Client Leadership Is A Bit of Magic

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Abracadabra!

Who says there isn't magic in this world? I'm gonna share with you a real magic trick that will do four things:

1. It will make your team happier

2. It will make your clients happier

3. It will increase your margins

4. It will make you a more effective leader

This magical elixir is client leadership

Don’t get it twisted…client leadership isn’t being rigid, or aggressive towards your client. You're not a drill sergeant screaming at them to drop and give you 20. Client leadership is not politeness, or being accommodating. We talked about this a few issues back (You don’t fucking work for them…Agency Inner Circle #99)… I am talking about actual leadership…the kind where you own your expertise, guide the client, and shape the work instead of reacting to client demands.

Client leadership starts with really understanding what your job as a service business is. I can hear you right now, “But Tim, we do web development!” or “We do paid search!” or “We do social ads!”, etc.

No.

That's not really what you do. Those are the activities that you do in service of your real job, which is to distill the client’s real problem, and apply the solution that your expertise leads you towards to that problem. Mind you, I said the real problem, not the problem they say they have, not the Symptoms of the problem.

The real actual problem that impacts your client's success. Your real job is to identify that problem, give it a name, define a solution, and apply the solution effectively.

Problem identification and solution development start during the sales process. But it doesn’t stop there. In any engagement, problems evolve. Solve one layer and another emerges.

That’s normal.

What is not normal is pretending the problem is static. Client leadership means you constantly reassess, reaffirm, and recommit to the real problem as it exists, not as it was.

“Vendors”…well, here's a little insight into my shorthand: I never use the word "vendor" or "vendors" in a complimentary way. It always means, in my parlance, the kind of business that puts in the least amount of effort…but expects the full benefit. Anyway vendors avoid this approach because it requires thinking…it requires confidence.

It requires the experience, the authority, and the data to say, “This is the right path for you, and here’s why.” A lot of vendors agencies hide behind checklists and sprints and recurring tasks because Lots of activity and deliverables can hide the truth of whether or not you understand the client problem and have the right solution.

OK…OK, Tim, got it - problem, solution, leadership, & don’t wanna be a vendor…

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Leadership makes your team happier

The reality is that clients and agencies are peers. The client is the subject matter expert in their business. You are the subject matter expert in solving the thing they cannot solve. You are not their subordinate. You are their equal.

When you treat yourself as a peer, your team gets to act like experts instead of order takers.

That has enormous cultural value.

To lead a client effectively, you need a management structure that actually supports leadership. Account managers and subject matter experts need autonomy. They need to be able to talk to clients directly. They need to make calls, push back, redirect, and guide. And they need to know you have their back when they do it.

If you want a happier team, give them authority. Let them look a client in the eye and say, “Here’s the direction we should go, and here’s why.” That creates confidence. That creates ownership. It creates pride. It gives them standing in the relationship.

That energy flows straight into your culture. When your team knows their voice is Not only welcomed but insisted upon, they come to work every day wearing their big-boy pants. I don't mean that you're going to create a culture of braggadocious, aggressive, rigid, overly opinionated divas. You are going to create a culture of people that have ownership, who have pride in their work, and who are firm in their position as the authority around the solution and the authority in the ways in which your business can serve your client.

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Leadership improves your margins

Lack of client leadership destroys profit.

We've all been there. We've all experienced:

• Endless revisions.

• Vague asks.

• Work done three different ways because the client keeps changing their mind.

When agency leaders see this endless revision loop, this work done over, this accommodating behavior, they get really angry and they think that their team isn't behaving like an owner or doing the right thing by the client

Lots of agency owners think that this is a team problem. It isn't. It's a cultural problem that reveals Itself in the realm of client leadership. Agencies that don't support its teams by insisting they lead the client, show that they don't value the expertise, opinion, insight, and experience of their team.

Agencies get trapped in this relationship where your team can only respond. Your team can never be proactive if they don't understand that they are and should feel that they are leaders.

When you come from a position of having identified, named, and provided a solution to your client's true problem, you Have already anticipated questions, pushback, and misunderstandings. You are able to show not just the "how" of the solution, but the "why".

You’re thinking ahead. You’re anticipating concerns. You’re solving before they even ask.

That reduces friction. It reduces cycles. It makes the work faster, smoother, cleaner.

Margins go up simply because client leadership eliminates chaos.

And clients feel more secure because someone finally knows what the hell is going on.

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Leadership requires the mindset of a real expert

Here’s the the really tricky part…(most people avoid this assiduously & ait is the rare business that demands it from its team)

Real client leadership requires self-knowledge.

Collectively, you have to trust your judgment enough to say, “Here is the solution. This will work. Here is why.” 

That level of clarity forces you to commit.

But here’s the twist (a “whew, that’s a relief” kind of twist…)

Committing to a solution doesn’t mean you cling to it.

The real mark of expertise is having strong, well-informed opinions, lightly held. You can say, “Based on everything we know, this is the right direction” and then calmly pivot when new data proves otherwise.

That’s not inconsistency or being wishy-washy…it’s the hallmark of an adaptable, agile thinker that is SERVING their client’s interests.

Most agencies don’t do this because many agency leaders think leadership means being right all the time. But leadership is the opposite. It is the ability to update your thinking quickly and transparently. Clients respect that. Teams respect that. Your future self respects that.

Leadership makes you indispensable

When you, as a matter of daily thinking, reassess client problems and adjust your solutions, you become more embedded in their work. You understand their pressures, their shifting priorities, their evolving constraints. Your agency becomes the collection of freaks who can see around corners.

That insight makes your recommendations sharper. Your solutions more credible. Your presence more valuable. You stop being the “vendor” they question (ugh) and become the advisor they rely on.

And all of this starts with a simple belief:

You & your team are experts.

Your culture must demand that your entire team step into the role of expert - full of strong, well-informed opinions, lightly held.

Your clients and your team will feel the difference.

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