It seems that a lot of account executives don’t get the “sell the client, tell the agency” concept. They believe that the ad agency is their friend and if they schmooze and mollycoddle, they’ll be rewarded with an ad campaign. Well, if your publication happens to be the one that the agency has selected as part of their media plan, building the agency relationship is time well spent and calling on the client would not only be unprofessional, but most likely a fatal mistake.

But what if you represent the majority, one of the many publications that the agency has rejected? What if you’ve been faithfully sending your media kit to the agency but your magazine never makes the cut?  Do you continue to beg at the agency's door, in the hope that somewhere down the road your fate may change? Or do you take control of your sales and earnings by calling on the client?

While the answer is obvious, many salespeople resist this course of action because they fear that calling on the client will piss off the agency. In some circumstances they are right. If you just had a meeting with the agency and they said "No," and you follow up by contacting the client, the agency will become irate. They don't like it when someone calls on their clients.

But you can avoid this situation by taking ownership of the client, by calling on the client before calling on the agency. Doing so gives you the right to continue to deal with the client even after you've met with the agency because it is your client. Also keep in mind that clients have a lot of influence over agency decisions. While you might find it impossible to convince the agency to embrace your book, if the client likes your magazine, the agency will quickly add it to its media plan. So always try to call on the client first.