Clients & Profits | New Biz Newsletter

GUARANTEED GREAT IDEAS!

Account management tips from
the Clients & Profits experts

Some of our Clients & Profits consultants share their tips for better, long-term client relationships:

Focus on teamwork "When developing new Biz, remember that the client's first experience with the AE cements a lasting perception of how the agency will handle the account," says Donna Lynn Johnson. "In just a few minutes, the client will be able to assess how well the agency works as a team -- and how well it can manage the new work. Even the best AE can't camouflage a disorganized agency team. If you want more clients -- and to improve your product -- work on building a team that communicates well, performs responsibly, and keeps focused on the client's needs."

Share the job's schedule "An agency that I work with had recent problems ensuring their client made their mutually agreed upon deadlines," says Mike Wonnick. "The client often cited that they were unaware of the deadline or didn't recall the conversation setting the due date. To overcome this, the agency now provides a detailed schedule for jobs with client tasks and due dates that are approved by everyone at the job's start."

Recap and report "Tell clients what you did, then ask how you're doing," says Bill Kimball. "Dozens of agencies are knocking on your client's door. Remind them how wonderful you are with a monthly letter recapping progress, issues, and observations. (C&P's Job Diary is a great tool for this.) Then ask for feedback on jobs and overall agency performance. If you suspect serious problems with your client relationship, get senior agency management (or even a third party) involved to address issues and mend fences."

Take notes "The client diary and the job diary are the best for CYA ('cover your agency') notes," says Cindy Weston. "Enter daily/weekly happenings, changes, correspondence, phone calls, etc. It will help you remember why the job took so long, why the costs are so much higher, and, even years later, how to recreate the job more efficiently."

Q. Can I "tickle" a reminder about upcoming meeting or events?

Yes. Use the built-in calendars to add daily entries for upcoming deadlines, meetings, or other important events. When you add the calendar entry, choose to be automatically notified by e-mail. Determine the number of days in advance that you'd like to receive the reminder and enter it in the Add Calendar Entry window. The reminder e-mail will arrive in your regular e-mail inbox on the assigned date.

Q. Does the My Calendar window sync with my electronic organizer?

Not yet. The ability to import your personal calendar (and others) to a Palm O/S-based organizer is a currently being developed. We are planning to include the ability to sync the calendar, client contacts, and other data in future updates. Currently, you can add a C&P time card to your organizer and sync it with C&P.

Q. How do I track time spent doing new Biz when I'm away from the office?

You've got some choices. If your shop has My C&P!, the web-based add-on for Clients & Profits, you can use your internet browser to access your database and add your daily time. Or use the Palm OS-based time card. Either way, there's no reason to wait until you return from recruiting new Biz to add your time. Remember, when you add time daily, it's not such a chore, and it's much more accurate!

Q. When should I use an overhead invoice and when should I use an expense report?

Add overhead invoices when you owe a vendor money for expenses that don't affect jobs. Overhead invoices affect your agency's financials, not your job profitability reports.

Use an expense report to record job costs that you incur while getting work done. Employee expenses are assigned to jobs and tasks, so they do affect the job's profitability. Employee expenses can be billed to the client at their actual cost or marked up.

Q. Can I record my expenses when I'm out of the office?

Yes. With My Clients & Profits! and an internet connection, you can connect to your shop's database and add your expense report. Expenses added through My C&P! affect your database as soon as you save the report, just like your desktop version of Clients & Profits.

Q. How can I enter a potential job in C&P?

If you're using Clients & Profits Pro 5, you can enter a proposal. Proposals record start and due dates, a creative brief, budget, and more. Once approved, the proposal becomes a job with one click; if you don't win the new work, you can kill it with one click, too. If you're using C&P Classic, add a regular job ticket and assign a status code (e.g., 900, for easier sorting). When the job is awarded, change the status code to your "new job" code; if the job is lost, change it to a "lost job" code (e.g., 910).