Empowering account managers to build stronger client relationships
In many client services teams, nurturing client relationships often falls to senior team members, while more junior members manage the day-to-day tasks.
You might be missing a trick if this is how things work at your agency. There is a huge opportunity to empower your Account Managers to take charge and build stronger connections with clients. You can tap into more opportunities and help your account managers and executives develop confidence and lasting relationships with their clients by arming them with the right training and tools.
In this blog post, we will explore how you can support your account managers to build better relationships, enabling them to drive growth and success for your agency and your clients.
1. Involve junior team members in important meetings
When client relationship building is seen solely as the responsibility of senior team members, it can result in junior members being excluded from crucial client meetings and left to manage the outputs alone. This approach not only limits the development of junior staff but also places an additional burden on seniors who are already time-stretched. By recognising the potential in your account managers and investing in their growth, you can address this imbalance and create a more inclusive and effective client services team.
Invite them along to key meetings and get them involved in the prep. They don’t have to take a leading role, but it will help them become more comfortable in more senior meetings, which is also great for their personal development.
2. Empower account managers to ask the right questions
Having the confidence and knowledge to ask the right questions is crucial in understanding clients' goals, challenges, and expectations.
Actively encourage your account managers to go beyond surface-level conversations and delve deeper into the clients' business objectives. Discuss projects, their wider impact and what’s coming up over the next 6-12 months. In doing so, they may uncover untapped opportunities and be able to provide more strategic, valued guidance. Training your teams to ask thoughtful, probing questions will not only strengthen the client relationship but also position your agency as a trusted advisor.
3. Better understanding, better business
To effectively upsell and cross-sell your agency's products and services, your team needs a comprehensive understanding of the agency’s services. This is especially important if you’ve merged with another company that has a different offering to yours, and for any client services new starters.
Provide training sessions that explain the full range of your agency’s capabilities and provide an easily accessible visual that they can refer back to. With a better understanding of the agency’s services, they can more easily identify opportunities to upsell and tailor solutions to meet clients' needs better. An account manager who solves problems more effectively will be seen as a strategic partner. It’s a win-win.
4. Create partners, not ‘yes-men’
Clients, like most people, appreciate honesty and expertise; the client-agency relationship is no longer, ‘we say jump and you say how high. The aim should be true partnership. Encourage your account managers to proactively share their insights and challenge clients' assumptions when appropriate. By providing a fresh perspective, your teams can demonstrate their value as trusted partners rather than order-takers. Foster a culture that encourages open communication and empowers AMs to voice their opinions respectfully and constructively.
One exercise which can help foster positivity (and make meetings more productive) is to enforce a ‘yes but’ rule. i.e. when someone contributes an idea, only those who can add to or expand on the idea can offer input rather than focusing on criticism as a way to contribute.
5. Remember the human touch
In a world where interactions are often digital and face-to-face meetings are a rarity, the human touch can make all the difference. This could be encouraging your teams to get to know their clients better, remembering birthdays or understanding their work besties and who they struggle with. Find out everything you can, without being creepy(!), about the people you work with to help them look incredible in their agency and role.
If appropriate, get to understand them outside of work too. What are their hobbies, do they have pets or children, where do they love to go on holiday? Is there something that you can connect with them about? This will strengthen the relationship for when you need to have some of the tough conversations and make the day-to-day far more satisfying.
6. Encourage empathy
Every working relationship comes with a few bumps in the road, but people rarely wake up with a plan of making their agency’s life hell that day (even if some days it might feel that way!) If a client is late or shares something that feels rushed and lacks lots of pertinent information, it can be frustrating - but, take a deep breath… and let it go. They could have a lot on their plate or be dealing with personal issues.
Showing empathy during challenging times can go a long way in building trust and loyalty. These small gestures showcase your agency's commitment to providing exceptional client experiences. Plus, it could do you a favour in the future if you’re running behind on a deadline. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours? Sure, we’re all friends here.
The opportunity
Developing stronger client relationships brings numerous benefits to your agency, both financially and operationally, through increased client loyalty, repeat business, and revenue growth. Plus, chances are you’ll have more satisfied clients and a more motivated and engaged client services team.
Investing in the development of your account managers as relationship builders simply makes sense for the success of your marketing agency. It is time to unleash the potential of your AMs and help them forge lasting partnerships with your clients.
Get in touch
Have you found this article helpful personally, or feel your Client Services colleagues might? Get in touch now to discuss what types of training Blueberry Spark offers and how we can help your team excel.
