Can they see right through you?

"Lack of transparency" is the number 2 Red Flag when it comes to businesses' turns offs that negatively affect an agency's likelihood of success.

It's a tricky element to get right, because often an agency is so busy getting on with the work necessary to satisfy a client that they forget to 'share' enough to make the client feel like they know what's going on.

The simple solution is to ask - early in the relationship - to what degree the client wants to be involved in the processes you've been engaged to carry out. And then add 1.

Seriously, it's better to over-expose your work and processes to a client (and have them come to you saying "we don't need that much info") than stay too quiet, only learning that the client felt they didn't know what was going on when they express themselves at their exit interview.

Don't be precious about your processes; if you lose clients, will your beloved (secret) processes offer much comfort. Instead, reveal all. Chances are, once the client 'gets' that you're sharing all there is to share, they'll not want 90% of it anyway.