NEW! A fresh look at guideposts for agency success: Style Matters: How to Behave When You’re the Boss. This article examines how agency leaders behave in relation to employees by looking at eight typical characteristics: perfectionism; micromanagement; risk-taking; body language; whiplash management; personal entrenchment; patronization; and generational differences. You’ll discover five key things to keep in mind as you interact with people.
Over the years Grant Consulting has authored articles about client relations, management, new business, operations, people issues and other topics of interest to agency professionals. Many were first published in the our printed newsletter, Grant’s Report or our free monthly email newsletter, Grant’s Client Brief (sign up here). Some have been distributed in AAAA publications. They are saved in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format -- if you don’t have an Acrobat Reader, click here.
Newsletter Archives - 2008
Newsletter Archives - 2007November - It’s the Clients Stupid. Take action now to shore up your biggest asset: your client relationships
September - Repurposing. A quick take on where your head (and heart) need to be when it’s time to walk away from your life’s work
July - The Buffalo Jump. If you feel you’re just moving with the herd, you might learn something from this unusual - and dangerous - buffalo behavior
May - If I Understand You. Even in today’s speed-of-light technology, things get screwed up. Find how how to fix those problems
March - Why Work in Advertising. Job satisfaction in advertising means substantially more than merely earning a living
January- Working Inside Your Agency. Guidelines for working effectively within your own agency
Newsletter Archives - 2006December - Right Size Right Place. President of a top agency selection firm shares his thoughts on agency size
November - Size Matters. What really matters to clients when choosing small medium or large agencies
October - How Advertisers Value Agencies. New AAAA’s study presents hard facts about what clients and agencies value
September - The Answer to Training. Inspiring ways to help train ad people without a lot of cost or time away from clients
August- Take a Break. A change of pace is essential for recharging your batteries
July - Links Redux. More critical resources for ad people at all levels
June - Agency Trends. Today’s trends will be tomorrow’s old news. Be prepared in your agency
May - Link-a-palooza. Links and resources helpful to people in the ad business
April - Tax Breaks for Ad Guys. You may be missing tax opportunities available to those of us involved with help shaping the current culture
March - Another Take on Tough Clients. Working with difficult clients can be easier then you think
February - My Client is a Jerk. Setting the tone in your agency for dealing with all types of clients
January - AE 101. Even the most seasoned AE’s need to be reminded of the basics of client service
May - Make Your Client a CPF. Refresh the glue that often keeps clients hooked April - Add Some Pepper. New marketing related buzz words you need to know March - Thinking Around Corners. Things to consider when your management team has trouble problem-solving February - Girlie-man Management. Sometimes avoiding decisions can be worse then making bad ones January - Career Success in ’06. Key attibutes which make for success in the agency businessDecember - Keeping Top Talent. Finding ways to keep the most talented employees happy and productive
November - The Facts Are Friendly. Gain a better understanding of current clients and grow your business
October - What’s A Good AE? What it takes to be a good Account Executive in the agency world today
September - Agency Success Secrets. Agency leaders share some success secrets
August - More Agency Must-dos. Ideas to stimulate your leadership thinking
July - Some Agency Imperatives. Tips to help you grow your people and your business
June - The Secret to Happiness. Doing the hard stuff leads to great rewards
Newsletter Archives - 2005
December - Resolutions. Take a look at a few small improvements that can create lasting success at your agency
November - SOP for RFPs. What you should include, emphasize or purposely omit from RFPsOctober- Account Dog-paddling. Engender more activity and less reaction on your accounts
September - 12 New Business Pitch Rules. Interviews with "lost prospects" reveal important things to keep in mind when pitching new clients
August - Who Needs Vacations? If the agency is running you versus the other way around you need a break
July - Perfectionism. One of the most disabling traits in an agency is perfectionism. Ways to tone it down while still having an impact June - Time For A Challenge. Why agency leaders must challenge themselves outside of the agencyMay - Too Many Meetings. Make the most of your business with only 2 key meetings a week
April - 3 Things Every Agency Owner Should Know. Things the most successful agencies seem to always keep in mind
March - Defrag Your Personal Hard Drive. What you need to do to see your business with fresh eyes
February - 8 Ways to Fortify Your Accounts. Techniques to invigorate client relationships so things are continually fresh and constantly improving
January - Accountability and You. Your role in helping others become more accountable
Newsletter Archives - 2004
December - Fireman’s Lament. Focus on goals not fires
November - Cork the Whine. Clients can see a bad attitude
October - Leading the Leaders. Ways to enhance real delegation
September - Weepers, Creepers & Leapers. A simple, 3-part way to categorize the types in an agency
August - The Focus of Success. Help your agency grow with change
July - The Perfect Pitch. Improving new business pitches
June - Changing Creative Horses. Are you ready for a creative shake-up?
