Looking for an Agency? It’s Not the Same as Searching for a Washing Machine

April 9, 2009 4:14 PM

an Interview with Tim Brenton by Denise Goodwin Pace, CCO/Co-Founder, The Halo Group

The success of any marketing communications agency search is predicated on creating an honest and open dialogue between the client and the agency. Only that openness can ignite chemistry. We talked to Tim Brenton, CEO of The Brenton Group, who trains businesspeople to facilitate business relationships built on trust and confidence. He’s very clear on what’s required.

“During a search for a new agency, clients play their cards close to the vest from fear of being taken advantage of,” says Brenton. “But sharing during the process is exactly what is needed to assess compatibility – the heart of the potential relationship.”

Brenton has seen client behavior during the search process that is often antithetical to the formation of a strong client-agency relationship. He claims that a good agency must be a diagnostician about the hopes, dreams, goals and aspirations of the potential client. Yet clients are often loath to share that during the search process.

What the client should bring to the table

According to Brenton, there are specific steps a client must be accountable for at the beginning of the search for the right agency:

An understanding of the real problem that led to this new agency search. Brenton believes that the client, in collaboration with the new agency, should delineate the “lessons learned from the past” – specifically, what worked and what did not work in the previous client-agency relationship.
An inventory of the actions taken to solve the problem. The client must be open and honest so that history does not repeat itself.
A realistic and true budget. “No agency can offer recommendations on a zero-based budget and it’s an exercise in futility for a client to project an inflated budget. It’s not fair to the agency and it dishonors and devalues both the client and the agency,” says Brenton.
Your expectations on ROI. Ask the agency to demonstrate projected ROI. Brenton says, “If an agency truly believes in ROI, that agency should almost become an aggravation to the potential client, continually asking about the budget and the expectations on return.”
The decision makers. Who is involved? The agency that is given the task of solutions has an obligation to look at possibilities through different filters. The client should be upfront about who is involved and give the agency access to those people.

The bottom line

According to Brenton, if the client consciously avoids being its own worst enemy, the successful client-agency relationship is born and both sides are open and honest from the outset. That willingness to share information leads to the partnerships that make marketing history.

As EVP at Arnold Advertising, Tim Brenton led his company in providing world-class advertising and marketing programs to his clients. Tim founded the Brenton Group to help CEOs and senior sales management make quantum leaps in the performance of managers and sales representatives. Tim delivers custom sales programs to corporate clients, as well as frequent sales and management workshops. He brings over 25 years of advertising, marketing, sales management and recruiting expertise to his clients.

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