Hello.
Reading time: about 2 minutes, at most
From the files and courtesy of reader input, here are a few more ideas to help you run your agency more effectively.
Of course everyone has an opinion on what it takes to be successful in this business, but these – and the preceding batch; see our newsletter archive on our website – are based on lots of experience observing first-rate shops.
If you have any you’d like to add, pass 'em on.
All the best,
Joe Grant
joe@joegrantconsulting.com
P.S. - Few things are more important than keeping clients happy enough to continue doing business with you. That's why so many agencies use our Client Satisfaction Surveys. Get in touch by e-mail or phone and we'll tell you more about why they're a smart way to keep your hard-won clients.
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Grant’s Client Brief
Here with a handful of ideas to keep your agency growing and prospering.
Ruthlessly critique n.b. misses
How dumb is it when you fail to close a new business pitch then tackle the next one and make exactly the same mistakes – and get the same results? If you’re going to improve your chances for a win become a passionate critic with a stomach for change. After the next failed new business effort conduct an internal no-finger-pointing-allowed session to assess what went wrong, what you need to do better, and what you will change. Agencies improve when they disinterestedly look at their output… and then change.
Stay fresh
Regular readers know we believe keeping fresh and balanced is the key to a healthy and productive career. If you're in a rut the answer is to push past the edge of your envelope and poke out of your comfort zone. You can make the time – others have. For example, we know agency types who have recently found the time to learn to play a saxophone, restore an old car, take flying, scuba, or skydiving lessons, weld metal sculpture, master French, act in community theater, write a book, do a Civil War reenactment, start med school, and learn ice carving (he's now applying for a job on a cruise ship!). You'd be surprised what some new activity will do to refresh your job performance. On our website there's an article about this very topic called Time for a Challenge.
Conduct quarterly internal reviews
Agencies have improved how they exceed client expectations at every place we've installed this simple regimen to grow and keep more business. The process is simple and fully explained in Quarterly Account Reviews Can Make a Difference. Try it. It's not difficult though you may get some whining from "overworked" account people. I promise it will help focus everyone on what's important: keeping your clients happy and generating more income.
Don't be held hostage
The old saw about one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch is true. Look, life is too short – and business is too competitive and risky – to tolerate a malcontent or misfit screwing up what you've worked so hard to build. Do what you know needs to be done and resolve the obvious. Your people know who's good and who's bad; the inability to lead with courage undermines many otherwise healthy companies. Get out of denial! People tell us all the time once the dust clears, "I wish I'd gotten rid of that guy a long time ago!" For a little inspiration read The Monkey Bars Law on our website.
Move on
For the older guys in the crowd: Tired or have you lost some passion for the business? If so, it's no sin; it's what happens naturally when you've been working mostly without rest for 30 or 40 years. The answer is to embrace your new job: engineering a graceful departure. There are two parts to this – bring along successors who'll do an even better job than you, and then exit with style and confidence. Departing is usually the toughest thing an entrepreneur does so don’t be afraid to ask for help (we do this kind of work – call us). Oh, and make sure you leave a little dough in petty cash for a tasteful portrait of "Our Founder" to hang near the restrooms.
We'll share more operating imperatives next month. If you'd like to contribute ideas about what you think is essential
for agency management success, just drop a note to us at joe@joegrantconsulting.com.
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Work for a Jerk? |
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Is your boss a bully? Or maybe you need to reexamine your own management style. There's a website with information and discussion forums dealing with bullying, incompetence, even inadequate compensation (says who?) called Badbossology.
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Ad Words |
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The University of Texas – Austin advertising department compiled a list of quotes about our field you might want to look at. The homepage is at Texas Advertising.
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CA |
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Communication Arts has been the premier journal of commercial creative arts since 1959. Their website is every bit as good as the book and worth visiting, starting at the portfolio portal at Creative Hotlist.
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Marketing Mavens |
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We plugged this site once before but it deserves an encore. Marketing Profs is full of how-to content for marketers and here are two examples: How the Voice of the Customer Got its Groove Back and Seven Steps to Writing Copy Your Market Will Actually Want to Read. There's more at Marketing Profs.
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Thinkers |
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Can you name 4 or 5 influential business thinkers? How about 50? See how many you know on this list of The Thinkers 50.
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Mock Ups |
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Take a gander at these clever treatments which, if you believe the website, were presented but never bought by clients. At Knuttz. Hmmm. . . how many really great ideas never made it to daylight because of "enlightened" clients? Ours is a brutal business.
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Absolut Spoofs |
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Just what the title says. At Absolut Ads.
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About Grant Consulting
Grant Consulting, formed in 1992 by Joe Grant, is a consultative resource for advertising agency principals who want to improve their agencies. The firm works exclusively with agency senior managers to help them discover and then reach their full potential. Copyright 2006 Grant Consulting Associates, Inc. All rights reserved. We encourage sharing in whole or in part if copyright and attribution are included. Contact us at:
Grant Consulting
239.394.8220
joe@joegrantconsulting.com
www.joegrantconsulting.com
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