Ok, so we lost an account today…
Yup, we did: a new, big one that we have had for less than three months. Why did we lose it? For several reasons, some our fault and some the client’s.
The number one reason we lost the account…we never should nave taken it. We all take on new business because; well that’s what we do. But in some cases you should walk away when it doesn’t feel right. This time it did feel right but it did not work. This leads me to the second reason my agency lost the business…me and my big mouth. During a recent conference call I pushed this client back a little on some of his comments. It was quickly apparent I had hurt his feelings. So I tried to smooth it over by reminding him that I had promised him we were going to tell him what he needed to hear–no matter what. I did and we got fired.
The third reason we got fired is the client did not know what he wanted from an agency. What he did know was that he wanted us to be the silver bullet and help him stem a double-digit decline in an industry that we have years of experience in. He did not like our suggestions (hey, it’s his money) and he did not like it when we challenged his assumptions.
What I have learned is that no matter what I tell potential clients when they sign a contract, they just don’t believe that my staff and I will speak our minds. Perhaps we both should have read this PDF by The Hayes Company before we got married. I’m sorry to see the business go because it now means I owe my staff lunch…once for getting the account and now for losing the account. It is always my goal to have at least 10 years between the celebratory and parting lunches, but not this time.
November 12th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Your comments get better and better. This one was especially good.
November 13th, 2007 at 3:59 am
I wonder if the account could have been saved if handled with more delicately. You may have shamed the client and caused him/her to lose face, more so if others were present. Sometimes, it is not what we say but how we say it.
Perhaps more information and more questions. Why do you feel business is so poor? Is it only your establishment hurting or is it systemic (housing/financial)? If it’s only your establishment, what do you feel the problem is? What are you willing to change if anything? If systemic, what makes your establishment unique in providing a better service or product? What precisely do you want our advertising to say for you? How much control are you willing to give us? Do you want us primarily to be your microphone/printer much like a classified or do you want us to use our experience and expertise to manage the account (with feedback and collaboation) from A to Z? The fact that you offended the client and he/she may well have had the skin of an amoeba might suggest you did not know enough about the client’s temperment or have enough of a relationship to speak so directly. or gasp!…could it be?… so truthfully. With more sensitive finese, perhaps a relationship could have been preserved. “That is so woefully and sadly mistaken and the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard” vs “Have you considered…” Perhaps the account was destined to doom and beyond hope the first time the client opened the door. Maybe it was doomed because you didn’t have enough Information…Information…Information.
That said, do you proceed with a doomed ad campaign because that is what the client wants? It is, after all, your reputation too if an ad campaign fails.
Free lunch for the staff??? Suggest the triple lobster entree looks good.