Show more empathy, win more work

Introduction

Client issues are rarely caused by the quality of your work. They’re caused by conversations that miss the real problem.

In client meetings, most agency people do the same unhelpful things. You jump to solutions too quickly. You over-explain and justify your thinking. You defend your position before the client feels fully heard.

It feels efficient. But it often makes things worse.

When clients push back, ask for endless amends, or resist good ideas, it’s usually not because they disagree. It’s that they don’t feel understood.

But when they feel genuinely listened to, their brain moves out of threat mode. They become more open and receptive to influence.

Empathy isn’t about being agreeable. It’s understanding where a client is coming from, adapting how you communicate and making them feel heard before you move to solutions.

Get this right and client conversations get easier - and influencing, upselling and growing accounts all get easier too.

Watch Trenton summarise the session in under 2 minutes here

Seminar overview

This workshop is interactive from start to finish. Strictly no lectures and no slides. Learn from each other and by discussing real agency-client situations.

Learn to increase your influence with clients by:

• Recognising client communication styles and adapting how you show up
• Understanding your default style and when it helps or hinders
• Using active listening to surface what the client is really thinking and feeling
• “Draining the goldfish bowl” to uncover their real concerns before responding
• Standing up for yourself so you get win-win outcomes that clients buy into

By the end, you’ll know how to create the conditions for stronger agency-client relationships - and to more easily upsell, influence and grow your accounts.

Benefits

The main outcomes include learning how to:

• Build rapport quickly across different client styles
• Make clients feel listened to, even in difficult conversations
• Reduce tension so decisions happen faster
• Push back and say no without damaging the relationship
• Build collaborative client relationships that support long-term growth

Who should attend?

Anyone who interacts with clients.

About the presenter

Trenton Moss built one of the UK’s first UX agencies from scratch, scaled it to £3m, sold it and lived to tell the tale. Then he wrote a bestselling book and started helping agency teams be brilliant with clients.

Now at Team Sterka, he helps agency teams lead with more impact - strengthening client relationships, handling tough conversations and growing revenue by up to 35%.

In 2023, Trenton took his kids backpacking across Asia and Africa for six months. He survived hunting in Tanzania, paint fights in India and leech attacks in Borneo.

Running this session online

NB: AAR seminars are exclusive to AAR subscribing agencies only. A maximum of FIVE places per agency for our remote sessions, please.

Bookings will open Thursday 26 February 2026. We will be running one session only from 9.15am to 11.15am on Wednesday 18 March 2026 via Zoom. If you or a colleague would like to participate, please do email us with name, job title, agency and email address  on events@aargroup.co.uk and we’ll be sure to send you the Zoom conference details. We cannot process bookings without those details!