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

November 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

JanuaryWorking Inside Your Agency. Guidelines for working effectively within your own agency 

Newsletter Archives - 2007

December 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

AugustTake 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

Newsletter Archives - 2006

December 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

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 business

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 RFPs

OctoberAccount 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 agency

 May 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

OctoberLeading 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

OctoberWho 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

JuneAgency 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 relations

Drill 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 agency

Moving 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

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.

© 2010 Grant Consulting Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.