By Seamus Parfrey
David Ogilvy was considered by many to be the "Father of Advertising".
When Fortune published an article about him and titled it "Is David Ogilvy a Genius?" he asked his lawyer to sue the editor for the question mark.
In his 1963 best seller "Confessions of an Advertising Man" Ogilvy devoted a complete chapter titled "How to Be a Good Client" in which he set down the rules which he believed would extract the best service from an advertising agency.
The following are my rules adapted from Ogilvy which I would use to get the best service from an accounting firm.
1. Select the right firm in the first place.
Find out what you can about how they operate. Are they good listeners? Will they help you grow your business? Will they return telephone calls promptly? Do they promise you results which are obviously exaggerated? Are they intellectually honest? Can you trust them? Will they meet deadlines?
Above all find out if you like them as the relationship generally is a close one so that personal chemistry should be good.
2. Emancipate them from fear.
Let them know that you are interested in building a long term relationship and that if you are dealing with the right people you will not be easily swayed by suitors.Your loyalty will be rewarded.
