How To Go Beyond The Honeymoon Stage With Your Agency To Ensure A Great Working Relationship
Chris Mulvaney is the CEO of CMDS. I make things... I’m the creative entrepreneur with passion for (re)making brands and inventing solutions to problems no one knows exist.
Ahh, the glory days! You’ve chosen your new B2B business consulting agency and are ready for wedded bliss. Together, you have limitless enthusiasm, constant surges of creativity, and you can’t imagine spending even a minute of your day thinking about anything else.
Welcome to the dreamy honeymoon phase of your agency relationship. A thrilling phase full of experimenting, learning and bringing your business ideas to life. Giving them spark! You’re receiving important feedback and gaining the confidence to release your brainchild out into the world for real business. The sky’s the limit. But, for many, that phase typically ends. Cloud nine becomes cloud none.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
In this helpful guide, we share three proven strategies on how to establish a strong agency relationship right from the start, make it a collaborative venture, approach B2B business challenges strategically, and of course, keep the spark alive.
- Step 1: Put on the scuba gear and get to know each other first. This is the only way an agency relationship can last for the long run.
- Step 2: Be clear on expectations. Like a marriage, business consulting is a collaborative venture.
- Step 3: Stay calm. The right partner can help you keep your head on straight when the storms come “for better, for worse…”
Step 1: Get to Know Each Other First.
Way back in ancient times, people genuinely regarded the feeling of love as a sickness – a bona fide disease. Parents even warned their children against it and arranged marriages before they could do anything careless with their out-of-control emotions.
That’s because the first flushes of love, though able to make us feel giddy and excited, can also make us highly irrational. Shakespeare even described how “lovers and madmen have such seething brains.”
The key for preventing lovesickness is taking the time to get to know each other first. For any relationship, this sets the tone for what’s to come and is necessary to stand the test of time.
Similarly, when you make the decision to partner up your B2B business with an agency, it pays to form a worthwhile relationship first. Don’t wait until the bumps in the road arise (we’ll get into this later). Now is the time to go deep into the nitty-gritty details – a Business Breakthrough Session session is a great opportunity to do just that. Our in-house team of business consulting strategists puts on the scuba gear and takes the process deep by entrenching ourselves in your brand, in your mission, in your goals. We want to know why you are the best of the best.
But, don’t expect to do all the talking during this two-day interactive session. This is a two way street. Now you have the chance to understand how the agency’s process works and do a deep dive into their vision, too. Credible agencies should be excited to flex their skill-set and introduce you to their rock-star team.
Take the time to get to know each other first and build trust, confidence, and credibility. It’s a game-changer when it comes to future business growth.
Step 2: Be Clear on Expectations.
They leave dirty dishes in the sink (or maybe you do that), there’s still laundry on the floor from last week, and the bathroom hasn’t been cleaned in a month…maybe more.
Many marriages end up facing moments of disappointment in their relationship because one partner didn’t do something the other one had hoped they would. The more disappointing and frustrating aspect of this all-too-common scenario is the fact that this is an expectation set without any dialogue beforehand. It just doesn’t end well.
Like a relationship, this is a collaborative venture. Both parties must participate.
Expectations can shape the dynamics, set the tone for businesses. If you have big goals, make them clear up front. Nothing is worse than thinking you’re both on the same page, only to find out that you and the agency are envisioning two different results. From the very beginning of the relationship, voice expectations and document them. Whether that includes your messaging matrix, a tactical marketing plan, or metrics surrounding business growth (maybe all of the above), be clear about your goals.
Your agency may be award-winning, but they are probably not magical mind-readers. Setting these expectations early on can save you a lot of hassle later.
Likewise, a strategic business consulting agency, such as CMDS, will also present clear expectations with their clients. They will introduce the team who will be working on your project, cover budget, timelines, and what you should expect in terms of results. They will be clear with upfront and frequent communication, anticipating and answering your questions in advance.
Communication is key.
Finding the right agency can be tough, but when you meet the right one, you’ll know. And you’ll get actionable output to move your business forward.
Step 3: Stay Calm in the Storm.
You’ve likely heard that 50% of marriages end in divorce. While every relationship experiences adversities differently, one thing is for certain: no one escapes it. It’s a given.
“For better, for worse…”
“In sickness and in health…”
“For richer, for poorer…”
These promises are clear to presume tough times will be coming. We know it comes as a surprise, but not every day will not be roses and rainbows.
Like any relationship, business is an awesome adventure, but it can also be challenging and stressful when you hit a bump in the road. Figuring out what to do when business isn’t working the way you want it to, well, that is going to be different for everyone.
Nearly one in five U.S. businesses fail within the first year, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). After five years, close to 50% have faltered, while after 10 years, over 65% of businesses have failed. Why do many bite the dust? A faulty strategic business model, unsuccessful marketing initiatives, failing to research the competition, burn out, etc.
The bottom line is that owning a business is hard. Growing it is even harder.
Whether you want to build your business in one, three or five years… growth is far from easy. Add a global pandemic to the mix and it can feel nearly impossible! “We’re all in this together.” “We’ll get through this and emerge stronger.” By now, we’ve all become too familiar with the COVID-19 mantras that businesses put on repeat throughout the airwaves, social channels and just about anywhere anyone would listen. It is no coincidence that the honeymoon phase tends to come to a screeching halt right around the same time that adversities arise and solutions start feeling dry and unenthusiastic where they were once flowing.
But, the good news is that the right partner can help you keep your head on straight when challenges come. Because they will.
Whenever the path ahead is uncertain (which should be expected by now), it’s easy to just shut down and walk away. But that’s only going to make things worse. If you’re serious about growing stronger in a storm, you need to have someone you can turn to who provides clarity and direction for a better future.
Yes, adversity will keep rolling in, but like a battleship in a storm now you have a partner to help you hold a steady course.
At the end of the day, it’s about endurance.
Meet Your New Strategic Partner: CMDS
Ready to take action and propel your business forward? With the right client agency relationship, you won’t just survive the honeymoon phase, you can thrive with extreme business growth! Get your business breakthrough blueprint today.