First impressions and communication expectations

Taking on a new client means making a great first impression and setting expectations for effective communication between agency and client. You want your team to be able to perform its duties without dealing with a barrage of questions and insights from daily client calls. All too often, frequent meetings can feel like a waste of time, so here are some tips to avoid this feeling for your team and your clients.

‍

Use common sense

Don’t just pick a random day of the week. Would you rather speak to them at the start of the week so that you can spend the remainder acting on the scenarios that come up? Or perhaps you’d rather speak at the end of the week to regroup — kicking off the following week by getting shit done. 

I recommend having the client call take place on a Tuesday so that Monday can be spent preparing, and Tuesday through Friday can be spent executing on plans. Invite the right people. Who can sign off on plans? Who is likely to add distractions? Who has the most relevant job titles to what’s being discussed? 

‍

Productivity is key

What do you want to get out of your client meetings? Think about this when you set a structure for the meeting. Do you want to spend time walking through dashboards and reports, or would you prefer the client does this prior? 

‍

Come prepared

Send an agenda the day before the meetings with clearly-defined items. To boost productivity, add timelines to each point so that, if you start to go off on tangents, you can steer the conversation back to the agenda and move onto the next point.

While on the call, show the client the notes you’re discussing in order to ensure you’re aligned on action items before the call ends. Send follow-up notes the same day so they’re still fresh in everyone’s mind. 

Check in on the list of actions midweek to gauge whether you’re on track to completing all action items by the end of the week. Nobody wants an action item to carry over into every weekly call.

Prepare internally. Catch up with your team so you can ensure that you’re all aligned on what will be brought up on the call. Be overly prepared to talk through your points without input from others on the client call. 

‍

‍

Use your time wisely

No, you hang up. Seriously, if the call doesn’t need to go on for the 30 minutes you’ve set, don’t be afraid to end it early. Just make sure to say goodbye first, though. The client will appreciate getting the time back and hearing less about your dog’s new favorite toy (unless I’m your client, then we must talk about your dog).

It’s not that deep. Don’t make client calls more confusing than they need to be. Be direct, give honest feedback, request honest feedback, and get shit done.

What were we saying again? This is worth repeating: send notes around after the call so that everyone is clear on what their responsibilities are. It’s best to send these when the points are still fresh in your mind.

‍

In summary

Send an agenda, don’t go off on tangents, and remember to summarize the action items after the call. Once you get into the habit of doing these things, your clients will look forward to catching up with you each week (as long as performance doesn’t suck).