The Vending Machine Problem

In account management, our instinct is to absorb and accommodate. Most of the time, that’s what good service looks like.

A client sends design notes during a creative review. You take them without hesitation. They ask for an out-of-scope report on a Tuesday that’s due Friday. You build it. It feels like service. It feels like you are doing your job.

But the best agency relationships become something more.

There’s a magic to being able to work with an agency and integrate a team of experts within your own organization. Agencies are always learning and growing (at least ours is), and we can deliver great results with more involvement. And because that’s hard for people to do, being accommodating and acting as an order-taker can feel like the best way to appease people.

For a long time, I thought being easy to work with was the goal. I thought saying yes was how you built trust and a relationship that led to more involvement.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve gotten interested in the research behind how businesses make decisions and the psychology behind authenticity and trust.

To my surprise, what I’ve learned has proven my upbringing wrong.

Up to the Light’s What Clients Think 2026, based on 700 client interviews, found that 64% of clients believe their agency could be more assertive or tougher with them…which is the exact opposite of what many of us have been taught. Especially as a woman, UGH! (I won’t even go there right now. Too much to write about.)

Getting rid of those old ways is a must if you’re in account management.

• The report found that clients want agencies to:
• Hold them to deadlines
• Be more direct about what they need
• Give opinions instead of sitting on the fence
• Push back when there is a better way
• Argue your case with sound business rationale

I found the report through Drew McLellan’s weekly newsletter. He runs the Agency Management Institute, where I took an account service bootcamp with Lori Highby. You should definitely check them out if you’re in account service or want to educate yourself or your team further on building and managing client relationships.

I’ve been unlearning these behaviors and putting them into practice with my clients. I do urge everyone to keep one important distinction in mind, though. Being direct is not the same as being rude. Being assertive doesn’t mean being defensive. The goal isn’t to win an argument. It’s to advocate for your client with kindness, curiosity, and confidence. I assure you that if you follow the bullets with defensiveness or ego, it will not turn out well. Please make sure you are still being kind, respectful, and deliberate with your communications.

I am still learning this. Here’s how I’ve practiced it.

Name the bottleneck before the client can.

A client once asked why a campaign was not producing qualified leads. The easy answer was to give them an optimization to pay for. Look into a creative refresh, ask for additional funds, and adjust the targeting. It would have sounded proactive and could have potentially helped. It was an easy out!

Given how we target, how well this strategy has worked before, and the fact that this product was different in some aspects, neither of our teams had considered a kickoff.

The accurate answer was that the media was working. The problem was downstream: a conversion path that wasn’t built to convert and a sales process that wasn’t ready to receive a lead.

Telling a client that you found a bottleneck on their side is potentially uncomfortable if you don’t have the skill set to communicate. I was concerned it might read as out of scope or land poorly.

One thing I have learned is that if you lead with curiosity and honesty, and mix your expertise with the data, you get an authentic concoction of marketing strategy and client advocacy. If you only tell a client what they want to hear, you are not a true partner.

Of course, know the relationship you have with your client first. That gets built over time by meeting expectations, and ideally exceeding them. Luckily, we have been able to make this mindset shift.

Where I’ve landed (for now)

I think accommodation keeps you around and is comfortable. Clarity is what makes you worth keeping and can sometimes be uncomfortable.
I’m still figuring out where the line is. But the only way to learn is through doing.
Vending machines are reliable. They are also entirely replaceable, and nobody has ever asked one what it thinks about achieving their goals.

I want to be the person who delivers the request. I also want to bring evidence, offer recommendations, and acknowledge that I’m not always right.

Because I’ve noticed the work gets better!

And so do the relationships!