Accept that you are 51 percent at fault
No finger pointing. No SOD (some other dude) defense. (In murder trials the defense often uses a SODDI strategy—some other
dude did it.) Not here. Good agencies know what they need from clients to do their job, and they know how to get it. Clients
know what they want from their agency and should be able to communicate that. If neither of these things are happening, responsibility
lies with both parties, and both should take ownership of the problem.
End the relationship quickly and with class
When it's over, it's over. Although work in process needs to be finished, don't drag it out any longer than needed. Lame-duck
situations don't help anyone. The agency should finish all projects efficiently and with attention to detail. Project files
should be organized, inventoried, and transferred efficiently, not just dumped on a disk and sent. On the client side, invoices
should be paid promptly and include those for time spent transferring files, recapping processes, and wrapping up loose ends.
Another thing to think about is the tone you take as things wind down. Remember that the relationship started with excitement
and high expectations. It should end with the same level of attention and professionalism on both sides. A simple thank you
or even a farewell lunch (not a celebration) can go a long way in terms of maintaining a good relationship. And assuming your
last few meetings or calls aren't right out of Jerry Springer, try to stay in touch. It's a small industry, and we all know
we will meet again. Better that tone be positive (and not awkward) the next time you find yourselves in a conference room
together.
Answer the wake-up call
When something like this happens, it's a good idea to look closely and honestly at yourself. Not an easy task to do, but if
there's any benefit to be had from this situation, it comes from a ruthless review of what just happened. So now's the time
to ask yourself: Are our people up to the task? Do we need to examine how we're working with our clients (or our agencies)?
Are the processes we have in place working or actually sabotaging all our hard work? And if you feel you were blindsided by
the decision to call it quits, quickly review the rest of your business relationships—you may need a better way to monitor
them to prevent this from happening again.
Gather your senior staff. On the client side gather your brand leaders and those responsible for agency/communications management
and discuss how each of your agency relationships are managed: expectations, ongoing communications, monitoring, and measurement.
On the agency side don't just meet with the specific account team, extend the process to all of your account leaders and account
service team. Similarly review the key elements of account management and your overall service and production process.
While there are, of course, variances in individual accounts and brands, there should be consistency in the key elements that
deliver extraordinary thinking, long-term relationship building, clear ongoing communications and outstanding creative work.
If not, it's up to the management team, client, and agency to make it work.
Now get on with it
Finally, move on. Don't wallow in self-pity, don't dwell on what you (or they) could have done better. Just look forward to
building better, stronger relationships in the future.
Agency-client breakups are never easy, but they are a reality of the business. Learning to handle them with professionalism,
respect, and goodwill is critical if you want to make them few and far between. How do we know? Well, we recently went through
a breakup ourselves, so now we're taking our own advice.
Al Topin is President of Topin & Associates, and a member of Pharm Exec's Editorial Advisory Board. He can be reached at atopin@topin.com
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