Proactive Client Development
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Move from taking briefs to creating opportunities.
This intensive half-day workshop helps account teams become more proactive, strategic partners to their clients — looking beyond the next brief to identify where they can add value, strengthen relationships and create opportunities for growth.
This is a working session, not a morning of theory. Participants work on a live client throughout the workshop, using practical tools to examine the account, challenge their current approach and build a strategic plan for developing it.
By the end of the session, everyone leaves with clear actions they can put to work immediately.
Why this workshop is different
The content is deliberately light on theory and heavy on application.
Rather than working through hypothetical case studies, participants use their own live accounts throughout the session. That means the strategic thinking happens in the room — not on a to-do list after the training.
Peer review is built into the workshop too. Working with people from different accounts helps participants challenge assumptions, see familiar client relationships from a fresh perspective and spot opportunities they may be too close to see themselves.
The session closes by turning the thinking into action, with participants encouraged to bring their plans into their next team meeting and start putting them to work.
What you’ll learn:
- Get clear on where you and your team really add value — and identify the gap between that and what your client currently sees.
- Recognise the impact you can have on your clients, your team and the wider agency business.
- Map the stakeholder structure within a client organisation, identify the relationships you’re missing and create reasons to connect that aren’t dependent on a brief.
- Move from responding to client requests to having more valuable, strategic conversations.
- Build a Goal–Objectives–Strategies–Tactics (GOST) plan for a live account — and use it to challenge and interrogate incoming work.
What you’ll take away:
Not just ideas to think about afterwards, but work you can use straight away:
- A completed GOST plan for one of your live clients.
- A stakeholder map identifying the relationships you need to build.
- A clearer team view of where you currently add value — and where there is potential to add more.
- A practical set of actions for developing the account.
Who should attend:
- Account Managers
- Senior Account Managers
- Account Directors
- Client Services teams who want to become more proactive and commercially valuable to their clients and agency
Next open workshop/s run online:
Date: 20th October 2026
Length: Half Day 9.30 - 1pm
Price: £395 pp
In-house workshop, run for your team and aligned to your challenges and objectives:
Date: By arrangement
Price: £2,600 for up to 14 people
Trainer:
Polly Lygoe, Agency Director & Client Services Trainer
NEXT SCHEDULED DATES
Open Workshop
20 October 2026
In-house Workshop
By Request
If you would like to discuss booking this course for your team, or if you have any questions about our wider range of training courses, give Jo a call on
+44 207 323 1966
or complete the form below and we’ll get straight back to you.
The Industry School Contact Form
Open versus In-house Workshops
Open:
Our Open Workshop format is one of the most powerful aspects of our training offer. With a maximum of 12 participants, these live online sessions create a focused, friendly environment where you can connect with peers from a mix of agencies and brands. It’s a rare and valuable chance to step outside your own team and talk to people in similar roles—whether that’s strategy, client services, creative, or digital—and realise you're not alone in the challenges you face.
The beauty of the format lies in the shared experience. You’ll hear how others tackle the same dilemmas you're up against, from tricky client relationships to evolving briefs or team dynamics. Ideas are sparked, confidence grows, and by the end, you’ll leave not just with expert knowledge from our trainers, but with a sense of connection to a wider creative community facing the same pressures and opportunities as you.
In-house:
Our In-house Workshops format is ideal for brands and agencies looking to upskill larger teams with training that's completely aligned to their world. Delivered either in person or online, these sessions are tailored to your business—your goals, your challenges, your clients. It means the content lands deeper, feels more relevant, and drives immediate impact.
Running a workshop in-house also creates a unique space for your team to learn together, tackle shared issues, and build confidence as a group. Whether you're looking to sharpen creative thinking, improve briefing, or strengthen client relationships, the sessions become a springboard for bigger conversations and lasting change. Plus, with the flexibility to choose the date, format and location, this is training designed entirely around you.
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THE INDUSTRY SCHOOL
The Industry School is a member of CPD and our core workshops are CPD certified (Continuing Professional Development) and all attendees will receive a certificate that is widely recognised and valued in the UK and Europe. It demonstrates a professional's commitment to ongoing learning and growth.
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