Comments on: It’s “Agency” Not “Slavery”

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:40:01 +0000

christopher, that is a great way to sum it up!

By: Christopher

Christopher — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:16:53 +0000

Like any personal relationship, the client-agency relationship is a two-way street and involves give-and-take. It requres effort from both. Anything less, and you’re headed for a space in the “hot seat” on the Jerry Springer show.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:31:38 +0000

i would stand by you on anything phil! thanks for taking the time to post.

By: PAN

PAN — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:50:27 +0000

The world needs more leaders and PR practitioners like you!!!! You’re funny and CORRECT on every item you hightlight. Presidents of PR firms need to ban together and teach the uneducated and NOT tolerate this kind of bull.

By: Kel

Kel — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:57:51 +0000

lenwood, thanks or the affirmation and visual!

By: Lenwood Brown

Lenwood Brown — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:22:33 +0000

High-five and yes I really did poop a Twinkie. Thank you for the post.

By: Kel

Kel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:38:28 +0000

brennan, thanks for sharing your perspective. i actually think freelancers get a harder time than agencies — maybe because the word “free” is in their profession. it must be incredibly confusing to many clients. haha!

By: Brennan

Brennan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:45:06 +0000

Great post. I can’t tell you how many times I ran into this when I was young and trying to start my own freelance service. I had a few medium size clients who thought they were doing me a favor by offering to work for them for slave wages. I found out pretty quick that even if you do a good job once they start getting exposure and money from it they will just run to a large agency and leave you with nothing. This post should be a must read for anyone in the service industry.

By: Kel

Kel — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:14:52 +0000

lindsay, that story is absurd! what the hell was she thinking. i’m sure your website doesn’t say “non-profit” on it. keep laughing. it does a world of good for everyone!

By: Lindsay Olson

Lindsay Olson — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:17:33 +0000

Great post, Kel! The agency biz and the staffing biz are very similar. Lately, my response to these unreasonable requests are met with uncontrollable laughter. That seems to deliver my answer loud and clear! Just last week I was asked for the HR Manager of a company I have called on, oh, 20 times in the past few months, ask me to help with a search (after never once giving me the time of day in the past). After giving me the search details, she actually had the nerve to ask “Is there a fee? We can not pay search fees at this time, personal/professional recommendations only.”

By: Kel

Kel — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 01:18:14 +0000

sing it loud, sing it proud loring! it is all about respect and it needs to be a two-way street. thanks for walking away when appropriate. it helps the bigger picture even if you can’t see the benefit at that moment in time. thanks for your comment!

By: Loring Barnes

Loring Barnes — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:12:06 +0000

Hi Kel,
From your lips to God’s ears. Yep, “it’s the economy, stupid” has been a convenient refrain of late. Only if you are prepared to stop work and/or walk away, which we have done, does the abuse end. I’ve opted for temporary investment spending, but that has to be conveyed to the beneficiary client as being an “exception” vs. “expected.” This issue boils down to one word: r-e-s-p-e-c-t.
@loringbarnes

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 20:13:07 +0000

dennis, great to meet you too. you bring up a great point. while a small number of companies are dicking around over fees, smart companies are going full throttle. as you said, it is only a matter of time.

By: Dennis Franczak

Dennis Franczak — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:51:00 +0000

Kel,

It was nice meeting you at Bell Ringers! I loved this article. I LOVE it. It totally made my day because I’ve been hearing this crap from a lot of prospects lately.

A lot of prospects are trying to use the economy to get a lot for a little and soon it’s going to turn around and these guys are going to wonder why their competitors have left them in the dust.

By: Kel

Kel — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:03:36 +0000

mick, are you effing kidding me?! that is the most ridiculous bs i have ever heard. i just read your comment aloud to my partner who exclaimed, “oh my god!” honestly, if we had a hall of fame for this shit, your story would get voted in on the first round. thanks for sharing your experience. i’m sure other readers enjoyed it as much as i did.

