No matter how often they say no. No matter how much they complain that it's not in the budget. Bring new, creative ideas to your clients - all the time! You just have to be willing to hear 'no" and hear it often. But you cannot be worn down because the day you stop bringing new ideas to your client, will be the day someone else will.Regarding budgets, consider small budgets not as obstacles, but creative weapons. When we were little kids and wanted to give our mom or dad a birthday card, we lacked the money (or at least I did) to buy a card at the local store. Forced to seek other means, we found crayons, paper, old magazines, glue, etc. and we concocted something more special and more personal than Hallmark could ever create. It's no different servicing clients, but now you get paid for it. How great is that?
Companies hire agencies for the power of their ideas. The more ideas you bring, the more fun for you and the more value for your client.
Our students are often faced with the low (or no) budget challenge with clients for class campaigns or projects. This is great advice for not being discouraged and using this particular challenge as an opportunity to get creative.
ReplyDeleteThanks for another great post!
This is a great post. I love the analogy to homemade birthday cards. I think my mom still has all the macaroni and collage cards that I made her. I just picture something similar hanging in the office of a client (the way it would hang on my mom's frig).
ReplyDeleteLeo, this is such great and important advice. Just as we sometimes forget to "woo" our spouse after we've been married for a while, the same goes with clients we've worked with for a long time. The fact is, no one deserves "wooing" more than a longstanding client or devoted spouse. Great reminder!
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