Welcome to Episode 54.  I spoke to Jessica Bowler and Iris Gatzweiler, two senior procurement clients who shared some insights into the pitching process. It's particularly useful for you if you want to know why clients typically pitch out for business, procurement’s role in the whole pitching process, how the brief is developed and some insight into how the final decision is made. There are also some shared examples of where agencies have performed particularly well in the pitch process. Don’t forget to go back to Episode 9, where Jessica and Iris talked about how to approach and develop relationships with procurement. And if you want to expand your current client relationships and you're working in agency client service, my Account Accelerator programme is designed specifically for you. By the end of nine weeks working with me, you'll have a repeatable client centric strategy and a plan to help add more value to the client business and increase revenue from existing accounts. Drop me a line at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com or find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant/

Welcome to Episode 53. On today's episode we  talk about making client relationships more profitable.Business growth consultant, Chris Merrington, shares some golden nuggets of advice about how agencies can be more commercially savvy.We covered so many different areas including:What clients really value and how to talk the client languageWhy you need to raise your prices and how to do itWhy you need to establish and nurture senior client relationshipsand so much more...At the end of the podcast, Chris makes a special offer to send three copies of his book to 3 people selected randomly who sign up to his monthly bulletin. This offer is valid until the end of January 2022 (although we do say the end of the year, because we recorded this episode in December 2021).So I'm going to give you a spoiler and suggest while you're listening to this fantastic episode, you go to Chris's website and be one of the first to sign up to his business insights bulletin. Please email him at chris@spring8020.co.uk to let him know you've signed up as a result of listening to this podcast.  http://spring8020.co.uk/.

Welcome to episode 52. Today we're taking a deep dive into the power of words with linguist Eloise Leeson.  Eloise works as a freelance communications consultant and copywriter for both agencies and brands and I think you'll find this interesting whether you're thinking about copy in the context of your client's business or your agency's business. She shares with me:1. How to recognise inherent bias in the copy you read 2. Some common mistakes businesses make with their copy and some practical tips to help you avoid them3. What holds us back from asking our clients for honest feedback about our business proposition and messaging4. Insights about what it's like to work as a freelancerAnd loads more nuggets of copywriting usefulness. I really enjoyed this chat, I learned a lot and felt I needed to completely overhaul my website copy afterwards!Please do get in touch with her if you think she could help you in your agency or for your brand communications. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eloiseleeson/If you don't want to miss an episode of this podcast and want to receive tips for improving your agency account management skills, then please go over to my website and sign up for my newsletter at https://www.account managementskills.com.  And make sure to connect with me on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyplant/Drop me a line and let me know who you'd like me to interview on this podcast.And finally if you're an agency account manager or director responsible for growing your existing client accounts and firming up the forecast but you haven't got a clue where to start, my Account Accelerator training programme might be for you. It's a repeatable client-centric approach to adding more value, being more consultative and ultimately increasing revenue and improving forecast certainty for your agency.  It starts on January 27th 2022 and if you'd like more information you can book a call with me to see if it's a good fit for you by going to my website https://www.accountmanagementskills.com.

Welcome to Episode 51. This chat is going to be particularly interesting for you if you're curious where agencies will be headed in the next 10 years. From everything I've researched over the last couple of months, the biggest change coming for agencies in the next decade is web3. Web3 is the next evolution of the Internet. And here to enlighten us about what web3 is, and how agencies need to be prepared for it is Jeff Kauffman Jr, Founder and CEO of Parachute, which builds and invests in web3 solutions for marketers and advertisers. If web3 is an area you want to keep your eye on, then join the Jump community and hundreds of other agency people and marketers who also want to stay ahead of what's changing. There's no such thing as a silly question in the community either. I've asked a few. We’re all learning together as web3 unfolds.  If you're an agency account manager and you want to invest in your career, and upgrade your account management skills, my next Account Accelerator programme starts on 27th January 2022. You'll work with me for nine weeks and gain the skills and a repeatable client centric approach to adding more value to your existing clients business, and growing your accounts. If this sounds interesting, then drop me a line at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com and we can see if it's a good fit for you. 

Welcome to Episode 50. This milestone episode is with Tom Ollerton, Founder of Automated Creative. If you're interested in seeing how artificial intelligence is being used by agencies right now, with some of the world's biggest client brands, to improve advertising performance, I think you're going to love this episode. If you're an account manager, you're looking for a new role, who likes the sound of working with such cutting edge technology and making an impact with his blue chip clients please visit my website and sign up for my newsletter at www.accountmanagementskills.com. You'll be sent regular updates about each of the podcast episodes, and tips for improving your account management skills. 