May - Facing the Music. Sometimes the truth hurts but see how 2 agencies manage change
April - How to Keep Accounts Fresh. Improving your client relationships is not as tough as you may think
March - Don’t Bet on Profit. Adjust what’s adjustable for maximum financial performance
February - Run for the Roses. Do you run your agency like you are growing flowers or breeding race horses?
January - The 900lb. Gorilla Revisited. Dealing with ’soon retiring’ (SR) partners and executives
Newsletter Archives - 2003
December - Rowing Your Own Boat. Going beyond the day-to-day
November - The Senior Issue. Dealing with partners or senior staffers who stay on too long
October - Who Needs Vacations. You need a break to get the juices flowing
September - What Agency Management Teams Do. Pulling together executive teams
August - 2003 Agency Trends. A summary of the Ballester studies
July - The Agency CEO’s #1 Priority. Stop coming in second
June - Agency Leadership Disasters. Avoiding common agency management mistakes
May - Agency What If’s. Idea-starters which might spark change in your agency
April - Your Agency & Wall Street. Independent agencies can weather great storms
March - Tales from the New Business Trenches? An objective look at new business failures
February - So What Makes a Good AE? Consistent traits found in some of the best AE’s in the country
January - Agency CEO Resolutions. Don’t wait for the new year to change some things around your agency
ARTICLES
Client Relations
5 Cardinal Sins of Client Relationships - discover the three invaluable "Laws" that can help you keep client relationships fresh
Quarterly Account Reviews Work - a straightforward, simple way to manage client accounts and meet their expectations
How to Keep Your Clients Happy - an unabashed pitch to have a 3rd party audit how happy your clients are. . . and recommend exactly how to make them happier
It’s the Clients Stupid - take action to shore up your biggest asset: your client relationships
My Client is a Jerk - setting the tone in your agency for dealling with all types of clients
Make Your Client a CPF - refresh the glue that often keeps clients hooked
Cork the Whine - clients can see a bad attitude
AE 101 - even the most seasoned AE’s need to be reminded of the basics of client service
8 Ways to Fortify Your Accounts - techniques to invigorate client relationships so things are continually fresh and constantly improving
Account Dog-paddling - engender more activity and less reaction on your accounts
How to Keep Accounts Fresh - improving client relationships is not as tough as you may think
How Are Agencies Doing - a summary of Ballester’s agency scorecard with ideas to improve client relationsDrill or Be Dropped - the basics are what they pay you for. Don’t screw them up
The Facts Are Friendly - gain a better understanding of your current clients to grow your business
Breed for Success - are your accounts like hothouse flowers or race horses?
Management & Leadership
Fifteen Things Every Agency Owner Should Know - in looking at many agencies over 30 years there are fifteen things the more successful ones do consistently
Courage at the Top - if you want to be the best, do what the best agency CEOs do
Girlie-man Management - sometimes avoiding decisions can be worse then making bad ones
Agency Leadership Disasters - stories from agencies which can help others avoid major mistakes
The Monkey Bars Law - what’s really holding you back from taking your agency to the next level?
