ON THURSDAY, WE GOT THE MILLION-DOLLAR PHONE CALL

We'd known for a while it was going to come.

It was one of our clients.

We'll call her Zoey.

Zoey called on Thursday afternoon, well after most people in her time zone were headed home from work, or at happy hour, getting a jump on July 4 celebrations.

She called and said, "We got our financing."

I said, Would you repeat that, please? And I handed the phone to Honey.

When Honey heard it, she did the same little dance I had going on in my head.

We both cheered heartily, and then Zoey left us to take her partner's call coming in on the other line.

Zoey has a right to be happy.

She has just secured several million dollars in financing to open a chain of restaurants.

The business idea is all hers. (And her partner's.) Zoey's a dynamo. We came in rather late in the game to advise and buff and polish.

As we were doing this, the fly in the ointment appeared.


IT BECAME APPARENT THE FOREIGN FINANCIERS DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE AMERICAN CONSUMER

They were completely out of touch with the target demographic.

In fact, they thought the target demo was themselves.

They never thought Americans would buy this concept.

That was where we began doing some serious work.

We created print materials explaining the target demographic. We even produced a 3-minute sizzle video that brought the demographic to life.

And something really interesting happened when we did this.


ZOEY AND HER PARTNER WERE ECSTATIC

They loved the work so much, they never asked to change a word.

Well, ultimately.

At first, Zoey's partner had some reservations. He wasn't sure parts of it were appropriate.

We very easily addressed his objections and laid them to rest.

After that, all they did was thank us profusely and go on their merry way to present it.

Good thing. It helped close a multi-million dollar deal.

Understand, this is not a self-congratulatory pat on the back. As much as we love doing the happy dance like Peanuts characters, we are not now drinking our own bathwater and gazing lovingly into the mirror.

Instead, this is a compliment to our client.

They've been very clear from the outset about what they had to accomplish.

And each time we created material to support their expressed goals, they've recognized it as valid and moved forward.

This might not sound like much.

But it is huge.

They've demonstrated some qualities that are too often missing in client relationships.


TRUST, MATURITY & MOMENTUM

Every time they explained a challenge, we did our best to meet that challenge. Each time, they recognized the appropriateness of the effort.

Never once did they try to exercise their own creative egos or otherwise get their own little fingerprints on the work. They merely said "Thank you" and took the work as their own.

And they continued to move forward like a shark.

It's said that if the shark stops moving, it dies.

And throughout our careers, we've all seen the shark die.

Clients who become too caught up in their own heads to continue their marketing. Good work that's on the boards and ready to meet its audience dies there because the advertiser is afraid to move forward. Instead, they question every detail. They insist on putting their own marks on it. They do everything possible to keep it from having a life of its own and doing what it was designed to do.

We are ecstatic to have a client who trusts us, who has the maturity to let good work be, and understands the importance of continually moving the ball forward.


SO HOW DOES EVERYONE GET CLIENTS LIKE THIS?

How do we avoid being saddled with clients who don't trust us, are not mature enough to leave good work be, and who are afraid to keep swimming?

How do we avoid these clients? How do we get more of the good ones?

I have no idea.

But I think I'm starting to figure it out.

And one way to do it is to watch for the early signs.

A client insisting on well-defined goals and deadlines is a good sign.

Returning calls or emails promptly is another good sign.

Waffling is a bad sign.

Worry is a bad sign.

Anything that sets off the little tiny alarm bell in the back of your own head is a bad sign.

Yes, this is entirely unscientific.

There's no way to write hard and fast rules about this.

But I'm starting believe, entirely too late in life, that listening to your gut is an underrated skill.


AND I ADMIT: ZOEY HAS SPOILED ME

I'm working with this woman again for the first time in over 15 years.

She was my first real client back when I was a fresh-faced, wet-behind-the-ears, advertising know-it-all who didn't know a whole lot other than to trust his gut when it came to creating good work.

Zoey's goals were always well defined.

And she always accepted good work created to meet those goals. She rarely questioned it, and she always embraced it.

Even when she wasn't sure she liked it.

Back then, there was a tag line appearing in all her advertising. She had decided she didn't like.

But she kept running it.

Why?

Because she knew that having something she wasn't in love with was better than having nothing at all--which is where so many other small business advertisers net out.

The easiest decision to make is to do nothing until the planets align in a harmonic convergence and angels on high sing a chorus of "Bohemian Rhapsody" backed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Except that the harmonic convergence happens only once every 52 years and the last one was in 1987. Angels don't typically sing about advertising. And the LSO's version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" was simply pathetic commercial pandering that, frankly, is an embarrassment to themselves and to Queen, no matter how you feel about Freddie Mercury.


WE'RE THINKING ABOUT COMING UP WITH A CONTRACT

It won't be a legally binding document.

But it will be an emotionally binding one.

It will be designed to let clients know that we are serious about growing their businesses--but that they in turn must be serious about it as well.

We don't yet know exactly what for it will take.

But rest assured, it's going to do everything possible to make sure that an advertiser understands we intend to be sharks.

We either keep the advertising moving forward, or the professional relationship dies.

As Always,

Blaine Parker
your Short, Fat Creative Director in
Park City