Here are four traits that make up a great account person and interviewing techniques that I recommend adding to the hiring process.

1. Ask penetrating questions – the best strategists are great listeners who know how to ask penetrating questions and mine for insights. Try role play. Have your interviewee pretend you’re a client, make up a business problem or project, and have them ask you questions. You’ll find out a lot about your interviewee’s brain power.
2. Write with clarity and precision – writing skills may be the most important, yet least measured, skill in an account person. Give the interviewee an article and have them send you an executive summary. You’ll get a good sense of how well they’ll communicate with clients.
3. Write great proposals – assuming the interviewee can’t share proposals from a past or current job, have them write one. The topic doesn’t matter. Just sell me something. I’m looking for clarity, persuasion and a little passion. If they go the extra mile and add some facts, trends or citations, you might have your next great account person.
4. Present an idea – PowerPoint is not evil. It just gets misused by practically everyone. Have your interviewee present something. Anything. If you get more than one idea per slide, or if you find yourself trying read and listen and becoming confused, it’s not a good sign.

You could also call these tests…because that’s what they are. Remember college? There is a reason teachers and professors still use tests.

Continue to talk. Ask those tough questions. Lob in a easy softball yes or not questions here and there. Put your interviewee on the spot with those wonderful situational dilemmas (“Tell me about a time when X happened. How did you handle it and why?”). But add in some tests to raise the talent level at your agency.

It’s a classic phrase that must be too good because agencies never use it.

Fast

We’ve all been given a tight “deadline” by a client. (I use quotes because deadlines are rarely based on an actual, immovable event. That’s why account people are also taught to ask “what’s driving the deadline?”) When is the last time you gave the client the option of choosing fast over good? Which did they select?

Good

Explain the process that results in good, or even reveal that the pipeline is full for two weeks. Clients know that you have other clients. They wouldn’t hire you if you didn’t because it would mean you’re not that good.

Cheap

If the deadline still can’t budge and the client still wants good, rush charges apply. I’m willing to bet your agency doesn’t have rush rates, or even a policy on rush charges. If other important projects need to be pushed, you should be able to charge an extra 10, 20 or heck, 50 percent.

One colleague told me, “in reality, pick one.”  The bottom line is, agencies too often fall victim to “keeping the client happy” and compromise on these three principles. Talk to management and make sure there is a policy in place for each scenario.

• Will clients like him?
• Is he easy to work with?
• Will he get along with the creative team?
• Does he really know digital like he says he does?
• How will he impact the culture here?
• How does he handle anger?

I believe in straight answers and plain speak. (Most marketers love to sugarcoat everything.)  And I know that answering objections up-front is a tried and true sales tactic.

Address these fears directly in your interview. If your interviewer doesn’t ask, it doesn’t mean her fears don’t exist. Chances are, she’ll appreciate your ability to “know your audience” — another concept marketers love.

Part of my job is to sell.

That’s right, I’m a salesman.

Clients have budgets, which means they’re shopping.

It’s OK to shop so it should be OK to sell.

We have no problem inquiring about the “market price” for the lobster roll, and the waiter experiences no angst when telling us.

Why should clients and agents be any different?

People are funny about money, even if it isn’t theirs. The dollar amounts are bigger than a $25 lobster roll, sure, but the context of business budgets is far different than our personal checking accounts.

In 2012, let’s put this behind us and sell some stuff.

Pine-Sol® smells like concentrated Christmas tree, so you know it’s safe to eat off the kitchen floor.

Selsun Blue® tingles, or so I hear.

None of these are a result of active ingredients — they’re additives to reassure the customer.

In the agency business, the work we do is valuable, as is the process we follow. Too often the value we deliver is invisible to our clients. It’s hidden behind “the creative process” or “the tech team”. We need something the client can smell to feel reassured that we’re making progress towards their utter domination of the market and ascent up the corporate ladder. These are our additives and they usually come from account people.

What additives do you use?

For one, open the kimono and let your client experience the inner-workings of the agency. They might learn something, which is valuable to them and you the next time they need a revision to that deliverable or a rationale behind your huge cost estimate.

Share your reading list with them. If you are what you eat, then you might be an expert on the things you read. Share it on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn or whatever you use to connect with clients. (hint: if you’re close enough with them to use Facebook, you’re doing something right)

Take time to design your reports. I’ve been using SproutSocial to manage social media for clients, and I love their brand-able, eye-candy-studded, PDF-able reports. My clients are equally impressed.

Holiday gifts.

Picking up the phone instead of email.

