The thing that makes Dan Jeffries one of the best in the biz, he’s equal parts pitch expert and relationship guru. Besides leading pitches for iconic brands like Uber, Samsung, Good Year, and Pet Smart – he also helps CMOs and agency leaders keep their relationships fruitful, spicy, and full of surprises. The good kind.
How to repair a broken client and agency relationship
Once a client-agency relationship gets rocky, it’s hard to regain that spark. Dan explains relationships tend to go downhill when the agency feels the relationship has become less collaborative and more transactional. That means clients must pay attention to how they treat their agency team. If a CMO continually sacrifices creativity and squeezes timelines, agencies will feel stifled and uninspired.
Dan also explains that some CMO-crafted briefs are too long and abstract for agencies to activate against. This is where relationships can go off track, because agencies may interpret the brief differently than the client intended or worse, rewrite their own brief – misinterpreting the client’s goals entirely. More times than not, this frustrates clients and the relationship turns sour quickly. The takeaway: As with any relationship, clear communication and respect for the craft go a long way.
Which agency compensation model is best?
There are two main ways agencies get paid: the time and hours model and the output model. The time and hours model is more common where the agency bills for the time spent working on client projects. It’s a classic.
The output model, with a potential bonus, is more dependent on the success of the relationship. The more KPIs you hit, the more money the agency can make – if structured correctly. The outcome model is risky for agencies since the success of the client’s business isn’t solely dependent on marketing efforts. The client can also change the scope and require the agency to spend more time at an additional cost to the agency. Dan expresses enthusiasm for a model where there are incentives built upon base compensation. Clients and agencies can work together and set goals that act as bonuses if reached. This results in a win-win situation for both parties.
Dan’s POV on #DitchThePitch
Ditching the pitch is a hot topic in the industry. It’s no secret that the pitch process is long and costly for agencies. Dan believes pitches will never fully be ditched. They’re the cost of winning new business. Securing a contract that involves significant spend requires due diligence to ensure that the client is confident in an agency’s capabilities and experience to get the job done.
Dan does acknowledge there’s room for improvement in the pitch process. He suggests speeding up the process by removing RFIs and kicking off with a live briefing. Dan mentioned working with a client who agreed to meet live with four different agencies at once to explain the assignment. Clarity during a pitch is kindness.
CMOs: Treat agencies like an extension of your team not like a vendor
In client-agency relationships disagreements are bound to happen, it’s how you navigate those disagreements that matter. Dan stresses that clients must treat agencies like an extension of their team and trust them when they speak about their business.
Dan explains that some clients are scared to trust the agency to do the great work they hired them to do. There’s no hiding this lack of trust, and the agency team will likely feel less confident or inspired to cook up a showstopper.
How an agency can wrap the end of a relationship with grace
There’s no getting around it: Break-ups are awkward. But agencies and clients can (and should) still be friends. In this small advertising world, agencies must ensure they end the relationship the right way. That means, delivering on all the things promised in the contract – and not being vindictive in the process. After all, you never know if/when the client will call you back.
On the agency side, Dan recommends agencies spend time strategically redeploying their best talent on other accounts. It’s not every day (hopefully) you get to reshuffle your resources for maximum impact. He also suggests not doing this immediately after the loss. Surprise, surprise: Clients can tell if you leave their account in the hands of your interns for a few months. Finally, Dan suggests agencies invest time and money on transition plans for when they lose business – just as they would for when they win business. This smooth transition can make all the difference when CMOs swap agency stories at industry events. And yes, they talk.
But that’s not everything ...
Want even more tea on the pitches Dan runs for the industry’s top brands? How about more client-agency relationship horror stories? What about his five hole-in-ones across three continents? Listen to the full episode for all the details that were too juicy for print. As always, drop your favorite takeaways on our social posts, and be sure to leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts. See you next month.👋
ABOUT THE QUESTION EVERYTHING PODCAST
Part interview, part therapy, part Price Is Right, the Question Everything podcast puts your favorite CMOs and thought leaders in the hot seat. That means while they're facing off against our game board, you'll learn from the successes and failures of the best in the biz who were daring enough to be curious.
