Agency Owners (and Managers), Check This List Twice

Peleg Top of Top Design, writing in the December issue of HOW, offers creative agency owners 10 tips on what NOT to do. (Editor’s note: HOW doesn’t offer its magazine content online, or I would link to it.)
Here’s his list:

• Mistake #1: Not having a marketing plan.
• Mistake #2: Not priming the pump.
• Mistake #3: Not getting it in writing.
• Mistake #4: Not connecting with the local talent pool.
• Mistake #5: Not talking up front about money.
• Mistake #6: Not asking for references.
• Mistake #7: Not talking to clients enough.
• Mistake #8: Not defining your position.
• Mistake #9: Not delegating effectively.
• Mistake #10: Not trusting your intuition.

Regarding Mistake #7, Peleg reports that the number one complaint from clients about their agencies is lack of communication. Given their beef is with professional communicators, there’s really no excuse for this, although one certainly exists–email. Email–the staple of every office environment today–is not the kind of communications medium where client relationships grow big and strong.