I have been blessed to work with some of the same clients for over a decade. I know the names of my clients’ children, their background before working with me, and even their favorite beer.
While these things sound like trivial factoids and they have no bearing on a campaign’s performance, they are important. It makes working with someone just a bit nicer if you simply get to know them.
In sales, regardless of industry, you often have clients that come and go throughout the years. Sometimes it’s just the state of the market, sometimes it’s people moving from industry to industry, and sometimes it’s just that two companies aren’t a great fit. Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with a tremendous amount of turnaround and I’ve been able to foster great relationships and even friendships with many of my clients.
Why does a good relationship with your advertising rep matter?
Well, it’s obvious, right? It makes life a bit more pleasant! Not only will your day go faster if you’re working with people you like, but you are able to work more efficiently. If communication is key, then a friendly environment for questions and answers can save time, money, and can just be fun.
I think that learning about your client’s goals, as well as their communication style, can help set expectations, improve campaign results and strengthen what could be a long and lucrative relationship.
You don’t have to small talk for the sake of small talk. Instead, spend a few minutes to truly understand each other. When you have this two-way relaxed conversation either on the phone, through email, or a Skype chat, each party can ask questions to better understand the campaign, improve efficiency and just have a bit of basic human interaction!
I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.
Bob Fladung
Director of Advertising
INO.com, Inc.