Always staying positive.

Providing unexpected ideas.

Showing passion for something boring of theirs.

These are all account management additives to keep clients in love with you and the service your agency provides.

I’ve had a few instances in which I’ve felt compelled to provide marketing advice to a misguided advertiser. The latest email below was sent to a small provider of house cleaning, pet and house sitting services:

To whom it may concern,

I don’t recommend leaving your business cards on peoples’ windshields. To us, it is a minor annoyance to have to remove trash from our cars. It makes us less likely to buy from you.

You might consider a referral program to incentivize happy customers to refer their friends to you. Or buy pay-per-click ads on Google that target only the local area. People are more likely to buy if they have a friend’s recommendation or if they’re actively seeking your services online than if they have to remove your ad from their windshields.

Best of luck,
Eric

Over the summer, a new spa in town left a laminated flyer on my car, which proceeded to melt in the hot sun. My email to them was not as pleasant and remnants remain on my drivers side window.

Which brings me to this: when is free advice good?

In The Simple Tricks Experts Use to Always Get Paid For Their Time, agency people and independent entrepreneurs discuss how to avoid doing work for free. (The article got about a million comments, shares and retweets.) But let’s face it; we all do it.

So what are my rules for providing free work?

1. If it only affects me and not my team. If my team is needed, it’s probably worth more than a small bit of advice.
2. If the relationship is strong and two-sided, of course I’ll provide free advice! It’s also called added-value and I’d argue it is a requirement for building loyalty.
3. If the client is new, a little show of faith can lead to a smooth project, stronger relationship and long-term opportunity. But be careful to draw a clear line in the sand if you start receiving requests that are pushing the limits.
4. If I’m pitching or introducing myself. No ideas? I lose. It’s like getting samples of Turkish Delights at the Spice Bazaar in Istanbul — there is plenty of competition, so give me a taste or I’m out.
5. If I feel personally motivated to help, such as in the example above or helping someone I like, like my father-in-law’s real estate law firm Chasen and Chasen.
6. If they don’t have budget. What?! If it’s a non-profit with a great cause or a prospect that’s too small, pay it forward. If the client or prospect has plenty of budget, they should pay for your agency’s professional advice. Don’t be cheap. We work hard, employee good people, and skate by on small margins. We’re not paying out 6-figure bonuses like some people. If you value the advice, compensate us.

There are those hard-liners who will argue against me, and I get it — time is money and my time is valuable. Being a new father makes my time even more valuable to me. But don’t overestimate the value of your advice at the expense of a great relationship and possible business opportunity. Search Google. Your advice probably isn’t that new.

I’ll take curiosity above all else.

Experience matters, sure. But it’s usually a prerequisite. Attitude and work ethic matter, but these tend to go hand-in-hand with curiosity.

Give me a team with an intense desire to learn, solve and grow, and I’ll show you a team that transforms a company from good to great in one year.

Sometimes more is less. A good question to ask your new client is “how many decision-makers will there be?” If your work will be judged by a hierarchy of people, boards and committees, add some budget and time to your schedule right now.

How about your own performance?

When are you at your best?

It’s good to understand this about yourself. Don’t go too long without putting yourself in position to be your best.

For some people, eight hours of peace and quiet — or peace, Pandora and noise-canceling head phones — let’s them crank out some amazing code.

For me, I need out. If I’m not with my clients brainstorming, sharing new ideas, building something and having fun, then my gas tank starts to run low. Other times, I need to create, build or configure. A fast computer, dual monitors, and no interruptions is all I need.

When are you at your best? Get there more often.

Combine that with tact and a little intelligence and you have a well-respected businessperson.

So why don’t more people tell it like it is? Why is the pink elephant in the conference room so rarely acknowledged?

To be an effective client partner, account people need to take this courageous leap. It won’t always work out, but you’ll find out who your best clients, coworkers and managers are.

If you have a bad meeting, acknowledge it! Make light of it and change the mood.

“Hey, I don’t think you got much out of this meeting with me. After sleeping on it, this is what we should have accomplished instead…”

If your client calls your boss to complain about you, don’t ignore it the next time you meet.

“Hey, I know you’re upset about X. I feel really bad about it and this is what we’ll do going forward to fix it…

If your client is waffling over a decision – focusing on a tree instead of the forest – give them a little kick them in the pants.  To many organizations have paralysis by analysis.

“To be honest, your customers won’t care about this detail. Let’s pick one and move on.”

Pink elephants. They don’t like to linger in the corner, invisible.

What are your best examples?