Creative Agency Account Manager Podcast

Welcome to episode 133. I'm chatting with Founder of G3NR8, Tom Head, about how AI is impacting business. G3NR8 is a consultancy for a new age, innovating business with AI. Tom has spent two decades in digital and built multiple 7 figure agencies. He’s worked with brands such as Red Bull Racing, JP Morgan, Tesco, and The Guardian and is now helping companies succeed with AI by providing training, consultancy, research, and building out the right AI strategy to keep them ahead of the competition. We talk about: ·         where we are in terms of AI’s evolution and advancement for both our clients and us as agencies. ·         why it's important to understand the client's needs and meet them where they are. ·         how AI is helping agencies quickly analyse data and uncover insights to help drive the creative output. ·         some best practices for agencies when using AI tools·         how clients are starting to question the origin of content and where it's being generated from, and questioning the value and the role of an agency. 
 You can follow Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-head-ai/And sign up for the G3NR8 newsletter here: https://www.g3nr8.com/newsletter

Welcome to episode 132. This one will be particularly interesting and useful for you if you are responsible for marketing your agency's services. 

Agencies are experts in the field of marketing and are always focused on our clients’ marketing success. But how often do we seek an external perspective on how we are marketing our own agency services? So if you're the owner of the agency, that might be you, or if you're working in a larger agency, you might be the head of marketing responsible for driving the leads and the sales for your agency. 

My guest, Janet Murray, is a business strategist and a copywriter and an ex-journalist. She works with businesses to create strategic copywriting campaigns that not only save the business time but also generate and convert leads and sales. 

Janet is also the founder of an education and training company and creates and sells digital education products for consultants, coaches, freelancers and small business owners. She is the host of the Courageous CEO podcast and her Courageous CEO Strategic Business Planner is used by thousands of business owners worldwide and includes tried and tested strategies and resources for business growth. 

You can reach out to Janet here:

Website: https://www.janetmurray.co.uk 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janmurrayuk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/janetmurrayofficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jan_murray 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janet-murray74/


If you are responsible for managing, retaining and growing your existing client relationships, then head over to my website: https://www.account managementskills.com where you can sign up for my regular newsletter for account management strategies, AI tips, and news about upcoming guests on my podcast episodes. 

Welcome to episode 131. If you are a healthcare communications agency owner, or an account manager working in healthcare communications, and you're looking to stay ahead in the ever-evolving world of pharmaceutical marketing, then this episode is for you.

I'm joined in the studio by Jonathan Gwillim and Kate Eversole from PharmaBrands. They are the organisers of the upcoming Age of AI Europe event, which, if you're listening or watching this at the beginning of 2025, is happening on March 4th in London.

This is Europe's leading conference in GenAI in healthcare marketing and it features expert speakers from companies like Google, AstraZeneca, Novartis, ITV, Novo, Nordisk, Boehringer, Ingelheim and many more. In this episode, Jonathan and Kate share of insights about how healthcare agencies and their clients are using GenAI right now.

They also share how creative directors feel about Gen AI's impact on the industry, and Kate also shares practical steps you can take as an account manager to confidently embrace AI in your role and some tips for having conversations with your clients.

You can connect with Kate and Jonathan via LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateeversole/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongwillim/

There were several resources and links mentioned in our recording:

The Age of AI event, March 4, London: https://www.pharmabrands.ca/age-of-ai-europe
PharmaBrands report on AI literacy: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65b7dd23f5d4facb3c95fdf7/678e3106eb089ba6a175a282_AI%20Literacy%20Report_2025%20(3).pdf

Free webinar on Gen AI 101 : https://www.pharmabrands.ca/webinar
Klick and Guardrail reference: https://www.klick.com/news/ai-compliance-breakthrough-wins-klick-prize-results-signal-industry-trends
Recommended newsletter from Klick on all things health marketing: https://www.klick.com/klickwire
Syneos Health reference: https://pmsociety.org.uk/results/pm-society-digital-awards-2024-results/pm-society-digital-awards-2024-digital-agency-of-the-year/

& their trends report: https://www.syneoshealth.com/insights-hub/2025-health-trends
Pfizer and Publicis reference: https://digiday.com/marketing/with-charlie-pfizer-is-building-a-new-generative-ai-platform-for-pharma-marketing/
Sanofi reference: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexzhavoronkov/2023/06/21/sanofi-goes-all-in-on-ai/
Novo Nordisk reference: https://www.novonordisk.com/content/dam/nncorp/global/en/investors/irmaterial/cmd/2024/P10-Data-Science-and-AI.pdf
AI driven Video - Cires 21: https://www.cires21.com/
Text to speech leader - Eleven labs: https://elevenlabs.io/
Great content on marketing AI - Marketing AI institute: https://www.marketingaiinstitute.com/
Tool to reduce meetings - Loom: https://www.loom.com/

