A day in the life

The following is a guest blog by Sophie Hanson, AE, Peppercom London

Hanging out in the poolside sauna yesterday I thought I definitely had the best deal from my job swap with the CEO of Peppercom, Steve Cody.

Last time I saw him he was holed up at my desk knee deep in news searches and press releases in his role as "Sophie, Account Executive for the day."

After some laps of the pool, sitting in the steam room I got to thinking about where you could go with the whole job swap premise. Imagine swapping with your client for the day and having them come into your office. As much as we try to make every client feel most important, the reality there's a responsibility juggling act going on behind the scenes.

If you flip over from client side to agency side as I have, it's an eye-opening switch. Working for a large media owner I had incredible expectations of what our agencies should be doing for us, whether PR, advertising or other marketing brethren. Demanding would be an understatement yet they always delivered with a smile. It could have been the steam making me light headed but I was suddenly hit by the realization that yes, I probably was the client from hell.

As a client I'm not sure one ever fully appreciates the art of account handling, but now I realize that the ability to remain positive, enthusiastic and "can-do" even when faced with the most demanding of clients is a skill that can be learned and improved on.

Making the switch to agency side is almost like learning a new language, we don't just get hits, we "secure" coverage. I'm acutely aware of the need to reinforce pro-activity and have learnt to transfer my client side outlook to the other side. That said, the insight remains unbeatable.

So here's the thing, I dare a client to spend even just a morning job swapping with an agency contact and prepare to be amazed at how much time we spend working on accounts, and the little things you don't see us do that deliver such quality work. And similarly, if PROs spent a day in their clients' office they would soon learn what makes them tick.

As for being CEO for the day, I was surprised that down time wasn't nearly as relaxing as I imagined, as I constantly wondered how things were going back at the office. Having someone else come do your job is a reality check, it's easy to get preoccupied with shuttling from one task to another and forget to take a step back to enjoy the fun and creative aspects of the job. Ultimately I learned that all you really need is a blackberry, a phone, self confidence, good team spirit and you can dive right into anything and achieve results from anywhere in the world.

Today I'm back to being Sophie, Account Executive, but as my last CEO task and in true Steve Cody style, I write this guest blog from the train en route to the office.

Comments

[Lunch Boy]

I don't think one should have a corporate PR gig without having spent time on the agency side. Those who eased their way into the client side of things...lucky dogs, but dogs who don't know (or understand) many tricks of the trade.

[WithClue]

This is easily the most cogent, lucid and well written blog entry posted to date on this site.

huzzah!

[Carl]

Totally agree, Lunch Boy. I once heard something similar about not being allowed to eat in restaurants unless you'd been a waiter in your youth (or some other similar service job).

[Lunch Boy]

BTW, today it was turkey and cheese with lettuce and tomato. Nothing fancy as I was pressed for time because I usually over service my clients due to their excessive requests.

[Steve Cody]

For once, WithClue actually has a clue. I totally agree.

[WithClue]

That one must have really stung Rep. Aren't you the clever one, the way that you've used my "name" against me. What is that now, three times?