The Art of Client Service

Table of contents

1. Title Page
2. Copyright
3. Dedication
4. Foreword
5. Introduction
   1. “It Seems so Simple; Why is it so Hard?”
   2. Chapter 1: What Makes Great Client Service?
6. Part One: How to Be Great with Clients
   1. Chapter 2: Account Management's Role
   2. Chapter 3: Achieving the Next Level
   3. Chapter 4: Transforming a Career into a Calling
7. Part Two: Winning New Business for Your Agency
   1. Chapter 5: New Business: What It Is, Why It Is Important, and Why You Should Give a Damn
   2. Chapter 6: How to Contribute Before, During, and After Pitch Day
      1. Pre-Pitch Prep
      2. Presentation Timing
      3. The Design of the Room Where You'll Be Presenting
      4. Assessing Client Culture
      5. Seating the Room
      6. We Come Bearing Gifts
      7. No Dead Bodies
      8. Your Props
      9. That Question Again?
      10. Have a Checklist, Check It Thrice
      11. It's Not Over Until It's Over
      12. No Phoning It In
   3. Chapter 7: Getting to Yes
8. Part Three: Beginning a Client Relationship
   1. Chapter 8: In a High Tech World, Be Low Tech
   2. Chapter 9: What Success Looks Like
   3. Chapter 10: Always Manage Client Expectations from the Outset
   4. Chapter 11: Be Multilingual
   5. Chapter 12: Live the Client's Brand
   6. Chapter 13: Ask, “What Do My Colleagues Need to Create Great Advertising?” Then Deliver It
9. Part Four: How To …
   1. Chapter 14: Run a Meeting
   2. Chapter 15: Brief a Colleague
   3. Chapter 16: Write a Conference Report
   4. Chapter 17: Perfect the Perfect Scope of Work
      1. Rule Number One: Do a Scope of Work. Yes, Do One!
      2. Rule Number Two: Make Certain Each Scope Fully and Precisely Describes the Tasks You and Your Agency Are to Handle
      3. Rule Number Three: If You Are Unable to Clearly Define the Work to Be Done, Build Contingency Dollars into Your Fee Estimate to Deal with the Unexpected
      4. Rule Number Four: Avoid Adding a Disclosed Contingency Amount to Your Fee
      5. Rule Number Five: Instead of a Contingency Fee, Include Language that Protects Your Agency
      6. Rule Number Six: With Fixed-Fee Scopes of Work, Be Sure to Include a Clause that Stipulates a 90-Day Fee Review
      7. Rule Number Seven: With Retainer-Based Scopes of Work, Be Sure to Include a Monthly Fee Reconciliation Clause
      8. Rule Number Eight: Make Your Letters of Proposal Serve as Your Scopes of Work
   5. Chapter 18: Craft That Schedule You Need to Create
   6. Chapter 19: Build a Better Budget
   7. Chapter 20: Draft a Letter of Proposal
   8. Chapter 21: Create a PowerPoint Presentation
10. Part Five: Formulating the Brief That Drives Great Creative
    1. Chapter 22: Take the Word Brief Seriously
    2. Chapter 23: What Makes a Brilliant Brief?
    3. Chapter 24: In Writing the Brief, Provide the Client's Perspective
    4. Chapter 25: Know When to Look It Up; Know When to Make It Up
11. Part Six: Establishing Trust With Clients
    1. Chapter 26: Great Work Wins Business; a Great Relationship Keeps It
    2. Chapter 27: Client Presentations Are as Important as New Business Presentations
    3. Chapter 28: Always Ask, “Does This Advertising Pass the ‘So What’ Test?”
    4. Chapter 29: Don't Fall in Love with Good Work; Don't Fall for Bad Work
    5. Chapter 30: Choice Is Good
    6. Chapter 31: Fight About the Work with Colleagues; Fight for It with Clients
    7. Chapter 32: Do Not Sell
    8. Chapter 33: Bring Your Clients into the Process Early and Often
    9. Chapter 34: Respect What It Takes to Do Great Creative
    10. Chapter 35: Credit Is for Creative Directors
    11. Chapter 36: We Are Smarter Together Than We Are Alone
    12. Chapter 37: Judgment Overrides Any Rule
    13. Chapter 38: Ideas Are the Currency We Trade in
        1. Occam's Razor
        2. That question again
        3. The power of observation
        4. Discipline, accidents, and idea formation
        5. Apple's 1984
        6. Puppy Love and Lost Dog
        7. Life Goes on
12. Part Seven: Building Long-Term Client Relationships
    1. Chapter 39: Make No Commitment without Consultation
    2. Chapter 40: Take on the Coloration of Your Clients; Do Not Compromise Your Character
    3. Chapter 41: Never Forget It's a Business
    4. Chapter 42: Once a Client, Always a Client
    5. Chapter 43: Going Rogue
13. Part Eight: How to Deal with Unhappy Clients
    1. Chapter 44: Always Think Endgame
    2. Chapter 45: No Surprises about Money or Time
    3. Chapter 46: Deal with Problems Head-On
    4. Chapter 47: If Things Go Wrong, Take the Blame
    5. Chapter 48: What Happens When I Screw Up?
    6. Chapter 49: Getting Fired
14. Part Nine: Regaining Client Trust
    1. Chapter 50: How Happy Clients Help You Gain New Ones
    2. Chapter 51: Five Client Challenges to Agencies
       1. 1. Account People Are Largely Unclear on Their Roles
       2. 2. A Failure to Communicate—Internally and with Clients—Is an Ongoing Concern
       3. 3. There's a Need to Do a Better Job of Managing Client Expectations
       4. 4. It's a Struggle to Get Budgets, Schedules, and Scopes of Work Consistently Right
       5. 5. Clients Look to Account People for Ideas, and Are Frustrated by Their Absence
    3. Chapter 52: Five Client Service Principles to Believe In
       1. Show Up
       2. Follow Up
       3. Speak Up
       4. Make It Up
       5. Never Give Up
15. Acknowledgments: Remember to Say “Thank You”
16. Postscript
    1. Dressing the Part
17. A Bunch of Books to Make You Better at What You Do
    1. On Communicating
    2. On Client Relationships
    3. On Creativity and Advertising
    4. On Strategy
    5. On Business Leadership
    6. Five New Books
18. About the Author
19. Index
20. End User License Agreement