Welcome to episode 130. I’m joined by Leadership Coach and People & Culture Consultant, Theresa Carter.  Agencies are people businesses, so it's essential to the success of the agency to attract and recruit the right people with the right skills for the right roles. And this also means that, as the agency grows, the needs of the business change.  For example, you might start your agency with small national clients, and then as you expand, you might begin to serve multinational clients that are much bigger, that operate differently. You might need different team members with different skills and experience that suits the agency's evolving needs.  All of this starts with aligning your business goals with a solid people and culture plan. 
 In our chat, Theresa Carter shares:
  ·         how to create your people and culture plan from your business goals·         what happens when some of your team members are in the wrong seats·         how to deal with that·         how to create some accountability for delivering your people and culture plan·         and lots more.   If you want some guidance to build a really strong and successful agency team that's totally aligned with your values, then please do get in touch with her via email: [email protected] or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theresaaustin/ And if you're responsible for the retention and growth of your existing client relationships at the agency, then you can go to my website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and sign up for my newsletter where I share agency account management tips, strategies, mini trainings, and also key points covered by my expert podcast guests. 

Welcome to episode 129. In this episode Jenny breaks down the three key areas to focus on if you want to maximise the growth of your existing client accounts in 2025:

1. Finding COMMERCIAL CLARITY

Agencies who predictably forecast revenue growth from existing accounts are clear where to focus their team's efforts and provide sufficient time and support for developing an account growth strategy. They have client development plans in place and work differently with 'growth' clients than ‘maintenance’ clients.

2. Having CONSULTANCY CAPABILITY

Spotting account growth opportunities and proactively developing ideas and solutions for them requires a consultative skillset and entrepreneurial mindset. Client-facing team members need to be able to have conversations about adding value and ask for testimonials and referrals comfortably.

3.  Embedding CULTURAL CONTINUITY

To make account growth systematic and scalable it needs to be embedded as a defined repeatable process in the agency that’s followed by everyone. A process helps new joiners hit the ground running and ensures client-centric behaviours are ‘hard wired’ into the business.

She shares soundbites from participants of her Account Accelerator programme who provide tips and examples of how they’ve implemented strategies in each of these areas.

If you’re considering improving your client retention and growth skills, check out the training options on our website, https://www.accountmanagementskills.com and if you’d like to discuss your training needs with Jenny you can book a 20 minute call here: https://calendly.com/jennyplant/account-accelerator-discovery-call

Sign up to receive our regular newsletter where we share account management tips, and notify you of upcoming podcast guests and trainings.

Welcome to episode 128. This conversation is going to be particularly interesting for you if you’re keen to develop your leadership skills.

It’s for you if you’re currently in charge of the agency and leading the whole team OR you’re leading an AM team within the agency - and you want to go from being a ‘good’ leader to being a ‘great’ leader.

Founder of Navigate The Journey and author of ‘What If There’s More?: Finding Significance Beyond Success’, Traci Schubert Barrett shares actionable tips and advice on how to lead with purpose, navigate the complexities of scaling an agency, and foster authentic connections both with your team and your clients.

Whether you’re an agency owner grappling with leadership challenges or an account manager aspiring to step into a leadership role, this chat is packed with wisdom and practical takeaways to help you grow.

You can connect with and find out more about Traci Barrett here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracischubertbarrett/

Book: https://a.co/d/184VveL

Website: https://www.navigatethejourney.com https://www.tracischubertbarrett.com

If you’d like to stay updated with more tips and resources to enhance your account management skills, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

You'll receive updates about new podcast episodes, expert guest announcements, and information about training courses designed for creative agency account managers at all levels.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast, leave us a review, and share this episode with a colleague who could benefit from these insights.

