There’s an account growth problem for agencies with hybrid account managers.
When I say ‘hybrid’ I mean, you are responsible for account growth but you’re also responsible for delivering projects.
My upcoming seminar with David C Baker in March 2023 explores this in depth.
Why does it create an account growth problem?
Whilst more and more agencies are recognising this and separating account management (account growth) from project management (project delivery), here are my observations having been an account growth trainer since 2016:
1. Skillset
a. Being great at account growth and project delivery requires a different set of skills;
i. AMs: Understanding the client’s business/customer/market, identifying opportunities to add value, strategizing, proposing ideas, forecasting, expanding relationships etc.
ii. PMs: Project scoping, resourcing/production, scheduling, trafficking, amendments, reconciling, trouble-shooting and delivery
b. Many people have a ‘natural’ leaning towards one area or the other i.e. what makes you great at one can often make you pretty lousy at another
i. AMs: Big picture thinking, loves meeting new people & presenting ideas, ‘walking the halls’ of client’s offices, looking for new opportunities – not so great at detail.
ii. PMs: Great attention to detail, thorough, loves following defined systems, satisfaction from getting things done, enhances processes – doesn’t relish pitching ideas to clients and selling
2. Time
a. Inevitably when things get busy, project delivery takes priority over account growth so agencies with hybrid account managers grow more slowly
b. As hybrid account managers don’t have time to be proactive, it not only creates an impression your agency is ‘order taking’ and not adding value, it means your clients are likely to take phone calls from your competitors informing them of trends, providing new insights and solutions they hadn’t considered
c. Agencies with hybrid account managers tasked with growth targets struggle to carve out the time to ‘step back’ and understand the client’s business in more detail and come up with new relevant ideas to add value – this often is a cause of personal frustration and sometimes burnout
3. Support
a. If a hybrid account manager spots an opportunity to suggest a new idea/propose an additional agency service to a client but knows it requires input from other team members (who are also very busy/stressed already) e.g. creative/strategy/design etc, they will avoid suggesting it because they don’t want to add to the internal team’s workload
b. Similarly when a hybrid account manager spots an opportunity to suggest a new idea/propose an additional service to a client but thinks ‘this is going to land on my shoulders to deliver and I’m busy enough as it is’ and either doesn’t have faith the senior leadership team will hire additional resource or has noticed the agency can’t hire fast enough, again they’ll avoid proposing it (the agency’s senior management will probably never know there was an opportunity there in the first place because the ‘transaction’ took place between the hybrid AM and the client during a conversation).
Does this resonate with you?
