How To Choose the Perfect Clients For Your Agency - Three Real Experiences and the Lessons I Learned

There is much advice written for your clients buying services like yours, what to look for and how to choose, but it is just important for you,? the supplier - agency, consultancy - to make the right choice.? A poor match can be catastrophic for both parties. Believe me, I have been there! This article gives you the benefit of my own experiences and three of my past stories.

It's so easy to believe you are the underdog, the one who has to do the doffing of the cap when you are the seller. Yes sir, no sir.

This is likely to be exacerbated when you are looking for revenue, when you haven’t made your targets, when there are bills and salaries to be paid.

In a pitch situation, things can get even more stressful.?

But when your coffers are full, the pipeline is full, and you have the ideal clients, you have a different mindset.

You are less likely to jump at the chance to work with every prospect, regardless of red flags.??

Let’s dive into this subject a bit further and?cover how you can avoid the red flags and end up with the clients that bring you joy!

To kick off, here is the first of my experiences.

Experience One - Not Knowing When to Bail

I was contacted by a marketing manager, who was very new to her role. They had a big project that needed to be completed fast. But I saw red flags from the first meeting. I knew that we were not a good fit personality-wise and that their lack of understanding of the job, and marketing in general, to be done was a potential issue. But, hey, it was only a three month project, and I could keep it strictly business.? Plus, as long as they respected my experience and expertise, then all would be good.

After the initial meeting, I asked to meet the founder.? We all met, and he said he was surprised that I needed to speak to him. I should have knocked the project on the head right there. But I didn't. BIG mistake.

I presented a proposal; they bought it. It split out the strategic work in stage one from stage two, the implementation. But there was a guide price for stage two.

The project started. Throughout the project, I didn't get?the information I asked for, and it was difficult to get answers. The marketing manager didn't know anything about the business, and I needed to learn about the business in depth and have the opportunity to brainstorm thoughts and ideas to work on the proposition, messaging and audience. The founder was hard to get hold of, and the one meeting we did have, he obviously found my questions a waste of time. Still, I continued; they were on a deadline, and I had committed to help them. It seemed unprofessional to pull out. And bringing up the subject just irritated my contact.

Once stage one was completed, I provided a detailed cost breakdown for stage two, well within the cost guidelines I had given initially and an investment that they had no problem with a month before? They were surprised and told me they only had a third of the required budget. The marketing plan they had recently approved could not be executed on a third of the budget!? Surprise!?

I am very results-orientated but there was no way? I could get the results they wanted from this project with the budget. Bad situation for both parties.

The WhatsApp messages day and night, the well-out-of-hours meetings, the total lack of input and experience, and the ‘keep putting the screws on the supplier’ attitude were wearing.?

Over those three months, my mental health took a bit of a dive.? Ok, it was only three months, but it was an intense three months.? The final straw was the very late payment of an invoice, and the relationship was crumbled from there!

Lessons I learned

1. Take notice of any red flags and bail early. Do not justify it to yourself.
2. Value your personal time and mental health over any client. (Note: this is not necessary if you take notice of lesson 1.) We all need to remember that our mental health can be damaged over the longer term, and we don’t realise it's happening when it gets eroded bit by bit. Good client relationships - and those with our own team - can contribute to a healthy workplace.
3. Don't be afraid to get tough with late payments. (As soon as I got tough, they paid the invoice)
4. Detail your expectations of the client/project at the proposal stage, not just what they can expect from you

Attracting Your Ideal Clients, Repelling the Rest

To have the perfect clients, you need to be extremely clear about exactly who your ideal client is and then ‘call them in’ through your core marketing message, content, etc..? And that content can also push away those who are not a fit.

Don’t waste your time speaking to prospects who are not a fit for you.

Not everyone is your ideal client.

I know it's tempting to work with everyone who wants to work with you, but this is not advisable, in my experience. If you ignore the red flags -? and they are always there-? it will bite you in the rear end down the line!

To double down on attracting the right clients is to be very clear about those people and businesses that are a good fit. And those who are not a good fit. The two approaches can be used in tandem.

