I agree with @tDefren. There are always “Bumps in the Road” … [link to post] Working through them can be challenging

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I hear you about bumps. Going through a few now with a client I’ve been working with for more than a year, first on retainer and now project-based. It’s like starting all over again as we work our way through project fees that are new to them (although they went retainer to avoid the higher fees). It tests both our patience, but in a partnership, there are highs and lows for both parties. Nice post and good timing for my psyche.

If you are suggesting that the client is always right, then I disagree. In fact when we started this company, our single best decision was swearing-off any piece of business that could so dominate our portfolio that it would lead us to offer bad advice or to suffer unreasonable abuse.

My simple point is that nobody’s perfect. That you can’t pay for perfection (and thus should not expect it). And, that you catch more flies with honey.

As a client, you should expect the unremitting *quest* for perfection (in the form of results, reporting, etc.), and, you should expect that any imperfections you’ve identified be rectified in a timely manner. Simply put, being reasonable is better than being shrill.

You get a client in bed with your ‘expertise’ promising deliverables,

“who got kinda shrill if the weekly report didn’t match their expectations, or if a reporter didn’t show up at their tradeshow booth as-promised, etc., etc., etc.”,

then, when they point out that you have not done your part, whether it be a reasoned inquiry or a 300 decibel rant, they are the bad guys for having an expectation of performance, that you set up as your part of the bargain to get them to pay you.

Using ‘partnership’ as the keyword for your relationship is disingenuous as well. Want to be a partner? Take an equity stake/stock instead of cash. Putting that sort of skin in the game would collapse your industry.

You are at best a favored independent contractor, who may be on the bottom of the list of cutbacks when times get tough, but are on that list.

You get on that list because, at the end of the day, if you cannot demonstrate that your work either saves money or makes money, the company that employs you has no business case to give you money they are not saving or making.

This is the gem of the collection:
“the clients who treat their agency partners like well-intentioned, smart, but fallible human beings, get superior service.”
What part of the original presentation forgot to mention this?
Is there a fallible threshold?

Bumps in the road are inevitable: [link to post] Sticking by people you trust is your choice!

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Reading ‘Bumps in the Road’ [link to post]

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Reading @TDefren – Bumps in the Road [link to post]

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Some good points in a short post [link to post]

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RT: @ImpactWatch: Nice clients finish first with agencies – PR Squared – [link to post]

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Nice clients finish first with agencies – PR Squared – [link to post]

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