Match CEO Long-Term with SEO Long-Term
Are you spending the time you should be spending with your account giants? Do your long-term SEO plans square with their CEO’s long-term plans? Do you even know their long term plans? Just like life, when you have your priorities in line you’ll notice the effects, get the respect and earn the payoff.
I have an acquaintance who got up for a glass of water in the middle of the night. He turned left instead of right and ran squarely into the doorway, breaking his nose. Okay, this wasn’t an acquaintance, it was Barry Manilow. (I listen to his records). Now, this wasn’t just any nose, this was Barry’s nose; the nose of 138 top 40 hits out of only 31 albums. The point is this: If you are managing Barry, you just can’t afford to have Barry’s nose broken in the dark. This guy has 47 tours lined up and it’s your responsibility to get him there.
Barry could be any one of your top ten SEO clients. Your top-ten clients quite possibly represent 30% or more of your gross income. A great SEO company needs to stay on top of future developments with these super stars. Your key SEO accounts can’t afford to be broken -from their standpoint or yours.
Super Star Clients vs SEO Client Pestilence
When you’re pulled between the day-to-day and the big top-ten, it’s usually the squeaky wheel that shoots down the other two. You know this client. They call you day and night; they send twenty red-flagged e-mail messages each morning; this is the SEO client who knows just enough to have you tweak their search engine optimization campaign daily to see how it affects this hour’s rankings. These are the acounts that end up getting your time and wasting your energy,
Let’s get our priorities in order here. You are truly putting nearly half your business at risk for a constant low-grade squeal. It’s your business. You set the agenda. Step One: Don’t pick up that phone, instead have your squeaky wheel’s appointment scheduled. Step Two: Answer those e-mails by having a date ready for a conference call to address their concerns. This method is professional and ultimately earns your client’s respect. More importantly, it saves your time from being sabotaged. Spend your time making those big boys and girls happy. When your major accounts are properly maintained, you’ll have the recipe for a successful and growing SEO business You simply can’t afford to be complacent with your key clients or have their accounts on autopilot. You need a plan to specifically address those accounts. When I said this was Barry’s nose, I meant this was Barry’s nose. Treat it with respect. As you implement your plan and have your squeaky wheels under control (forcibly but diplomatically), you can turn you and your staff’s full attention to maintaining and staying in contact with your silent giants. Your long-term planning and prioritizing will produce long-term solutions for all your clients.The CEO elite have long-range plans or they wouldn’t be in your office in the first place. Keep yourself in that loop at all cost. Your SEO should relate intimately with your CEO’s future expansion efforts, their upcoming projects, the changing or updating of their branding or logo- whatever. Darkness falls quickly. Light that path ahead and avoid injuring your super stars.