Note that I used the words ‘people’ and ‘business’. The business -? and the project - may well be a fit for you. Your point of contact, or the team, the way they work may not be. So there are two aspects to consider.? Is the business and project something that is in your wheelhouse? Something your team can really excel at. Something you would be proud to add to your portfolio? A good case study, maybe? If so, consider how you might overcome the potential issues with the client team and hope for the best!

Taking on a new client is like marrying some after a couple of dates. Until you have lived with them and gone through some difficulties, you don’t really know how the relationship is going to develop. This is where you and your team need the leadership skills, or therapy (!) to cope with the ups and downs!

Communicating your proposition - your promise to your ideal client

You can clearly communicate this in your copy and content, especially on your website. It should be a thread that runs through everything you do.

• Have a look at your website now. Does the home page promise to deliver what your ideal clients want???
• What about your LinkedIn Company page or your LinkedIn personal profile?? Are they grabbing the attention of your ideal prospects enough to reach for the keyboard or phone?
• You can use testimonials and case studies to show the type of business and people you work with.?These alone tell your story.
• Only speak on podcasts that have a clear audience that fits yours.

Done right, prospects can easily see if you are the company for them. It will motivate them to make contact or be more receptive to your ‘advances’. And you’ll be wasting less of your time, your team's time, as well as your prospects’ time - time that can be spent on hunting down the right people.

And, the clients you do get to work with, will be more qualified against your criteria, more open to paying what you’re really worth, and the relationship is more likely to stand the test of time! That means ongoing work, even when your contact moves jobs. It means recommendations - to other teams, to other companies.

Also, the more prospects in your pipeline, the more selective you can be.

Experience Two - Knowing When You Are Flogging a Dead Horse

This is the next of my experiences.

I was contacted by an Executive Assistant of two founders of a 30+ strong consultancy. We had meetings that led to a proposal that was accepted.?

The strategic stage of the project - positioning, audience, messaging -? is where input from the founders and, in this case, the board of directors was required.? I requested a 2-hour brainstorm meeting with the two co-founders. They could spare an hour. One of them was 30 minutes late, and the other had to leave after 30 minutes!

Not ideal from my point of view, nor from a successful project standpoint either.

It is surprising that companies are willing to spend hard-earned cash on a project but do not give the time to make it work.

I organised an in-person workshop with all of the senior people. The founders didn't show up.? And one of the directors told me. “We start these projects but no one takes them seriously. We won’t complete it”? Gosh!?

I tried so many ways to work around them, and the way they operated. After all, every company has its way of working.? The marketing, sales, and new business processes and recommendations must work around my clients. This is one key factor that improves the level of success they achieve.

I persevered for a little longer but then politely declined to work on the next stage.

Lessons I learned.

1. See lessons learned from the first experience!
2. Take notice of the red flags and bail early
3. If the owners and stakeholders in the business or the project team are anything less than fully committed, consider bailing out. Meet them early in the process
4. Clients that aren’t a good fit are never long-term sources of revenue
5. Look for company cultures that fit with the way you work.??

Ask the hard questions upfront.

I ask direct questions before people book a call. Check my appointment booking questions here

I ask direct questions on any calls we have.

Do they have the budget and the assets required?

Are they committed to their own success? They need to be more committed than you or I. It’s their business or product and job.

Are they taking the process and project seriously in the early stage?

The Benefit of Having Clients You Love

A strong client/agency relationship enables you to serve your clients better, and potentially increases your revenue as they are more likely to work with you over the long term and refer you.?

Great relationships help to provide great case studies and testimonials. Which, in turn, leads to more inbound enquiries and makes closing sales easier.

Everyone’s work day is less stressful. The mental health of your team will be maintained.?

There will be less churn of your team, which, as we all know, will bring you less stress.

Sometimes we get it wrong.? After all, marrying someone after a couple of dates leaves you open to that!

Experience three - Wrong client but a good save!

Here is another of my experiences from decades ago before I started my own business. The consultancy took on a client who did not fit the consultancy at all, but they were rapidly expanding into other countries and needed revenue.

