It's happened to me more than once since starting the agency almost two years ago. I sign on with a client for a project and immediately begin working with one person in particular on their staff who becomes my main contact there. Hoping to get more project work from them in time, I endeavor to develop a strong relationship of trust between us.
Then out of the blue one day, he or she informs me that they are leaving the company and going elsewhere to work. And while I certainly would like to go along for the ride with the promise of new work, I don't want to lose an existing client either. But now I have no direct contact at the client to work through. This person was my main contact. I will be temporarily passed off to someone else on staff until the project is completed, but after that there's no guarantee I will be kept around for future projects.
In the handful of times this has happened to me so far, the results have varied. With a few clients I was able to stay on board and successfully continue my relationship with them, making a new contact and developing that relationship. But with others, once my contact was gone, so was I. As soon as the project was over, they moved on to another agency or freelancer, perhaps due to their own personal connections to such marketing professionals. No matter how much I try to endear myself to them in a short amount of time, it almost never takes.
So my question is how do you stay connected to a client once your main contact there leaves, especially if he or she is the one who brought you on board to begin with?
It's easy to say that I should make additional contacts at each client and develop them at the same time. Sometimes I'm able to do that and sometimes I'm not. Working in marketing, my range of exposure to the staff is usually limited to the marketing director and his or her staff. And I'm not the kind to go poking my head in the president or CEO's door to introduce myself. I'll meet them when the time is right and I am properly introduced. But even after that has happened, I am most likely not going to work directly with someone at that level on a regular basis giving me the opportunity to get to know them.
Sure I can request a meeting with the higher-ups and my main contact's replacement when the time comes, but they don't know me like he or she did and don't have trust in me, even if I can prove to them that I have performed well for their company in the past.
So what's the trick to keeping the work during a time of client transition? Any advice? Past experiences you'd like to share?
Good question. I never experienced that in the web consulting/SEO world, but definitely with IT and computer services. The thing about us (tech people) is people are attached nervously more to their computer people than they are anyone else, it seems. That doesn't mean any other contractor or consultant isn't as important. Arguably, marketing is THEE most important thing!
ReplyDeleteDanny from Dayvision would be a good person to ask this question! He knows you! (and I'm sure you know him) Seeing him tomorrow interestingly enough.
Interesting post. Hope you get good answers Tracey ;)
You really need to create the opportunity to do that. There are several ways and I will tell you I learned from one of the best I have seen but I am not sure you will like it... it means spending money and a young company doesn't always have entertainment expenses.
ReplyDeleteI use to work for a guy that would take his clients out and foot the bar bill. He always met at their office, did so on a regular basis and rarely used email, then every so often invite his client, possibly a colleague and there immediate supervisor out for drinks on a Friday after work. It worked! he was so busy there were nights we spend all night in the office trying to meet all the deadlines.
Now if you can get creative and create an opportunity to do that by partnering with someone you may be able to pull that off in another way.
Greg - you are right that entertaining clients would cost a pretty penny that I don't have. Not to mention that you have to play it careful where alcohol and clients are concerned! Plus, being a woman I would want to talk a fine line in taking my clients out for drinks if they are men so that no one misinterprets intentions.
ReplyDeleteHowever I have found that tagging along when the client invites me out for drinks after an event to be a good way to being seen as part of "the team" and being a "player." Plus then they are usually the ones doing the treating!