Getting a client excited about an idea is an important step in getting a concept accepted. But nearly all creative work will elicit some observations or “suggestions” from a client or prospect. How a creative or account person handles that suggestion goes a long way toward whether that concept will be accepted or not by the client.
Frequently, agency staff can sound defensive or even argumentative when defending a concept. This approach can create a divide between the agency and the client.
Join Mark Schnurman, co-founder of Filament, Inc. as he reviews how to help bridge that gap between the agency and the client. This webinar will help the agency understand how to articulate their ideas and answer client objections in a way that helps build agreement and rapport with the client while keeping the core idea intact.
Key takeaways:
- Dealing with the creative “wanna be” clients
- Helping clients understand not just what the creative staff did in the concept but why they did it
- Understanding what part of the concept is crucial and what part (if any) is up for discussion
- Building a rationale for a particular concept or executional detail
- Recognizing questions and objections can be masked signs of client interest
- Understanding the client’s motivations and behavior behind a question
- Defining trigger words that will make a client defensive
- Avoiding Frankenstein concepts where ideas from two concepts are merged into one concept
- Dealing with clients that are not educated in : advertising/marketing/digital (i.e. just make the logo bigger types)
- Understanding how to support the creative AND support the client relationship
- Leveraging issues to appear cooperative, yet maintain critical components
- Learning communication tactics to diffuse tension during Q&A.
Who should attend:
- Must attend! — Creative staff that presents work to clients or prospects
- Must attend! — Account staff that present creative work to clients or prospects
About Mark Schnurman:
Mark Schnurman is President of Filament Inc., and has spent the last 18 years working with agencies throughout the world helping them better articulate their ideas to their clients. Because Filament Inc. only works in the advertising industry, Mark has a keen understanding of the challenges that face agencies when they are trying to sell their creative ideas to clients that may not be the most enthusiastic audience.
Mark’s clients include The Martin Agency, Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, Abelson Taylor and Razorfish just to name a few, helping them sell their best ideas to clients.