Assets, insights, trust. Those three simple words hold the key to B2B success.

It really is that basic: If you can provide your B2B agency with assets, insights and trust, you will get their best work in return and stay within budget.

Why do these essentials matter so much to the end results? And why are they so often neglected in the client-agency relationship? Let’s consider the role of each one and find out.

 What they are

Assets come in a myriad of forms, including brand guidelines, logos, image libraries, fonts, videos, websites, sales data, market research and any other elements that will help give structure to the agency’s thinking. Assets may also include programs that went wrong: strategies that were abandoned, campaigns that failed, product launches that were scrapped.

Why they’re neglected

There’s a theory that B2B agencies do their best work without any outside influences hampering them. The thinking is that sharing too much background information will restrict fresh ideas, or that the agency might unconsciously replicate the previous work. The opposite is true. Good creatives and account professionals are sponges. They want to absorb all the information you can share, including the good, the bad, and the seemingly insignificant. Once they do a deep dive into your world, they’ll have the knowledge to develop work that’s original, relevant and miles away from any pitfalls of the past.

How you can help

Assets should be turned over to your agency very early on, long before any work begins. This handoff could happen at a project download meeting, agency onboarding, or another preliminary get-together. Any additional background you can provide that gives more context to the assets will be deeply appreciated. This can include the project objectives, performance and key takeaways.

Bottom line

Without the right assets, your agency will be clueless and the work you get in return will reflect their ignorance. With the right assets, you’ll have a partner that shares your knowledge and can leverage it to create relevant, effective work.

 What they are

One of the smartest sales professionals Boomm has ever worked with is Craig Lowder. Craig calls a company’s inside information “tribal knowledge.” That intelligence includes the stories, experiences and ah-hah moments that can only come from your customer-facing team, particularly field sales. Those are the insights your B2B agency needs.

Why they’re neglected

Sales professionals are busy. Spending time educating an agency is not a priority when they have accounts to win and customers to serve. There may also be a perception that the agency is the enemy, trying to steal the salesperson’s ideas and take credit for them.

How you can help

Connect your agency with your best sales professionals. They can share what works, what doesn’t, and why customers choose you. Sales will also know the industry pain points that your agency needs to shape relevant campaigns. In turn, the agency can create work that supports the sales team because it’s grounded in their realities. That’s not the role of an enemy; it’s the best ally sales can have.

Bottom line

Sales owns the relationships. The agency needs their insights to create work that will move the needle for your business.

 What it is

Believing in your agency and supporting their ideas.

Why it’s neglected

“Don’t hire a dog and then bark yourself.” That pearl from David Ogilvy still resonates because some marketing managers still want to be top dog. Maybe they only want to see their own ideas produced, or it could be that they don’t want to share the spotlight with the agency. In any case, getting the best work from a B2B agency means trusting them to do their job. And when the agency’s work shines, the marketing manager looks brilliant.

How you can help

When you walk into a creative review, forget everything you expected to see. In fact, forget that you are the client at all. Try to imagine you are a decision maker that knows very little about the brand or its services. Then, see if the concepts change your perception. Did they engage you, inform you, entice you to learn more? Were they all about the pain points you face every day? The work may not be the way you envisioned it would turn out, but that’s not the point. If the ideas intrigued you and drew you in, then your trust was well rewarded.

Bottom line

Trust a good B2B agency to do its best work and that is precisely what you will get.