This is a timely story because it happened at Christmastime and impacted over 20 families. It’s relevant because our firm nearly went out of business. It’s fun because I believe you will like the ending, and it’s valuable because it’s the most powerful business advice I can ever give you.
Our marketing firm was sailing along at light speed. We were in our 12th year and could do no wrong. We were one of the strongest mid-size agencies in the country, boasting around 30 clients, employing 20 full-time professionals, and at the top of the agency comparison charts on profitability. Life was good.
A Great Tradition
Every year, I would close our offices and give our entire team off from December 22nd to January 5th, give or take a day depending on how they fell on the calendar. It was a benefit our team and their families really appreciated, and it did not count towards vacation time. Those two weeks were for family, friends, food, fun, and to detox from the fast paced agency world in preparation for a new year. It was truly the best investment I ever made.
Our people really enjoyed that tradition, especially when we kicked it off every year with a Christmas feast (partners included) at my home which would have made Martha Stewart jealous.We spared no expense. The sizable group would then venture out in the cold and go door to door singing Christmas carols for about an hour, always welcoming our return home to a warm fireplace and some festive eggnog…or whatever. It was a special time, and it was always fun to stop and think, “Hey, we don’t have to go back to work for two weeks!” What fond memories.
Strike One
On this particular year, I received a call from one of our top four clients on November 23rd, just before Thanksgiving. It was a large medical business that was growing like crazy. If I remember correctly, at the time they were spending the equivalent of a Million dollars a month on TV alone.
The CEO had just had IRS agents surprise visit their offices and put his practice group on notice they were being audited for tax fraud and evasion and would immediately need to cease all advertising and marketing efforts. I asked him what in the world happened and he told me it was best if I didn’t know but it would mean the immediate end of our three year relationship. He thanked me for all we had done, told me our work was amazing and there was nothing we could do to change the situation, then hung up.
Ouch! I remember sitting in stunned silence in my office for about an hour after hanging up the phone. Our net fees from that client were over $200,000 per month and that was big money then.
I gathered myself and called the entire team into a meeting that afternoon. They knew something was up.
I shared the phone call with them and reiterated that it caught the client, and me, by total surprise. I was emphatic in telling them the client still loved us and our work and said there was nothing we could have done differently, and yes, in the end, we were fired.
They looked at me like I was about to let some people go right before Thanksgiving and I assured them our business was strong enough to weather the loss of one major client and to go have a happy turkey day.
A side note. Professional service firms always face the challenge of having 80% of the business come from 20%, or even less sometimes, of their clients. There is always a risk of being top heavy with a few larger clients dominating your roster, thereby putting you in a precarious financial position because you inadvertently end up with too many eggs in one basket. Sometimes that was because the clients were big when they came in and sometimes they came in small and we grew them big. Either way, all of you professional service firm leaders are aware of that phenomenon. We all went home for Thanksgiving and came back ready to flourish through the end of the year.
Strike Two
A week later, the first week in December, our largest client, one of the biggest physician owned internal medicine clinics in the world, asked if I could come downtown to see him. I met with their Head Administrator quite frequently so it was not an irregular request. He and I had become very close friends, traveled a lot together, and worked hard to constantly improve the clinic’s business. We had their account for 11 years and improved their business in every single one of them. We had made them a household name.
When I walked into his office I saw a look on his face I had never seen before. He said, “Have a seat. This one’s not going to be easy.” Oh no! I thought. What is about to happen. We had never had any issue with that client in 11 years.
He sheepishly said, “Brandon, this is really hard for me. You and your firm have done nothing but good for us. You created our brand, put our name on the map, doubled our business revenues several times over, improved many of our processes, and been professional, and fun all along the way.
You know you and I both answer to the 8 man physician management board. “Yessir” In my mind I am thinking, “Those men and women love us. We have made them all television stars and fattened their pockets. No problem there.
“Well Brandon, you know that board rotates every two years.”
“Yessir.”
“Well Brandon, this time there are now five jewish members of the board and three Christian members.” I’m thinking what the heck did that have to do with anything. Then I learned.
“Well Brandon, they have decided even though you have done a phenomenal job for 11 years, they think it is only fair to give one of their Jewish friends who runs another successful ad agency in town, the opportunity to handle our business now.
Shocked now for the second time in a week I just sat there. Then I asked, “Bob, is there anything we can do?” And he said, “I wish there was. Why they would risk everything you have done for us just to help a friend I don’t know, but I fought them on this for the last two weeks begging them not to. I’m sorry Brandon, but it’s effective immediately.”
Wow. Ouch again. I remember walking out of their numb, as if one of their docs had hit me with some novocaine or something. I got in my car and began to drive but really couldn’t. So I went a couple of blocks and pulled over into the parking lot of Rice University and drove over to the football stadium and parked. O.K., this time I was holding back tears. This client was even larger than the big one we just lost at Thanksgiving. Not only that, because of our long term relationship and high profile advertising campaigns for them, we were well known for handling that account so it created a huge sense of pride. And, Bob, the Administrator, had become a very close friend and mentor.
