involved in a relevant community that already exists for you in your area.  You might even think about gathering some of your peers together in the industry and starting your own. A couple of quick announcements. A quick reminder that my Account Accelerator training programme for agency account managers and directors starts on 10th of May 2022 and it's filling up quickly. So, if you'd like to join me, you can check out all the details on my website www.accountmanagementskills.com/training.  And you can book a quick call with me to check that it's a good fit for you. Secondly, my friend Tom Ollerton, owner of the AI-driven agency, Automated Creative, is looking for an account director. So if you fancy working for an AI-driven agency, and you happen to have some media buying experience, please contact Tom Ollerton on LinkedIn.