Dear Mr. Manners,
I get more than two dozen calls
per week from media sellers, and more than 50 emails. Must I answer every one?
-Inundated in Irvine
Dear Inundated,
Perfect manners would require a
response for every message. But Mr. Manners is a realist, and instead suggests
that your obligation is to respond to any message from someone who respects you
enough to be communicating with you personally.
You do NOT have the
responsibility to respond to any message that:
1)
Is delivered as an HTML newsletter or similar.
2)
Was clearly spammed to dozens or hundreds of
people, without regard to information that they might reasonably obtain before
contacting you. For example, your role, title, or responsibilities.
3)
Does not include a Dear…. salutation.
4)
Does not provide a capsule explanation of why
you should be in touch with this person. For example, information on how their
offering fits your brand(s).
You do have a responsibility to
respond in a reasonable timeframe to a message from:
1)
Someone with which you have or have had a
business relationship.
2)
Someone you have RFPed.
3)
Someone you told to check back with you later,
and who has followed the time suggestion you outlined.
4)
Someone you have asked for a favor, or you have
met with.
5)
Someone who has clearly made an effort to do
research on your company and role, and who explains how that information has
led them to believe that they have a solution appropriate for your business.
The depth and timing of your
response relate to the amount of relationship you already have with that
person, coupled with the amount of effort they made prior to contacting you. Existing
partners, especially those who “go the extra mile” deserve a response within 24
hours, even if it is to tell them that a more thorough response will be
forthcoming. Past or minor partners deserve a response within 72 hours. Companies
you have RFPed deserve an explanation of why you didn’t purchase from them
within a week.
In these instances, manners guide
both good behavior and help protect and enhance your career. Sellers know and
remember who makes an effort to respond to their messages. And a bad reputation
will limit your career later.
Dear Mr. Manners,
Lately certain vendors have been
going around my agency and reaching out directly to the client. How can I stop
them while demonstrating good manners?
-Worried on Wacker
Dear Worried,
Mr. Manners believes that we must
first answer the question WHY they are going client direct. It’s not a problem
per se. If direct conversations between vendors and your clients endanger your
relationship, then you have problems much larger than aggressive vendors.
The second question you need to
ask is whether your interest in closing these information paths is actually in
your interests and those of the client. Ultimately, agencies need more and better
ideas from sellers, and engaging strong vendors in three way dialogue along
with the client often makes for better effectiveness. If you’re trying to lock
away your clients from information avenues, you’ll probably find that you aren’t
in charge of the door before long.
In my experience there are four
common “client direct” scenarios:
1)
Your client specifically requests that you
prevent vendors from contacting them. Here you should communicate that request
to vendors so that they know that they must work through you. When the client
is contacted directly, ask them to forward messages to your team so you can set
things right.
2)
A vendor you work with is asked for information by
the client. Here your goal should be to become part of the conversation, as it
may reveal client goals or needs with which you are unaware. You should not
discourage the information sharing, but should ensure that you and your team
are part of the dialogue. It is well within good manners, however, to scold a
vendor for communicating with your client without making you aware first. And
finally, you need to ask yourself WHY the client went vendor direct instead of
talking to you, because it may signal an issue in your relationship.
3)
A vendor that you work with sees an opportunity
to get more business by going client direct. In effect to circumvent the agency
or to drive client demands for greater partnership. Relatively few companies
will try this, mostly companies that have huge market share or importance such
that you cannot “punish” their bad mannered behavior. In these instances, ask yourself:
a.
Does the vendor have a point? Would the client
benefit from their suggestions? If so, work with the vendor to address the
opportunities through the agency channel.
b.
Is it just a power grab? I suggest you confront these
vendors directly, and work in concert with the client to ensure that their bad
behavior is recognized as counterproductive.
4)
A vendor you don’t buy from goes client direct
to try and force their way into your buy. Most of the time, your client will
rebuff the effort outright. If they instead ask you why you aren’t working with
a vendor, simply explain your rationale and in most cases that will end the
problem. The quality of that rationale will in turn encourage them to rebuff
such efforts in the future.
Ultimately you aren’t in control
of vendors, even those you work with. But if your client relationships are
strong, efforts to engage clients directly won’t be a problem. In fact, communication
between clients and sellers may well lead to productive dialogue and a better
informed, more digital-savvy client.
So, breathe. Either have
confidence in your strong relationships with your clients, or work to address
the relationships. Further, by treating sellers fairly and with respect, you benefit
from their expertise and drastically reduce bad mannered behavior.
Dear Mr. Manners,
My team worked hard on an RFP
response, and the agency never got back to us on why we didn’t win. How can I
respond while still demonstrating good manners?
-Mad on Madison
Dear Mad,
Not providing you feedback for an
RFP response is the height of bad manners, particularly if you were asked to
respond on crash timing or spent a great deal of time and effort creating a
customized solution. Buyers who don’t provide feedback usually fall into one of
two buckets:
1)
Shotgun planners that RFD a huge list of sites
because they have failed to pre-screen possible vendors to a subset that have a
reasonable chance of winning.
2)
Selfish planners that simply “can’t be bothered.”
In either case, I suggest you
politely but firmly contact the most senior member of the team and point out
the need for feedback. If they don’t respond to your request, I suggest you refrain
from responding in the future to RFP requests from that person or team. If they
ask you why you didn’t respond, tell them that you can’t invest the time and
effort without understanding what might drive the buyer to make a purchase.
This is a polite way of demonstrating the importance of well mannered behavior
on their part. While not responding may feel like a difficult decision, the
reality is that you have better things to do that shoot in the dark. Focus
instead on finding real opportunities.
One more thing. If your RFP
response was a piece of crap, sending it was bad manners. The recipient is
therefore under no obligation to demonstrate good manners in their dealings
with you.
Dear Mr. Manners,
A rep has offered me a very high
value gift. Is it good manners to take it?
-Tempted in Texas
Dear Tempted,
You are confusing manners and
ethics. In my view, accepting high value gifts is unethical because it implies
or seals a quid pro quo. Any personal gift that makes you feel obligated to buy
is clearly unethical. Further, acceptance of it may run counter to your company
policies, and may even be against the law.
Which raises the question of what
is “high value”? Many companies have set a policy on a dollar figure, and it is
not my place to question those figures. Where no such policy exists, you need
to make a decision that reflects your values and the law.
Some people see no problem with
accepting a gift from a vendor that will be bought anyway, but in my view this
is AT LEAST as unethical. You are paid to make business decisions based upon
the best interests of your client. We don’t live in, nor should we encourage a “soft
economy.” And the cost of that gift is ultimately “baked in” to the buy, so
your acceptance of it is ultimately theft from your client.
Further, acceptance of such gifts
sullies your reputation – something that no amount of good manners can resurrect.
Manners govern how you turn down
such a gift. Do so politely, but ensure you make clear your reason for doing
so.
Got a question for Mr. Manners?
Post it in the comments area, and he will respond.