I stayed in my parked car for nearly two hours, thinking, but mainly praying, for the next step I needed to take and exactly how to handle this news with my team, my family, and the client I just lost. It was almost Christmas. This client represented the largest income source our firm had for 11 straight years, and when coupled with the other one we just lost, represented roughly 55% of our revenues. Thinking about what that might mean to our firm, I had chills and was actually having trouble catching my breath. I finally left the lot and started driving back across town to our offices.
When I walked in the door my right arm and lifelong friend Debbie said, “What’s wrong?” I went in her office, shut the door and shared the news. I asked her to keep it quiet for an hour or so while I crafted my plan.
Late that afternoon, once again I called everyone together in the big conference room.They could all read my face, and I could read theirs. It wasn’t a lot of fun.
I began, “Today, we lost our largest client. Once again, it was no fault of ours and there was absolutely nothing we could have done any differently. The administrator fought for us and did all he could. You guys have done an amazing job building their business, but politics, and religion, ultimately won out.”
Then came the questions; “What’s next, layoffs?” “How are we going to replace that kind of client?” “Is there anything we should be doing?” And then came the clincher, “Right before Christmas?” It all happened on a Friday and I told them I would need the weekend to process it all and craft a plan. I promised them another meeting on Monday to discuss.
That was a fun weekend. I remember it like it was yesterday, because my stomach was in torrential knots the entire time.
It felt like three months before Monday came, but it did. I brought them together and said for now, here is my plan: Gratitude.
1. I am going to write a personal letter to all 81 physicians and hand deliver them. The letter is going to tell them what an honor it was working for them and how grateful we are for the opportunity. It is also going to say if your new firm needs anything, have them call us and we’ll take care of it immediately, no questions asked.
2. I am going to call the CEO of the agency that wrangled the business away from us and congratulate him on their win and let him know we are happy to help them with anything they need.
3. I am going to take the clinic Administrator, my friend, who had to deliver the tough news, to dinner and thank him and learn what went on behind the scenes.
4. Lastly, I need to work with accounting over the next day or so to figure out how we will pay our bills and what changes we will need to make. These are the hard realities of the situation.
Everyone came up and gave me condolences and quietly walked away. I hated that moment.
Strike Three – “You’re Out!”
But wait….it gets better. A few days later, we lost yet another good size client when he got transferred overseas. He was to be replaced with a new marketing lead who wanted to bring in their own firm. We were done, and once again, immediately.
Strike 3. And we didn’t even get up to the plate to bat. But we were most certainly out. While none of it was “our fault,” it was certainly now our problem and it felt like my firm was falling apart. In hindsight, I guess it was.
Yet another weekend of fun ahead. Once again, prayer was my activity of choice, driven primarily by desperation more so than faith. I had so many questions for God. Why us? We have been doing so well for our clients. Why me? I take good care of my team, my clients, and my family. Why now? It’s Christmas and we have lost roughly 68% of our revenues in two weeks.
Now everyone in the office knew tough times lay ahead. We met on a couple occasions to talk about potential new business, knowing that landing a new account rarely happens quickly. We called all the prospects we knew and all the companies we had presented to in the past. We tried everything, and yes, prayer was at the top of the list.
An Inspiring Phone Call
Ironically, two days later on Wednesday, December 15, I get an inspiring phone call. The gentlemen said that he was President of the new dog race track being developed outside of Houston and he heard we were a good firm. He wanted me to come talk to him and make a presentation for their $2 Million advertising account to launch the track. They needed everything from full scale branding, advertising creative, marketing, you name it.
I said, “ Yes sir, I can come see you as soon as you like.” He said, “How about Friday?” I said, “I will see you then!!” I was through the roof excited and went running down the halls to tell everyone. Joy and jubilation rang out and you could hear the excitement and feel the hope running rampant. We spent the rest of the day preparing for the meeting and planned to spend the entire next day wrapping up our initial approach.
I went home that night and shared the good news with my family, had a great meal, then sat by the fireplace with an extremely good scotch. Once I caught my breath, I put the drink down and looked up. “God, you’re amazing!! Answering our prayers on a rush basis. Your timing could not be any better and we are grateful for all of your blessings. Thank you thank you thank you.”
God’s Reality
Strangely enough, I could immediately feel His presence, but it was not positive. It was like somehow, I could feel him saying, “I did not bless you with your skills so you could help a dog racing track take monies needed to survive from little old ladies and gentlemen. At the time, the elderly and the poor were who the dog tracks attracted for gambling customers, and yes, most of those unsuspecting customers lost their much-needed cash, putting them in even further distress.
I thought, maybe I’ll just have another scotch and try praying all over again. Ha! I knew better. It then immediately dawned on me what I needed to do.
I went in the next morning and told my team we were not going to the dog track meeting on Friday, then I told them why. They looked at me as if I had abandoned them. That, “We had a chance and you blew it,” look.
Then I went into my office, shut the door, and called the President of the dog track. I respectfully declined the opportunity, shared my reasoning, and thanked him.
Now we were back to dealing with the reality we had lost 68% of our business in just two weeks and there was only one week til Christmas. Plus, even though employee morale was seriously wounded, I put the finishing touch on it by killing it dead.