Leading the Leaders - real delegation in an agency is tough to come by
Tough Times In The Agency Business - facing up to the difficult decisions when you’re running an agency in a tight economy
Fireman’s Lament - focus on goals not fires
Thinking Around Corners - things to consider when your management team has trouble problem-solving
Agency Imperatives - ideas to stimulate your leadership thinking
AgencyTrends - today’s trends will be tomorrow’s old news
What Should Agency Management Teams Do - a white paper on what makes for an effective, smooth-running agency leadership team
Time For a Challenge - why agency leaders must challenge themselves outside of the agency
Rowing Your Own Boat - going beyond the day-to-day agency life
The Buffalo Jump - moving beyond herd behavior when driving your agency forward
The Agency CEO’s Job Description - since you probably don’t have one, here’s something to get you started
The Agency CEO’s #1 Priority - paying attention to this priority will change your other agency needs and demands
Defrag Your Personal Harddrive - what you need to do to see your agency business with fresh eyes
Truth in Advertising - integrity and honesty start at the top
IQs & EI - applying Emotional Intelligence to agency management. A brief review of Primal Leadership
One Firm, One Voice - about the importance of cohesion, vision and commitment on the management team
Agency CEO Resolutions - Begin every quarter with new resolutions to lead your agency toward continuous improvement
Repurposing - a quick take on where your head (and heart) need to be when it’s time to walk away from your life’s work
New Business
New Business: There Are No Magic Bullets ... Just Basic Tenets - Are your clients right for you? Discover three approaches to finding new business that make "sense" for your agency
Fire Truck New Business- avoid chasing false alarms. Proven do’s and don’t’s for designing a new business process that works
The Perfect Pitch - simple ways to improve your new business pitches
12 New Business Pitch Rules - interviews with "lost prospects" reveal critical things to remember when pitching new clients
SOP for RFP’s - what you should include, emphasize or purposely omit from RFPs
Choosing Clients That Fit - you’re always better off when you pick clients just right for your agency. Here are 7 things to consider in the new business hunt
Agency Size Matters - what really matters to clients when choosing small medium or large agencies
New Business Pitfalls - avoid a few simple mistakes while chasing new business
Operations
Who Needs Conference Reports? – in the email age, how to use old technology to get things done inside and outside your agency
Agency What ifs - challenging your agency is easier then you think
Don’t Bet On Profit - adjust what’s adjustable for maximum financial performance
Quarterly Resolutions - take a look at a few small improvements that can create lasting success at your agency
Working Inside Your Agency - what it takes to succeed in working for an advertising agencyMoving Your Agency Ahead - what does it take to get out of the doldrums?
Please, Not Another Meeting! - we don’t need another stinkin’ meeting. Or do we?
Meeting Needs - make the most of your business with only 2 key meetings a week
This is a Meeting Room - instructions to be posted in your meeting areas for maximum efficiency
The Agency Checkbook - a few simple rules to stay out of the financial soup
Tax Breaks For Ad Guys - tax opportunities available to those of us involved with helping shape the current culture
People
© 2010 Grant Consulting Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.What Makes a Good AE? - characteristics common to some of the best AE’s in the business
Weepers, Creepers & Leapers - a highly subjective rating system for the kinds of people usually stocking agencies
Sharpening the Tools of the Trade - an agency is only as good as its people. Here are some ideas on making them better
Run For The Roses - do you run your agency like you were growing flowers or breeding racehorces?
Keeping Top Talent - finding ways to keep the most talented employees happy and productive
Creative Intuition - here’s an unusual exercise to get the creative muses to call
Why Work in Advertising - job satisfaction in advertising means substantially more than merely earning a living
Changing Creative Horses - are you ready for a creative shake-up?
CareerSuccess - key attributes which make for success in the agency world
Casual Dress 101 - so what goes and doesn’t these days in the agency and at the client?
Accountability and You - your role in helping others become more accountable
The Answer to Training - inspiring ways to help train ad people without a lot of cost or time away from clients
The Senior Issue - a touchy subject and time we addressed it: tenured staff members staying on too long
You Need a Vacation - agency types need a break to refresh and recharge
Copyright 2009 Grant Consulting Associates, Inc. All rights are reserved.. . but we encourage sharing in whole or in part if copyright and attribution are included.