Today's episode will be particularly beneficial for you if you're an agency owner looking to grow. I chat to ‘Agencynomics’ co-author, Peter Hoole, about some common challenges faced by agency owners today, when it comes to business growth. We also talk about:·         the importance of looking at your team's skill set to make sure everyone's sitting in the right seats·         what point in the agency's revenue growth does an agency typically employ their first account manager?·         And the implications of having a hybrid account manager (someone who plays the combined account manager and project manager role, versus keeping the roles separate)Peter shares so many tips and lots of value during this interview. Don't forget to grab a copy of the book ‘Agencynomics’. I really don't know any agency owner who hasn't said it was a brilliant read.If you're an agency owner, and you want more certainty on your forecast when it comes to existing client growth, or you're an ambitious account manager who wants to know how to grow a client account, without being pushy and salesy, then my nine week Account Accelerator programme might be for you. You'll come away with a client centric system and repeatable approach to client growth. Drop me an email at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com and we can see if it's a good fit for you or your agency. 

Welcome to Episode 48. This episode is for you if you want to use LinkedIn in more effectively to grow your business, or to help your account management career.James Potter enlightens me on so many things I didn't realise about LinkedIn. We talk about:why it's useful to know who could be looking at your profilewhat typically holds business leaders back from postinghow to avoid making awful faux pas when connecting with peoplethe benefits of being more selective about who you add to your networkand lots more nuggets of usefulness.If you're in an agency account management role, and you're responsible for forecasting and firming up the account growth, I'm running my next Account Accelerator programme starting on 27th January 2022. By the end of nine weeks working with me, you'll have a repeatable, client centric approach to increasing revenue from your existing accounts. Now, if this sounds like you, or perhaps someone in your account management team, then please get in touch and let's see if it's a right fit for you. Email me at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com or connect with me on LinkedIn. 

Welcome to Episode 47. Have you ever wondered why sometimes you're just in flow at work? You're doing something you love, time seems to just stand still. And you feel like you could do this task for ages. And sometimes you're doing tasks that feel heavy, hard, difficult. And you look at someone else doing it and then think, why did why does that come so easy. I've invited business and performance coach Osman Sharif, to talk to us about how understanding your own unique superpower can help you enjoy what you do at work, get the best results, and embrace your unique talents. And ultimately, this makes your business and your career much more satisfying.If you're working in an agency environment in account management and you're ambitious, you want to accelerate your career and you want to increase your confidence with clients and improve your consultancy skills, so you can add more value to your client relationships and grow your accounts then my next Account Accelerator programme starts on January 27th 2022. If you'd like to know more, then please get in contact and let's see if it's a good fit for you. You can contact me on LinkedIn at Jenny Plant or you can drop me an email at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to Episode 46, with Robert Solomon. He's the author of the must read book for anyone in agency account management, 'The Art of Client Service'. In this chat, we talked about:-  why there are fewer account managers doing more with much less experience-  why some people believe the account manager role is becoming extinct and what we both think about that- and why often the work of great account management isn't recognised. Robert also talks us through his approach to managing difficult client conversations. And we talk about so much more. Robert's book, along with his workshops and his coaching have become foundational to building a new culture of client service and collaboration at many organisations of all different types and sizes and geographies. Robert is the founder of Solomon Strategic, and he provides marketing counsel to ad agencies, clients, and those in marketing looking for behaviour change. Robert, in his career, was a senior executive at several US based international advertising and marketing agencies. He was president and CEO of Rapp New York, president of direct and digital marketing at Ammirati Puris Lintas, General Manager of FCB Direct West and Senior Vice President and associate partner at Digitas.

Welcome to Episode 45. Today's chat with Richard Long, Director of Strategy & Communications at earthware will be particularly interesting for you if you're curious to understand how management consultancies operate versus agencies, and why they could potentially be posing a threat to your agency business. This is going to be particularly relevant if you're working in healthcare communications, because Richard currently works for an independent healthcare digital agency, but was also working for a management consultancy where he was setting up the life science arm. Richard shares insight into:- how management consulting consultancies operate- what a land and expand approach looks like- and how you can differentiate yourself from any management consultancy that might be posing a threat to your client business. He also shared some top tips from his many years working in account management. I hope you enjoy this chat with Richard.If you're working in an agency account management role at any level, and you'd like a non salesy approach, to add more value to your clients and grow those existing accounts, then check out my Account Accelerator programme, starting again on 23rd September. If you'd like more details, drop me a line at jenny@accountmanagementskills.com and we can see whether it's right for you.