One more time, I went home for a weekend of fun, filled with praying about our future, because after looking at the numbers, I had no clue what to do next. I was at a total loss.
I studied the effects it would have on the budget by letting go of various people and trimming back everything we could because we had about three months of operating capital remaining, it usually takes 90 days to land a new client, and we were out three really big ones. The more I studied the layoffs, the more it hurt, especially just a few days before our traditional Christmas dinner.
The Big Takeaway: The Difference in Faith and Proof
This is where the lesson comes in, the big takeaway I promise in every episode.
I had learned through my faith journey there was a big difference in FAITH and PROOF. Faith is believing in the unseen. Faith in God is believing in His promises, not in your feelings, or in what you can see. Anyone can believe in what they can see.
We tend to receive God’s advice for living more when we are at our weakest. It makes us more dependent on Him, and less prideful in ourselves. When we hurt the most is also when we listen the most. It is at that time we get on bended knee and trust. It is in and of itself, the ultimate show of faith.
Based on this reality, I got on my knees and asked for God’s guidance. I could sense he was grateful of us declining the dog track and had something bigger in store. I got a strong feeling He wanted me to go in the next day, call everyone together, and tell them all to focus on new business, regardless of their title. I knew he did not want me to fire a sole before Christmas, rather refocus everyone, give them the traditional two weeks off, and come back in January refreshed with the new challenges ahead.
I did exactly that. I called them all in to our conference room. The looks on their faces were a combination of terror and sadness. They each looked like they knew it was their last day on the team. I shared my plan, God’s plan. Everyone, regardless of title or talents, was now responsible for new business. Everyone had a role. I unveiled my plan and what each person would do, after our company family Christmas dinner, after they had two weeks off.
What? No one is getting let go before Christmas? We are still having the dinner? We still have two paid weeks off? We are all coming back to work in January?
Yes, that is our path forward.
That moment was one of the best, and worst, feelings I have ever experienced as an entrepreneur. On one hand I knew it was the right thing to do and I sensed their total relief and appreciation. On the other hand, I knew as the sole owner I would take this challenge and responsibility with me into the holidays ahead.
The Holidays
The legendary company family Christmas dinner went incredibly well. Everyone enjoyed the food, the music, caroling and gift exchange. You could not tell that a daunting challenge was ahead in the new year, unless you were living in my mind. Despite my total faith in my Savior, I was full of fear, but I had to lead.
In preparing for our next steps, the first thing I had to do was take any bonus or year end harvesting from my ownership of the firm off the table. In fact, I had to take my salary off the table as well. Those monies needed to be re-invested in paying my team and staying open for at least a few more months. You entrepreneurs know how that feels.
Next, I had to finalize the details of my plan. It started with a relentless outbound phone calling effort from anyone on my team that could draw a breath. We would coach them on the approach and not expect perfection, just effort. We would also create three giant postcards to mail out the first three weeks after they were printed. We would also take every single client we still had out to lunch, thank them for their business, and ask if they could think of anyone that may benefit from our services.
By February, the program started getting traction. We landed a couple of smaller clients and were getting opportunities to present to others. You could feel a sense of encouragement in our offices. By the end of April, we had replaced half of the business we had lost, then it happened.
Manna From Heaven
A few weeks later, my receptionist buzzes me and said the Clinic Administrator is on the phone for you. My heart sank, then sprang forth with a cautious spirit of hope. Ah, I thought to myself, he is just calling to say hello and see how we are doing.
“Brandon, how are you guys doing?” He asked.
Knowing it was critical to show a positive image of success while at the same time being genuine, I answered, “We’re doing really well. We miss the hell out of working with you guys though.”
“Well, that’s why I’m calling. The management committee of docs want you back. In fact, they have asked me to tell you to name your own price, write your own contract, and never leave us again. They have had enough of their friend.”
It was as if I could see Jesus standing in front of my desk with a big smile on His face, flanked by an angel hovering over each shoulder. I even thought I could hear a choir singing “Hallelujah, hallelujah, haaaa-leahhhh-lujah!” I cried.
On My Knees
I immediately went into prayer thanking Him. I felt a constant tingling throughout my body and sat silent for nearly a half hour while drying my tears. I didn’t talk to anyone. We were only a week or so away from having to layoff half our team, and now we would soon have 25% more revenues than we had before this whole client exodus had started. In less than six months, our faith proved out and made us even better. Thank you God.
How ironic that we were all experiencing a vast amount fear, pain, abandonment, loss, doubt, anger, and all of the other negative emotions during the Christmas season. And think of all the what-ifs. What if we would have taken on the dog race track account? What if I would have let half the firm go before Christmas? What if I had asked the remainder of them to work over the holidays? What if we would have cancelled the company family Christmas dinner? What if I didn’t believe?
I love Christmas, and I love Santa Claus, mainly because he represents the hope God gave the world with the birth of his son Jesus Christ. But Santa is NOT the man…..Jesus is.
If you would like to feel the emotion of this story please go to The Brand ON! Show podcast and select Episode 14, our Christmas Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brand-on-show/id1766116651?i=1000668064818
If you are ready to amp up the power of brand alignment, get more information at https://brandoncolemanjr.com
