Anne Klein President Anne Klein Communications Group

Elaine Cummings Principal Eastwick Communications

Robert Mathias Managing Director Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide

Ford Harding President Harding & Company

For example, "We were convinced by an environmental officer to represent a privately-owned chemical plant run by a brother and sister team. They had a superfund site, several environmental violations, etc. We like the environmental officer, but the brother could not make a decision without checking with his sister, who was an attorney. We tried and tried to get approval of materials, but they never came. After a year, the brother and sister asked what we had done for them. Actually, we had accomplished a lot, but there was more wheel-spinning than anything else. The account evaporated when we had virtually no more work to do," Klein recalls.

Mistakes and/or misjudgments in bringing in new clients happen all the time. Elaine Cummings, principal of Mountain View, CA-based Eastwick Communications (www.eastwick.com), notes, "We landed a very large account and were brought in by the senior person on the client's team. Little did we know that the people who worked for the senior person were happy with their current agency and did not want to make a change. A short time later, the senior person was moved to a different group and his team was put in charge of the agency. It was an unfortunate situation all around and it drove home the need for us to really understand who the decision maker is, but just as importantly, who are the decision influencers and who will be critical to our success in a client engagement."

"There are times," explains Robert Mathias, managing director of New York City-based Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (www.ogilvypr.com), "when you hear a client describe the work they want done and it is clear and it might be evident that there is a mismatch between the client and our skills. Usually, the client wants a very straight, simple implementation and is not interested in our thinking or point of view or how we can add value. The lesson is that you have to recognize it and listen to it. Often you are excited about a brand or fee and you convince yourself it will change and oftentimes it doesn't and the team becomes demoralized and it is not a beneficial relationship. If you made a commitment to a client, you need to fulfill it and make the best of a bad situation."

Ford Harding, author of "Rain Making — 2nd Edition — Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field," and president of the Maplewood, NJ-based consulting firm of Harding & Company (www.hardingco.com), points out that in the current economy, "PR firms are likely to take on clients and assignments they shouldn't. Hunger spoils your judgment," and there are red flags of a problem client.

For example, Harding says, "If a client isn't clear about what it wants, it is a sign for caution."

Mathias adds that other red flags are where the discussions or identification of budgets are not there or are soft, or if there s a lack of alignment between your team and the client's desires.

Klein says other red flags include when the client's management team is in flux and if the client has a reputation of going through one agency after another. When these red flags occur, she says, you have to evaluate them and determine if the account is in trouble.

On its website, the Council offers "Fit to Win", an evaluation tool designed to help firms assess new business prospects. The page offers a self-test, which includes these questions:

• Is the business a good fit, strategically?
• Is the business a good fit, culturally?
• Is the business a good fit, financially?
• Is the business a good fit, operationally?
• How competitive are we?
• What are the expectations?
• Are there any hidden cards or jokers?
• What is really motivating us to pursue this account?

Mathias recommends that if red flag situations can not be resolved, "walk away from the prospect."

Cummings says to air concerns, be direct and be honest. But again, if there is no resolution to red flag situations, "part company."

Harding adds that "if you tell someone you aren't the right firm for them today, you will have extra credibility tomorrow."

He further recommends that the "break up" be handled professionally by saying: "This isn't working and that's not good for either of our firms." And, Klein adds, be prepared with an agency exit strategy.

The only situations in which an agency may want to try and work it out with a client is if the agency believes it can achieve great results and the agency team is excited to be working with the account, Cummings observes.

Harding believes it is also worth sticking with a difficult client if you can give the client a decent ROI, "even if it means reduced profit or a modest loss for the agency. This is even more important if the work is highly visible in your marketplace.

Other than clients who would ask you to do something unethical or illegal, Mathias says avoid clients who want you to "advocate anything but the truth about their product or an issue." And, Klein adds, avoid "those clients who expect immediate results and tell you they want to be on the front page of their daily newspaper. Also, avoid clients who want implementation-type programs."

By David S. Chartock