Welcome to episode 127. Thank you for listening in 2024. Looking back at this year, I’ve been reflecting on the superb guests I’ve had on the show. I thought I’d select a handful of soundbites from this year’s podcast episodes to share with you.
This isn’t a comprehensive list - there have been so many standout moments - but these clips include tips, advice, or insights that stayed with me. I’ve shared 10 soundbites that I hope you find as useful or insightful as I did.
Stick around until the end to hear a clip from one of the most popular episodes and one that I received the most positive feedback from listeners! 
You can also read more about each of these guests by visiting this episode's page on my website here: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/top-10-tips-insights-from-the-podcast-in-2024-with-jenny-plant

These episodes are mentioned:
1. Episode 125: Dan Pfister, "How to Win Back Clients for Exceptional ROI"

2. Episode 120 & 121: Carey Evans & Simon Rhind-Tutt, “What Your Client Don’t Tell You”

3. Episode 116: Jack Skeels, "Why Agencies Need to Rethink Project Management"

4. Episode 117: Tim Williams, "Why Time-Based Pricing Doesn’t Work"

5. Episode 114: Gareth Healey, "Stand Out or Die"

6. Episode 115: Tim Riesterer, “Why selling to client and prospects is different"

7. Episode 109: Michael Farmer, "Why the Agency Business Model Isn’t Working"

8. Episode 91: Sharon Toerek, "How Agencies Are Navigating the Legalities of AI Use"

9. Episode 111: Alison Coward, "How a Workshop Culture Builds High-Performing 

10. Episode 105: Benjamin Dennehy & Marcus Cauchi, "How to Sell"



If you’d like to be kept up to date with who is coming on the podcast, the topics we’re covering, receive tips about agency account management or to be notified about trainings I’m doing, you can sign up for my newsletter at my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 126. In this episode, I chat to Brian Jacobs (Founder, BJ&A) and Crispin Reed (Founder, Skyscraper Consulting) about what’s wrong with the advertising industry. 
 
And what specifically prompted the launch of their ‘Who Cares?’ initiative, aimed at tackling the pressing issues affecting the advertising industry today.

We cover:

·         what's actually wrong with the industry itself·         the need for greater creativity and transparency in advertising·         how Brian developed the ‘Who Cares?’ idea·         how a one-off event has turned into a well-supported movement
·         how industry stakeholders can get involved to collaborate on initiatives
 
I do hope you’ll listen to this important discussion and visit https://www.advertisingwhocares.org to find out more and get involved. 

If you’re an agency owner and would like to discuss account retention and growth training and coaching options – or would like to reserve a spot for the next Account Accelerator (January 2025) - you can schedule a no obligation call with me to discuss your needs, via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com/account-accelerator

Welcome to episode 125. Have you ever considered contacting your old clients to see if they’d like to work with you again? If not this episode may change your mind. 
Dan Pfister is the master of running client winback campaigns and here’s what he shares with me:
·       The compelling reasons why WinBack campaigns could be the most successful and profitable thing you ever do to grow your business (the ROI is staggering)
·       A step by step guide to how to approach running a client winback campaign – and what to avoid
·       Results and examples of campaigns from many companies who have been successful

Dan is very passionate about this topic and he had me gripped with this episode, I hope you’ll end up putting some serious thought into running a client win back campaign after listening to this compelling chat. 

If you haven’t already you can find his book “Million Dollar Winback” on Amazon now. You can also connect with Dan here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmpfister
http://winbacklabs.com/

If you want to receive weekly tips on agency account management, learn strategies for client growth, get notified for any trainings I’m running and stay in the loop about our upcoming podcast episodes, be sure to sign up for my newsletter at https://www.accountmanagementskills.com

Welcome to episode 124. This will be particularly interesting for you if you want to know how much the head of client services role can impact the agency's business.  Listen in if you don’t currently have a client services team and you're perhaps thinking about having one, or your client services function isn't performing as you'd like it to and you're exploring options for perhaps bringing in a head of department. Or maybe you are the client services director in your agency and are curious to understand how someone else in this role operates. Emily Brown and Matt Loughlin joined me today from digital marketing agency, Receptional. 
 I met Emily when she was just a few months into joining the agency and I've been very lucky to have the opportunity of working with her in my Account Accelerator programme, and that means I've been working with her for almost a year. This conversation reflects on what she's achieved as the new head of client service.  Here are the key themes that we cover during our chat: ·         why the agency decided in the first place to hire a head of client service ·         Emily's first 90 days in the role, and how she pinpointed and tackled the key priorities and established herself with the team·         the impact this CSD role has had on the agency's operations team and clients just 16 months later·         and the learnings from both Matt and Emily's perspective of establishing this new role in the agency that hopefully you can benefit from in your agency.  They share lots of detailed tips and examples that I'm sure you're going to find useful. 

You can connect with Emily and Matt here:
https://www.receptional.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-brown-5073993a/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattloughlin/ If you'd like to discuss training and coaching for your client-facing account management team, then you can book a no obligation call with me via my website: https://www.accountmanagementskills.com. You’ll be able to see the different training options I have available, from self-study to long term coaching, and also sign up for my regular newsletter.