Dating Tips for Clients

Chemistry meetings can be so difficult.  And yet, they should be so good!

A bad chemistry meeting can feel like a blind date gone hideously wrong.  The agency feels rejected, the client feels let down and then everyone goes home to eat ice cream and cry.

The other week we received a phone call from a well-known charity.  The Donor Manager explained that they were in a hurry to get a new agency and that we had come highly recommended.  After asking for an informal chemistry session with us, we weren’t told if any other agencies were also invited.  We were not given a brief.  She didn’t want a PowerPoint presentation or for us to spend too much time on what was supposedly going to be a casual meeting of client/agency minds.

So far, so good.

We assembled a crack team personally interested in the cause – a planner, senior creative and suit.  They gathered relevant samples, did desk research, ran a Digital Presence Index on the online marketing, had some first thoughts, boarded it all up and prepared for an interactive, two-way session.

Turns out our meeting was at 3:30pm on a Friday.  They’d already seen five other agencies that day.  The formal room was set up for a PowerPoint presentation.  The client team were tired, uninterested and disappointed.  They didn’t want to discuss our point of view and the whole thing was a draining waste of time.  We cut it short and went to the pub.

Why am I telling you this?  Partially as an exercise in relief, but also to talk about how clients can get the best out of chemistry meetings.  Here are my top tips:

1.    Select agencies you might really want to work with, not just based on hearsay or corridor chat.

2.    Brief the session in writing and be honest in what you want out of it, what you expect to see and how you intend to judge the work.

3.    Be straight about the number of agencies involved.

4.    Be upfront about those attending from the client side.

5.    Get creds out of the way separately; have them presented or sent at another time.

6.    Don’t be overly ambitious with how many sessions you can fit in one day – 3 - 4 max should ensure bright and interactive meetings.

7.    Probably best to avoid Friday afternoons.

8.    Use a room that encourages informality.  We’re not taking bean bags here, but screens and judging panels aren’t hugely casual.

9.    Please give proper feedback – not just, “You’re not through.”

10. Do some prep yourself – on the agency, the people, prepare questions, be challenging – we like debate!

Intend to interact and enjoy the session – you’ll get a lot more out of it, find out exactly what you need to know and will be more likely to shortlist agencies which are right for you.