The ad agency business is tough–everybody knows it, but things are getting better.
[Cue angelic music!]

A lot of marketers are hiring new ad agencies despite what you read.

Besides stand-out strategic work, one thing always separates thriving from surviving agencies: Attitude.

Not to come off as Tony Robbins, but here are 10 things I don’t hear from agencies who are winning new business:

1. Clients are wrong.
You’re not making your case–or maybe…you’re wrong.

2. Clients don’t get it.
You haven’t explained it well.

3. Clients are stupid (jerks, assholes, etc).
Leave the business now.

4. The work they have us doing is crap.
Show your brilliance. Imagine if Goodby, Silverstein & Partners thought that about milk.

5. They’d rather see us go out of business than pay us what we’re worth.
The best clients still want their agencies to succeed.

6. We should fire those bastards.
If you’re at this point, maybe that’d probably be best for everyone.

7.  They don’t respect us.
You haven’t earned it.

8.  They don’t appreciate our brilliance.
Perhaps you’re just off target. Dig in and collaborate. Or maybe you suck–they just don’t have the heart to tell you.

9. This RFP is a piece of crap.
Tighten it up. Show the client where they missed the mark. Stand out. Color outside the lines. Take a risk. Or don’t answer it.

10. This budget hardly makes it worth the work.
Fight for more money (but be able to back it up). Consider taking it at the budget offered, but if you do you don’t get to hold that against the client.

Have fun! This is still one of the best businesses in the world. Remember why you got into advertising in the first place and bring that to work every day. Your teammates will thank you and your clients will swoon.