I would like to summarize my three learnings as below:

 No two customers are alike, and one needs to prepare accordingly. There may be some who
would agree to your view – The GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) case where the clients listened to the
agency and did not positioned the Cobadex CZS as an OTC drug (Chapter: Flying Without a
Net). There may be some who would not agree with you – the S C Johnson (SCJ) case where
the clients did not agree to agency advice (Chapter: Missing the Big Blue Ocean) but later
after 7 years did the same thing which the agency had told. This leads to an interesting
retrospection - why the agency could not convince the clients. In B2B, there are times when
the meetings do not go as planned. So instead of hurrying up or do something stupid, one
should ask for a second or a third round of meeting. Prepare well, put the numbers and
arguments on the table, and maybe you will get the required response this time which you
could not get earlier.
 The chapter “The Chaiwala Test” shows an interesting side of a client – agency relationship
where the client’s CEO calls and enquires about the safety of its agency employees. For B2B
nothing is more precious than a client – agency relationship. Once the initial setup is done,
how should one take this relationship to next level. Few points are highlighted in the chapter
like knowing the product as much as the client does, constant contact, keeping him
informed, etc. This will build the client’s trust in the agency, but will the relationship be at
the level we are talking about as these are the things every agency does. So, go extra mile.
Connect on a personal level rather than just professionally.

Phaneesh Murthy, though infamous for some of his actions, used to do something
interesting while at Infosys. He maintained a diary with all the important personal dates of
his clients and their family members. He wished them on anniversaries, family member’s
birthdays and all-important occasions. Such was his relationship with his clients that after
being sacked from Infosys, many clients went away with him.