The other side of the sell

A South African-born advertising man called Len Weinreich penned an hilarious and insightful book called 11 Steps to Brand Heaven, in which clients are known as GCROE (God's Chosen Representative On Earth) and the brand is referred to as god.

Dubbed as bad news for ad agencies, the book reveals the “clandestine ways” of the agency world. The book came to mind when, for the first time, I was the client and an ad agency was presenting a campaign for our company. Where the book exposes the agency approach to a big creative presentation, my once-off experience as the client provided an alternative and enlightening view.

Lessons learned
The presentation kicked off with the customary review of the brief, followed by an interpretation of it (a creative rationale), a big reveal of the concept, a justification of the concept, a big reveal of the creative work, a justification of the work, and then it finished - abruptly.

It was a distressing combination of anticipation, mild irritation, brief panic and then pleasure (the work was super). Exciting as it may have been, it wasn't easy - and it could have been.

Most of us are indoctrinated into thinking that the big reveal of the idea must be preceded by an anticipation-building crescendo. We therefore deliver an uninterrupted monologue of persuasion, rather than having a discussion with the client. It makes sense if you're trying to get a point across but that's only half the job. Force-feeding your view to clients doesn't make them feel like they own the idea. Creative work is the reason for the ‘partnership', so include them.

And while the agency was justifying the work, I was busy thinking about my market. The agency was concerned about my reaction. I was concerned about my market's reaction. If trains of thought were aligned, I would have been less distracted and they would have been more persuasive.

Do your best to avoid ‘white knuckling (caused by squashing down-turned layout boards onto the table with great force). This creates tension before the work has even been shown. Remember that buying work can be a terrifying experience. Clients are expected to say something intelligent and decide the work's fate having seen it only briefly.

Keep in mind that the client wrote the brief! They know what you are there to do, They want to see the work - quickly. The recap of the brief should be a brilliant, simple encapsulation that shows you know your stuff. Chances are your client will be impressed and stay attentive.

It's unlikely that the top of your head is your best feature, so if you have to read something, look at the client, not your crotch.

Generally the client you meet isn't top of their corporate ladder. The client committee up in heaven is usually large in number, so sum up the sell with a bullet proof argument. Give your client the logic and the language as ammunition for their internal sell.

All in all, if everyone has the freedom to be natural, they'll be more reasonable. Create this atmosphere. If creative start defending their work, perhaps allow them to do so (to a degree). The work should be worth it. A deathly pale ‘suit' who hushes up the creatives undermines team unity, and also looks like a client-pleaser. If clients become unreasonable, dealing with them professionally will foster respect. Anyone worth his or her salt can see through the overly polite smiles and gestures anyway.

There is no infallible blueprint for selling work - that would bleed the magic out of presentations altogether. If understanding the client ups the strike rate however, then it's worth a look.

Like it or not, the client is your target market, long before the end-consumer is.