by Jared Belsky
Being a good person still matters.
Client leaders need to be a positive influence. Positivity and genuine interest can’t be sometimes things; they must be all-the-time things. If you are in a meeting, be all the way in the meeting.
At the age of twenty-seven, I was a high-flying account director at Avenue A. I was the youngest AD in the company, and in my head, I was hot stuff. I definitely allowed a bit of success to get to my head, and it affected my behaviors.
Torrence Boone, our GM, had an associate from his days at Bain Consulting come in to share a bit about a new technology related to rich media. I reluctantly joined the meeting as a favor, and from minute one, I was terrible. I was a skeptic. I ambushed the meeting with tactical, nitpicky questions about the technology and managed to find everything that could be wrong. And that was only the first half of the meeting. During the second half of the meeting, I was distracted and zoned out, and then, to make matters worse, I left early.
Somehow this got back to Torrence. He hauled me back into his office and simply told me to stop acting like a punk. He went on to remind me that my personal brand was always being evaluated and that I was an ambassador not just for the agency, but for our clients at every turn. I am so thankful he told me I was becoming a punk.
My hope is that you ask yourself these six questions so you, too, can work to ensure you’re not being a punk. It’s like my Grandpa Burt told me, “Always show respect to the cashiers of the world and be a man of character.” Put forth your best self.
Three Habit Changes
Treat vendors like you wish to be treated. If Facebook or Google is in your office, you show up on time, turn off your iPhone and focus. Do this for non-behemoth businesses, too.
Find someone who will debate with you at least once a month. Literally, having a foil is so key that if you don’t have this naturally, seek it out.
When asking your teams to do something over and above, always try and explain the cause. Be clear about what is at stake and what the benefit is to the agency and team.
Your FROM → TO personal goal:
FROM being comfortable only during the good times, TO embracing chaos and making it your ladder.
Conclusion
Recently, I was having lunch with a colleague in the advertising industry who told me a story about a rock and a watermelon who get in a fight. He said that whether the watermelon hits the rock or the rock hits the watermelon, the watermelon is going to be on the losing end.
And so it goes for folks in the agency, marketing services, and consulting business, right? It’s said that the clients have all the power and the agency folks take the orders.
Clients want partners, not simply service. I believe clients don’t want to just be the rock, making all the decisions, ordering you around, pulverizing you into a smashed watermelon. I believe clients want their accounts managed, not just whims catered to. I believe that great agency folks are an extension of great client teams. I believe a Great Client Partner can revolutionize their own agency and the clients with whom they are privileged to work.
As CEO of 360i, one of the top integrated communication agencies in the US, I get to see a lot of RFPs (Requests for Proposals). When you sift out words like “the,” the most common word in these documents tends to be “partner.” Clients, as RFPs go, are looking for a partner. At least, the best of the best clients know they are more likely to win by surrounding themselves with strong, smart, opinionated partners and advocates.
These raw and essential qualities that make up great leaders are, in fact, very real, and they’re most definitely something that can be bought, taught, and learned. A great account person is truly someone who can differentiate an agency/consultancy or company in the eyes of a client. I reject the idea that anyone is born with these skills. They most assuredly are nurtured, taught, and trained. Practice, repeat, and most of all, teach some young twenty-three-year-old named Billy how to do this—and remind him it’s not simply innate, but something that can be learned and refined. Everything can be learned. Everything.
Thanks
Jeanine is by far the best thing I have gotten out of working in the marketing world. I met her at Avenue A, married her shortly thereafter, and have never looked back. I love the life we have built together after more than a decade of being married, and I love her more now than when she first sat down in the row of seats right behind me in the summer of 2001. Without her I would not have this job, not only because she was my initial connection to the job itself, but because she has helped me realize at every turn that I could accomplish anything I set out to. She has a way of believing I can do things that even I am unsure of. She has been my biggest supporter and has pushed me at every turn too. A great partner does both. I certainly have missed my share of moments at home due to big pitches and client visits, and so very often she does the hard work in our house when those moments arise. I am thankful for it all. My life is never dull at work, and Jeanine has a certain spark that ensures it’s never dull at home.
My son, Avner, and my daughter, Alex, are always an inspiration to me. I marvel at the obstacles they overcome. I watch how they are so curious, so creative, and so kind, and I smile and remember how lucky I am. I am very proud of them, and I know they will achieve incredible things as they continue to grow up. My son, Avner, has unrelenting curiosity, energy, a big heart, and a ton of perseverance. My daughter, Alex, has a smile that lights up any room, creativity that is off the charts (she is also an author), a love of learning, and she can see the good in anybody and any situation.
To my mom, dad, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, you have all taught me for years the value of trust and how long-lasting and loving relationships take work and compromise but are all that matter. I love you all very much and am lucky to have such an amazing family.
I want to thank some of my most important mentors over the years, many of whom are mentioned in this book: Jim Warner, Jason Trevisan, Torrence Boone, Diahann Young, Stuart Kronauge, and Bryan Wiener. I have also been pushed by my closest friends and peers both in the industry and outside of it: Jon Weinbach, Jeff Helman, Jordan Schecter, Ben Wolf, Eric Edell, Justin Goldman, Rich Hollman, Brian Fox, Dave Kashen, Michael Cohn, Jon Rosenthal, Barry Medintz, Michael Morrissey, Vipul Kapadia, Anthony Martinelli, Will Margiloff, Roger Barnette, Sarah Hofstetter, and my buddies in the Benjamins.
I want to thank Laura Hoistad who helped to make this book a reality. Finally, thank you to everyone at 360i (past and present) who help make this place magical.
About the Author
Jared Belsky is CEO of 360i, a top advertising agency in the US that has helped its clients capitalize on industry changes. During his ten-year tenure, Jared has led the agency’s growth, guiding product development and overall strategic direction, in addition to overseeing 360i’s Media practice. Under Jared’s leadership, 360i has been named Adweek’s Breakthrough Media Agency of the year, repeatedly ranked among the best Lead Agencies and Search Agencies by Forrester Research, and featured in Ad Age’s coveted A-List issue for eight consecutive years.
As CEO, Jared leverages his integrated vision to define what the modern agency model looks like and to drive innovation at scale on behalf of 360i’s client partners. Jared has spearheaded 360i’s industry-leading expertise in Voice, including the development of Voice Search Monitor (VSM) software that reverse-engineers algorithms used by the most prevalent Voice platforms to help brands stay top-of-mind in all forms of discovery. Before he was CEO, Jared served as the agency’s president for five years and cultivated a client-first organization, overseeing 360i’s global Search, Analytics, and Media (Display, Programmatic and Paid Social) practice.
Jared was named to Advertising Age’s “40 Under 40” in 2017, honored as “Executive of the Year” at the 2016 Bing Awards, on Adweek’s Media All-Star list in 2014, and has served as a trusted advisor to world-class brands like Ca
pital One, H&R Block, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and others.
Prior to joining 360i, Jared had over a decade of marketing experience, which includes the launch of a new CPG brand, managing marketing for Coca-Cola’s Fanta brand, and working in media buying and account roles as one of the first employees at Avenue A (now SapientRazorfish).
Jared received an MBA from Emory University in Marketing and Management and a BA with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania.
