But one thing is clear: When the client doesn't understand how its PR firm produces its best work, the relationship can founder. When agency staff feel abused, they can become frustrated and cynical, setting up an "us-them" relationship, which leads to a cascade of tension on both sides, and even the loss of the account.

So what's the secret of managing clients so everybody's happy, and you and your team do your best work? First you need to understand what qualities make a great client and a great relationship. Then you've got to gently — but firmly, tactfully and diplomatically — guide clients to constructive, collaborative behavior.

We asked executives at leading PR firms for tips on what makes an ideal client-agency relationship and how you can achieve it.

Qualities of great clients

What should you be looking for in an ideal client?

Thomas Amberg President Cushman/Amberg Communications

Abby Carr Principal Bliss PR

Gary Stockman CEO Porter Novelli

Hillary JM Topper President & CEO HJMT Communications

Rick French President & CEO French/West/Vaughn

Tom Coyne President & CEO Coyne PR

Abby Carr, a principal of New York City-based Bliss PR (www.blisspr.com), agrees that a firm produces its best work when the agency and client form a collaborative team, allowing both agency and client staff to work as equals. This can yield great ideas from either side. But she also notes that great clients also provide firms with solid direction and clear priorities, constructive feedback, and success metrics. Most importantly, they understand how PR works and what it can do, she says.

Gary Stockman, CEO of News York City-based Porter Novelli (www.porternovelli.com) adds to this list "openness" — the quality of confiding in the PR firm and providing candid, in-depth information. "The best clients," he says, "encourage the agency to challenge them, pushing both strategically and creatively. This requires a client who is confident and committed to an open collaboration."

Expanding on the openness theme, Hillary JM Topper, president and CEO of Westbury, N.Y.-based HJMT Communications (www.hjmt.com) praises clients who are accessible. Accessible clients are those who make time for sharing their vision, helping to plan campaign strategy and who provide the necessary product and company background.

Financial considerations are just as important as the other characteristics. Paying without disputing and paying on time demonstrates a respect between the client and the firm, she adds.

Managing the client relationship for success

Most agency executives agree that it's the PR firm's responsibility to take the lead in managing the client relationship. So how do you show your client how to respect the values and exhibit the behavior that lead to fun work and outstanding results?

"There's no one right way. I guess it begins with finding the right client in the first place — one that respects what we do, understands the value and limitations of what can be done, and considers us a partner rather than a vendor," Amberg says.

Topper notes that her firm has a set of questions they ask ourselves when it first meets with a client to help qualify the lead and make sure they are a match for her agency's values. "If at anytime we realize they aren't the right fit, we will talk with the client and if it doesn't improve, we will end the relationship. We have a clause in all of our agreements that either party can cancel the agreement with 30 days written notice," she explains.

However, Carr points out that "some clients are not trainable, and the agency puts up with bad behavior because the client is so important. In other cases, we find that it's not too dissimilar to parenting — lots of strong positive feedback for good behavior, and when they do something that you really don't like, someone senior in the agency says, ‘Next time, can we do things a little differently?' We do not have formal training for this — it is conducted more as a modeling by our senior staff."

When is comes to values and behavior, Carr says it basically boils down to the Golden Rule — do unto others as you would have them do unto you. "That means respect for the individual and the team — professional conduct, always, and no shouting matches, blaming fests or drop-dead deadlines that don't really exist. We also do not let a client dictate who in the agency does a particular task," she explains.

Establish your goals early in the relationship

"One of our key goals is to help the client get the best out of the agency. There is an old expression, ‘the best client gets the best from the agency.' We view it as part of our responsibility. We view it as making all clients a best client," Stockman emphasizes.

"Clients have less and less time to participate in non-work related activities. However, we have a monthly wine tasting at the firm to which clients are often invited, and we get to know them that way," says Carr. "We also try to take our out-of-town clients out to dinner when they are in New York. "

When clients decline to play by the "rules"

"Regardless of how much we stress the importance of collaborative relationships, there are some clients that will always view us as vendors, not partners," Amberg points out, noting that his firm has had a few cases in past years in which it has had to fire clients, but they are clearly the exception. And, if a client insists on doing something a certain way, he says there are no problems as long as it is both ethical and proper. "They may well have a better idea. What we want is a partnership, and not everything in a partnership is always agreeable to both parties," he says.

According to Carr, at any given time, there are always a half dozen people and/or firms that her agency would do anything for because "they are good people who treat us well and know how to say thank you," she says. Similarly, at any given time, there are "two or three people who can be counted on to make our staff jump through hoops for no reason, and/or to be first to take the credit and last to say thank you."

"If it's an important client (in terms of revenues) or a very good strategic fit, we try to work with them to make things better. If not, we give it little time to see if they self-correct and, if not, we resign the business," Carr adds, noting that "it actually feels good, when you resign a client because it's not a good fit or the client is exhibiting consistently bad behavior. Any if our clients are at all overbearing or abusive with our staff, there is nothing that will create more employee loyalty than resigning an abusive client."

Both Stockman's and Topper's firms believe in the benefits of periodically conducting a review of the agency-client relationship. In fact, they say this fosters a dialogue about what the client and the agency can each do better.

Great clients pay on time but may question fees

Agency principals agree that a great client respects the PR firm as a business, especially its need to make a fair profit. Yet some clients will always pressure an agency on price. "It goes back to whether the client views you as a vendor or a partner," Amberg says, even though fixed fees and payment terms are spelled out in contracts.

Stockman adds: "When a client perceives they are receiving good value for their investment, there are rarely payment holdups. We help this process along by sending clients regular status reports with a clear ROI with their invoices."

"Clients will always argue down fees," Topper notes, "especially in a down economy. However, the choice PR professionals have to make is whether or not they can walk away from the job. It's almost like playing a game of Russian Roulette — who will be the one to cave in the fastest? If your agency is struggling and you really can't afford to take the loss, then you may want to cave in. If you feel your agency can take the loss, then you have more flexibility to walk away. Nine times out of ten, the client will not let you walk. If they are satisfied, they will pay the fee."

"Over time," Stockman says, "we have seen the client teams that share the greatest productivity, creativity and client satisfaction also turn out to be the ones who deliver the strongest business performance. And those relationships have incredible longevity for the business as well."

By David S. Chartock