I was initially head-hunted to work at a top London award winning design consultancy to take on the account management of a UK bank that was threatened to pull out and find another agency.

This was a story is a classic case of taking on a client that wasn’t a fit.

The consultancy was known for its ground breaking incredible design work that commanded incredible fees. It was one of the the top two creative led consultancies in London at the time,

The bank didn't need that.? The bank had multiple teams over different departments - there were a lot of client contacts! Most of the design work was very basic, sticking to brand guidelines for branch campaigns.There was not much room to be creative.

The account wasn’t exciting enough for the account managers and the designers so they didn’t take enough care with it. But the account was worth good money every month.? All of the other clients work was project based.

The bank had given the consultancy a warning. Shape up or they were going to find another agency. I was interviewed by the founder and given the job. And a free rein to turn the account around.

I know how the marketing departments in large companies work. I am good at nurturing and building relationships. I am good at business development. And I was determined to be a success.

I spent time with every one of the client's teams across the different departments. I got to know them personally to understand what they needed, what had been going wrong, and how they wanted the account managed.?And, importantly, how they felt valued and what they wanted from me. For some, it was to be taken for a good lunch on a regular basis; for others, it was for me to be highly efficient and timely with little chitchat.

In year one, I increased the billing by 102% year on year and increased the number of the consultancies subsidiaries working with the bank from 1 to 5. Then I leveraged on the good reputation I had built and added three more of the banks companies to the consultancies rosta. The total account was built to over ￡500,000.

I reconciled the mismatch of requirements and skills between the client and agency and retained the account under threat. Then I built and managed the account team to handle the increase in business.

I was given the role of Group Client Service Director and pioneered the key account concept to encourage cross-referral between the different businesses within the group. Created a blueprint for identifying and handling key accounts, authored Account Handlers Manual. (It might seem odd to be doing that but this was a few decades ago when these things were not in place!)

Finally, I was appointed Director of one of the limited companies.

Lessons learned?

1. If you make an error, be quick to sort it.
2. Match your team to what the client needs.
3. Understand the benefit of understanding your client's business/industry
4. Never underestimate the power (and extra, profitable revenue) of developing business with existing clients
5. Take time to get to know each individual member of your client's team and adapt your treatment of them according to what they want/who they are

I would love to hear your feedback, stories, thoughts and advice. Tell me in the comments.

Want to know more?

I work with marketing and creative agencies building? go-to-market strategies to get more high-quality leads and win more pitches by uncovering what makes their business unique, creating a market of one! I also offer support to implement the marketing plan, build the pipeline, working with the in-house team to create business growth.

?? Are you a marketing services founder/owner looking for more of your perfect clients? Book a call with me here.

?? Subscribe to my LinkedIn Newsletter by clicking here and hitting ‘Subscribe’.

?? Are You Ready to Increase your Leads & Sales? Find out here

"If someone's struggling with positioning or messaging or LinkedIn strategy, I usually say we worked with Tracey. She helped us pursue a clear positioning and get a clear direction for where we want to go. She'll walk you through it with proper deep dives, understand your business, and put you on the path to success.

Tracey went above and beyond. She has a wealth of knowledge; there's always lots to be learning and taking in and then applying. She is always very supportive and encouraging.

The breadth of everything we received in that project - nothing was left uncovered. Even from conversations and catch-ups, there was constant interest in what we should be doing to accelerate our business and the returns from the marketing activity and what more we could be doing.

Regarding results, although it's in the early days, our engagement with content has doubled.?Our new LinkedIn newsletter has already got 236 subscribers from zero. Impressions on our posts have doubled at a time when most are experiencing mass drop-offs. Ours are actually on the increase, which is really cool. We've got much clearer marketing messaging now from the positioning work. We've shown up in 50% more searches, increased our company page by 40%, and ranked in the top 1% in our industry for performance on LinkedIn. This month our profile views are up 75%."

Jason Hancock, Co-Founder, Hancock and Rowe - Delivering increases in retention, revenue, profit & LTV for mobile & web apps, loyalty programmes and membership portals

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