So, you’re starting a new project, possibly even with a new client, and an email lands in your inbox marked ‘Kick Off meeting agenda’. Which is a bit of a surprise, seeing as half that meeting is supposed to be strategy-focused and led by you.
Find out who booked the kick off meeting and extract from them, with bribes if necessary:
- Why we’re having a kick off meeting
- What the agency and client each hope to achieve or expect from it
- Who will be attending, from both sides
- How long the meeting is scheduled for and where it will take place
- And (hoping they say no) if the agenda has already been shared with the client
At least then you’ll know what you’re working with. If you do strike unlucky, and the agenda suggests you’ll be discussing the channel plan before you’ve even started the strategy, in a windowless room in Milton Keynes with only an hour in the diary, get ready to do the kind of reimagining of the meeting that would make a politician jealous.
Firstly, get whoever arranged this shambles on side and explain kindly why it won’t do the job. Then arm them with every excuse you can think of that will allow for things to be changed without the client wondering if they really did pick the right agency for the job. For example:
Flatter them – “I’ve been talking to our Strategist, and she fears that an hour won’t be long enough to really benefit from your brand knowledge and target audience understanding”
Make them think they’re getting something for free – “We’d like to share the next stage of our research into the path to purchase in health and beauty if you were able to extend the meeting? If meeting room availability is an issue we’d be happy to hire somewhere nearby”
Repurpose the agenda – How can you cover what you need to without obviously straying outside the agenda? Reframe what’s already on there. ‘Discussion of Channel Plan’ = review of competitor activity and the effectiveness of historical channel spend by the brand.
Define the outputs – If the agenda and/or pitch didn’t specify what the outputs or deliverables of the session would be, now’s your chance. Get in there with an amended agenda that includes some realistic outputs and next steps – and gives you an opportunity at the same time to tweak the worst thing on the agenda “on reflection” before sending the client the ‘full’ agenda.
And finally, start making whoever wrote that duff agenda your best friend. If you don’t start working in partnership, efficient account handling is going to get in the way of decent strategy work. But if you think they’re simply trying to take over the strategy, or even sabotage you, both of which have happened to me, I’m afraid you’re about to have a very long six months.
Now to the meeting itself
If you’ve got the agenda right, the meeting should go smoothly too. I always reckon you should spend at least as long planning any workshop-style meeting as you do holding it. Treat it almost like a mini pitch, putting your best foot forward here and coming across as a committed team will give the clients confidence in you and, hopefully, make them less likely to be tricky to work with. And anything you learn about individual clients and their preferred style of communication will be incredibly useful.
Most of what I’d recommend about workshops applies here. Get energy levels up, make everyone feel like they’re contributing, take breaks at the right time, switch between low and high energy sections and, crucially, make sure that every client who attends leaves feeling that it was a good use of their time and is excited to work with you all.
Good luck!