It’s much easier to say yes, than no, especially when it’s a big client asking. Maybe it’s a hangover from ‘the customer is always right’ days, but do we still, in 2022, think that we always have to say yes?
If your agency’s teams are saying yes a little too often and a little too quickly, then these little extras will mount up and hit your profits, harder than you might realise. Don’t hesitate to say yes to that paid-for, properly costed and scheduled project, but think twice when the conversation starts with ‘can you just…’
In this piece, we explore the common scenarios that lead to these blind yesses, and how you can start to push back.
Our client is happy so we want to keep it that way.
Your client thinks you’re the best thing since sliced bread. They tell you you’re part of their core team and they’ll never leave. The account is also growing, quickly. Now is not the time to start pushing back.
Actually, now is exactly the time to start pushing back. Of course your client loves you and of course the account is growing, because you’re never saying no. But are profits growing along with the work? Because here’s the thing, if keeping this client happy depends on some pretty hefty overservicing, then this client is likely to be less profitable than others. So growing this account on these terms could really hinder your agency’s overall profits. You’ll deliver all this work at the expense of more profitable clients.
Our client appreciates it
You get along great and your client is full of gratitude when you push through a favour or three. So you like doing it and it feels beneficial because you’ve built a strong relationship. But how grateful are they really? Do they remember all these favours and is this extra work considered when they get your invoices?
Honestly, it’s hard to hear but they probably don’t. They’ve probably started to see this extra work as par for the course and your ‘good relationship’ will start to become dependent on overservicing, causing problems if you ever want to stop – which of course you do.
If you can have more honest conversations with your client about overserving then this is the backbone to a genuinely strong and mutually beneficial relationship. These kinds of conversations are what build a partnership. And then if ever you do push some work through for free, it will really be appreciated.
And of course, another way to have a truly appreciative client is to produce knock-out work. Which you’ll have more time to do if you’re not overservicing other clients.
Our client is new, we want to get off on the right foot.
So you’re happy to do some extra work for free in these early days. But getting off on the right foot from your perspective means ensuring the work is profitable. If you start a relationship with freebies, then you’re setting yourself up for a difficult conversation because, at some point, these freebies will need to stop.
If you’ve won a new client, and you want to treat them, we won’t tell you not to. But make it clear to them that you’ve treated them and the value of the work you’ve waved through for free. So, when you deliver your next project and it’s 2k more expensive, they won’t wonder what’s happened or feel a little cheated. The last thing you want is month one to be high fives and handshakes, and month two to be your client frustratedly questioning invoices.
We’re ‘yes’ people, it’s in our agency’s DNA.
This can be a really hard problem to solve because it’s not always seen as a problem. It’s become who your agency are, and something that is actively encouraged through the ranks. For customer service teams for example, saying yes to clients can almost become a KPI because, for a while, it will create some very happy clients.
But there has to been a culture with enough commercial awareness across teams and seniorities to know that pleasing clients is not a carte blanche to say yes. Work must be properly scheduled and costed. Make your culture one of positivity with a client focus, sure. But also one of turning a profit.
And give more junior team members support when they need it. It can be extremely daunting for someone who’s just starting in an office environment to push back against your agency’s biggest clients, so support them with rock-solid processes around ad-hoc requests, and make sure they have someone more experienced they can turn to.
But the most important thing to do is shake this notion that the client must get what they want in order to be happy. You can and should push back where appropriate.
Will saying no signal the end of our agency’s overservicing?
It’ll certainly help, but saying yes too much is not the only cause of overservicing in most agencies. If you’ve got wider concerns around overservicing in your agency, you may enjoy our piece 5 Reasons Agencies Over-Service and How to Avoid it. We take a rounded view on agency overservicing, and how to reduce it.