- This event has passed.
Leading Your Firm’s Growth With Account Management
March 12 @ 8:00 am - March 13 @ 12:00 pm
$1,600.00Seminar Synopsis
We have further focused and expanded our popular Account Management seminar this year, adding content and bringing in experts Jenny Plant and Jack Skeels as speakers. The result is an intensive two-day crash course on all things account management. Those just starting to explore the subject and those who have been steeped in it will both benefit greatly.
This seminar is designed for the account management team and the project management team that works alongside them. Strong client and project management is no substitute for great work, but it is key to the success of growing client relationships, and therefore growing a successful practice.
Agenda (subject to change)
Tuesday
- 9:00: Introduction
- 9:30: History and Best Ecosystem for Account Management
- 10:15: Agency Theory
- 11:30: Essential Principles of Great Account Management
- 12:45: Lunch (provided)
- 1:30: Mastering a Project-Driven World
- 2:45: How to Grow an Account
- 3:45: Networking and Happy Hour
Wednesday
- 9:00: A Little Detour on Project Management and People Types
- 10:00: How AMs and PMs Work Best Together in the Real World
- 11:00: Client Conflict Role-Playing
- 11:30: Q&A
- 12:00: Break
“I went to the seminar with the goal of being able to find where the line is between AM and PM role. What I got out of it was so much more! Most importantly I realized exactly how much money we’re leaving on the table by not continually engaging our clients and actively building those relationships.”
Speakers
Jenny Plant
Jack Skeels
Jack Skeels is a former RAND senior analyst and agency executive. He is the CEO of AgencyAgile, an operations consulting and coaching firm that has helped over 200 agencies, consultancies, and other project-driven organizations go better, faster and happier. Jack’s new book is Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations.
David C. Baker
Accommodations
Not included, but suggested booking at Bellyard Hotel.
Detail
Savvy firms know that clients are far more likely to notice poor customer service long before they notice subpar effectiveness. It’s no excuse for sloppy work, of course, but if you can wrap great work inside strong client management, you’ll have the best of both worlds.
Here’s a simple three-part test for effective account managers. These three scenarios—if handled well— point to a strong account executive who can effectively do what may be the most difficult in an agency: straddle the fence between advocating for the client and advocating for the agency.
- How early can the new business department hand off a warm lead to an account manager to close the first project in a long and prosperous relationship?
- How effectively do the account people grow their accounts over time?
- How well do account managers manage tense situations with presence and grace?
This two-day seminar will change how you see the account management role. We’ll start with understanding the overall structure of the role and how to interface effectively with other departments, noting the nuances that help build cooperation.
We’ll examine personality profiles and how they map to effective account managers – and project managers. Many firms are leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars and the table and letting things slip through the cracks, simply by not having the right people in the right seats. There are best practices related to this that are helpful to understand.
Then we’ll flip to the other side and review the very specific elements of treating clients the way they say that want to be treated. This data is based on thousands of client interviews, compiling the clearest signals for top-performing firms.
Following on that theme, and based against a background of fully satisfied clients, we’ll look at a few key strategies to grow your best accounts. Qualified account people do grow accounts effectively, and that’s part of what makes them so valuable to creative firms.
Finally, we’ll look very specifically at how to manage tension—healthy and otherwise—to maneuver personnel roadblocks and enhance your personal effectiveness.
This is a completely reworked seminar only offered once per year. It is also limited to 130 attendees to improve the quality of the interaction and leave as much time for discussion and questions as possible.