Agencies who look needy or look like they’re begging for work are doing themselves a huge disservice says Jonathan Pease, director at ideas agency Tongue.

Interviewed in the latest edition of B&T – out this week – Pease says “needy” is a word that needs to be deleted from any agency’s vocabulary.

“Clients don’t buy needy. Begging a client to hire your agency or buy some of your work erodes their trust,” he says.

“Whenever I hear the phrases ‘we hope you like the work’ or ‘thank you so much for this opportunity’ or ‘if we’re lucky enough to move forward’ my skin crawls.”

Instead, Pease says creatives and agencies need to hold firm and “believe in your work and know that your recommendations are right”.

Not that you want to come across as arrogant either, he says. “It’s about balance… but you’ve got to trust yourself before the client will trust you.”

Neither is Pease a fan of agencies who say yes to every client’s whim. “‘Yes’ people can survive the short term but they end up losing clients and soiling the agency reputations in the long run. Clients respect and trust agency people who say no.

“This is especially true when the ‘no’ is said in the pursuit of great work and doesn’t benefit your agency’s bottom line. It always works in the long run.”