CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS
Designed to help consultants to retain and grow business, this session provides valuable techniques for achieving effective working relationships with different types of client. It involves practical, problem-solving exercises that enable participants to immediately put into practice what they have learned.
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Understand different client personalities and what makes them tick
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Identify the needs and motivation of members of the client decision making unit
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Spot primary sources of client dissatisfaction and knowing how to avoid them
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Manage disgruntled clients
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Sell and negotiate
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Juggle clients: time management, prioritising and communication
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Add value without over-servicing
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Push back and say yes under your terms
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Lay the foundations with effective systems and processes
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
SKYPARLOUR
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Trust is the cornerstone of our industry. Taking the time to consider how to improve and excel at becoming a trusted advisor for your clients and your team is literally priceless. I cannot recommend Savage Communications enough. Thank you for a great day.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
SEEN
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Fantastic trainer that really listened to the room, understood our needs and tailored very important topics to our agency and scenarios, making participants feel heard and be more engaged.
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR
GT&I
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Our trainer was incredible. Collectively, our team has learnt a great deal and have been able to pull many key takeaways from the workshop to improve day to day processes and build client relationships.
THE TRUSTED ADVISOR
By positioning themselves as trusted advisors, attendees will be able to spot opportunities, influence important business decisions and unlock client budgets.
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Understand what it means to be a trusted advisor
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Make a good impression in meetings
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Communicate with gravitas and authority
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Recognise different client types and know how to adapt and connect
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Understand the client’s world and gain industry knowledge
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Appreciate what clients want and how they evaluate their agencies
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Lay the foundations with effective reporting systems and regular communication
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Provide the right information in the right way
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PR yourselves; let them know when you’ve done a good job
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Ask the right questions
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Conduct regular client health checks: ‘What should we be doing better?’
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Practise excellent listening skills
GROWING ACCOUNTS & SELLING
This session provides delegates with the communication skills to be able to persuade and influence their clients. They will learn sales techniques to help with the organic growth of their clients.
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Add value every day, by being nimble and proactive
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Spot the opportunity and probe the needs
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Receive thorough briefs and know when and how to interrogate them
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Use persuasive, influencer language to sell ideas and gain consensus
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Pre-empt and minimise client pushback on recommendations
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Build an irrefutable business case – NOSE model
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Cross-sell other parts of the business
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Host client information sessions to identify opportunities and build relationships
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Demonstrate the agency’s expertise on the latest industry issues and trends
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Develop a client relationship strategy and build your profile with key people
CHALLENGING CONVERSATIONS
This module provides attendees with the confidence to handle difficult client situations. Attendees will come away with all the tools necessary to promote mutual-understanding and build harmonious relationships.
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Read the signals and know when the client is unhappy
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Reframe negative assumptions and master the art of empathy
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Appreciate the client’s motives, such as internal politics or lack of knowledge
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Set boundaries, manage expectations and push back politely
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Have assertive conversations
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Plan and structure difficult conversations
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Know the questions to ask and listen carefully to gather the necessary information during a disagreement
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Give the client options and determine the way forward within an agreed time frame
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Know when to escalate a situation and involve others
NEGOTIATION SKILLS
This module teaches the importance of negotiation, both in day-to-day conversations around client demands, and in more formal contractual negotiations. Delegates will be asked to negotiate a real client deal.
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Treat time as a commodity always
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Adopt a ‘value not cost’ mindset
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Avoid over-servicing; resist scope creep and say yes… but under your terms
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Appreciate the leverage you have and your value (not being slave to the client)
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Budget effectively and sell to clients at a price that’s right
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Explain when you’re going over budget and ask for more money
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Reset historical bad habits with long term clients
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Prepare a commercial negotiation strategy: objectives, deal-breakers, wish lists and concessions
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Achieve the win-win for both parties
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Negotiate with different roles – Procurement, Marketing, junior clients
STRATEGIC CAMPAIGN PLANNING
Getting your head around strategy and pulling together campaigns from scratch can seem a daunting, chaotic process. Using a tried and tested step-by-step approach, this one-day workshop banishes bland, formulaic proposals in favour of documents that are exciting, original and commercially-compelling. It demonstrates how to develop value-based campaigns (both for new and existing clients) that are head and shoulders above the competition.
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Interrogate briefs with advanced questioning skills
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Identify a clear set of objectives
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Demonstrate commercial understanding and return on investment
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Navigate through objectives to strategy and tactics
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Develop the narrative and building an irrefutable business case
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Conduct in depth situational and stakeholder analysis
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Run a strategic brainstorm
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Expand the SWOT to deliver insight and originality
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Arrive at the ‘wow’ moment effortlessly
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Use red light thinking to evaluate ideas
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Evaluate campaigns using the latest industry standards