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It comes down to the relationships on both sides. I have worked on some really underwhelming/challenging pieces of business and at the end of the day one of my goals is to be one of the most fun/best people to work with. As account managers, we underestimate the tone that we set for the larger, internal team.
“Pushing back” on a client is easier when they genuinely believe you have their best interest at heart. Invest in a relationship with them that is more than emails about timing etc.
At the end of the day, you can’t change your clients and you aren’t responsible for your internal teams work happiness. Do your job and focus on being the best account LEADER you can be.
Setting expectations is key. Schedule kick-off meetings to include the internal team. Have the internal team ask questions and set expectations. Communicate with the internal team to keep projects moving forward. When timelines slip, be honest with the customer, explain the issue and CALL them with updates along the way. Checking in when the project is moving forward, is just as important as checking in to report delays. Manage expectations.
I swear I could have written this. It's a tough spot to be in.
lol are we on the same team? I have to label comments back to my internal team outlining which clients provided which piece of feedback just so the creative team won’t think I’m giving them my opinions.
sounds like a horrible place to work
You burn out a become a scapegoat, mostly. 😂
But seriously, if you’re junior, ask your account lead for support in managing the team in the face of these demands. If you’re senior, make a tight alliance with your creative/strategy leads on the account and collectively determine how to best manage it.
Bring in an executive sponsor on your side and align them with an executive sponsor on the customer side.
Set up internal alignment calls and also a steering committee call. You can also try to go onsite and meet with customer in person. This can help with a customer engagement reset. I hope this helps :-)
If you’re not that high level title was blame it on your higher ups my favorite is “above my pay grade to push back on this toxic ask” it usually helps and it’s the truth
Sharing your challenge out load so it’s clear you’re aware of the struggle is the first step.
Then pushback on the client, if you don’t set clear expectations with them, you set a standard that says what they are doing is ok. Fix this, and everything else is solved.
Manage your team second, help them understand what you’re doing to try give them more time. Help them understand clients like this exist and the company needs the revenue to keep everyone paid.
If the situation doesn’t improve, talk to leadership to make a change, if that can’t happen, share you talked with leadership and you’re doing the best you can for the client and the team and unfortunately you’re stuck in misery constantly as you try to buffer for each.
You’ll hopefully get some empathy and understanding. That should at least ease some of the burden.