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:58:39 +0000

paula always remember — just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they are not out to get you. haha!

By: Kel

Kel — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 23:57:24 +0000

shane, i love, love, love your “screw you” story. the best part really is seeing the look on their face. it’s clear most people act subservient to their approach. stay the course. it’s good for everyone.

By: Mick

Mick — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:16:14 +0000

Hey Kel,

Your friendly neighborhood Wordsmith here.

Your verbal thrusts and parries always entertain and enlighten me – and this was one case where I just had to respond.

Here’s one fresh from the front:

Client: “Hi. Guess what? You did such a great job, no changes are needed. The Copy for the Web Site sailed through approvals. So seeing as how we did not need any Edits, can we talk about a price reduction?”

Wordsmith: “WTF”?

I mean, I know I am far from perfect, but I also know I pull out all the stops to get it “just right…the first time.”

So it was a bit of a stunner.

I mean, as a Client, you FINALLY get someone who knocks one out of the park…

Someone who gets your program…who makes your job easier….

And you want to cut down what you already agreed to pay?

Holy NET 30!

O well. All’s well that ends well.

I got paid.

And for some reason, this Quote kept going through my mind…

“This…(choke…gasp…rasp)…is the business….(gasp….hack…choke)…we’ve chosen…”

Hyman Roth, Godfather II

( I took a little editorial license there. No extra charge!)

By: paula slack

paula slack — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:56:26 +0000

Good stuff,

Thanks for the sanity check, it’s not just me.

They never make it up to you on the next job!

Keep fighting,
Paula

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:56:25 +0000

Hells yeah! In my freelance life I used to get this b.s. all the time. “Hey, do good on this job there’s tons more where that came from!” Sure pal, that and $5 will get you a one-way trip to blo*meville. This kinda crap is rampant in the freelance world which is a hellova lot tougher/desperate than the agency world. There’s always some slob out there willing to do a website for $500. And fortunately thats exactly what the cheap bastard client will get. I always tell all who will listen: we (creatives or agencies) should be looked at like plumbers, electricians or even financial planners. We all have references. Check em out. Ask for 30-50, not 1-2. Good agencies and creatives have ‘em. My screw you moment came once when I met with company big wigs who wanted to hire me. they said they wanted some ideas on how to position their new marketing. we met and when they asked me for these said “ideas” I told them that I’m like a painter/electrician, etc. and they’d have to “pay to play. I don’t give it up for free.” Guess the other potential employees/sheep never told them something so shocking. They asked, “don’t you want the job?” I told them sure. But you don’t ask a painter to paint your house and then decide whether you’re going to pay them. I stood up and told them, with aghast expressions on their mugs, “Good day, gentlemen.” And walked. Sa-weet!

By: Kel

Kel — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:43:31 +0000

jenn, sadly i have experienced everything you described when i used to be the client. the jaw dropping thing is some of the biggest agencies on the planet get away with such unscrupulous behavior. not sure why clients tolerate it. i never did.thanks for your comment!

By: Kel

Kel — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:39:35 +0000

kari, i totally agree with you. when i was the client hiring agencies, the nickle and diming that went along with fees made me nuts. i agree a true partnership means being fair on both sides. when i started kel & partners seven years ago, i set off to build the “anti-agency agency.” this meant not doing all the dicking that agencies used to do to me as the client so they could make more money. as an example, we don’t have billable hours at k&p. a true partnership really means you are in it together and great results are getting delivered at a fair price.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:31:56 +0000

Kel – a fantastic post that brought me back to my agency days. As Kari Hanson said, the best clients were always the ones who understood that, in order to be successful, their agency needed to be successful. The clients willing to extend a relationship built on mutual success always benefited. They got the best of everything: the best account team, best creative, best media deals, mainly because the agency team was willing to go out and bat a home run each and every time. The worst clients were the ones who not only “nickled and dimed” each and everything, but curiously enough, couldn’t commit to a strategy and would go around the merry-go-round of creative concepts just because they felt like they got the most value by being a jerk to work with.

Other than some people are just tools to work with, I think sometimes what happens is that people on the client side work with some not-so-great agencies. They may have paid a lot of money for a web site that was a template design (that 20 other companies had), they were over-promised media placements, went through the misfortune of a “bait and switch” client team, or XYX project ended up costing 50% more than the RFP bid because an agency was disingenuous. When people have worked with bad agencies, they make all the good agency peeps suffer.

By: Kari Hanson

Kari Hanson — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:47:44 +0000

Your post hit a nerve that drove me to finally comment w/my two cents. I spent long enough at an agency to say that clients who use the scenarios above view the relationship as a client/vendor one (fueled, most likely, by the agency doing the same – charging $50 for donuts for a 10 a.m. meeting, invoicing for magazine subscriptions that they should be reading anyway, charging for phone/fax/printing, or even letting a startup pay $1500 to issue a press release when $300 would cover it on the major wires). It’s the same relationship as buying a car, so of course the client is going to try and get whatever they can for the least amount. If the agency/company relationship is truly a partnership, though, the agency will strive to find efficiencies in the program (even if it lowers their total billing) to help the client maximize results, and the client will want the the relationship to be profitable for the agency. The best results always come from the agency team that is respected (including being paid fairly), and the biggest budgets always come from the companies who see value and aren’t nickel and dimed each month.

By: Kel

Kel — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:47:08 +0000

jon, thanks for the feedback. i guess that’s as good as it gets! as always, thanks for taking the time to read my post. given the tsunami of content available on the internet, i am humbled that people choose to read my blog.

By: Jon Bornstein

Jon Bornstein — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:23:05 +0000

Kel, as always, reading your blog makes me laugh and think at the same time!

By: Kel

Kel — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:38:59 +0000

larry, that is so disheartening after you were so gracious. it must be hard not to be guarded in future similar situations.i believe that no deed goes unnoticed and no debt goes unpaid. as such, this person will soon be on the receiving end of some negative situation. as always, thanks for sharing your perspective.

By: Larry Lawfer

Larry Lawfer — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:26:35 +0000

This week I had an agency that specializes in writing ask me to give them the keys to the city, my city that I have built over 28 years of experience. I was introduced to them by a design firm I collaborate with. I met the principal about a year ago where I shared a lot of what I do and how I do it in the hopes of collaborating with them on the video side of their writing projects. I bought the meal.
Last week they sent out a promo using video and touting their new abilities. I wrote them and acknowledge the humorous content–no real marketing message, just funny stuff to attract clients. I mentioned it reminded me of someone else’s work. Funny, the principal had worked for that person–no surprise. Then she went on in all seriousness to ask me how I charge for what I do, how many people I use and how to get the client to pay for the work. Huh? I went from a potential collaborator, to their informational kiosk. WTF, it doesn’t hurt to ask, I guess. It also didn’t hurt for me to write her back and say, good luck with this. When your clients need experienced professionals to work with have them call me. Geez.

By: Kel

Kel — Sat, 30 May 2009 19:10:33 +0000

aaron, thanks for dialing in. i totally get how it works since i spent the majority of my career on the client side. there is a huge difference between stretching a dollar and the scenarios described above. i agree the agency needs to guide the client and appreciate you bringing it up. you guys are the bomb diggity. if the client landscape were peppered with clients like you, agencies would wake up every morning with birds chirping on their shoulders and butterflies tickling their noses.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sat, 30 May 2009 18:58:32 +0000

Kel – First time caller, long time listener. You know I love you, but clients will always ask for what they want (and more) and agencies should guide them towards what the client needs and the agency can provide. Budget issues are real and we’re asked to continue to stretch every dollar. That’s where good agencies (like yours) can shine. Love the blog!