How to Run a Great Meeting in Your Agency: The Ultimate Guide for Account and Project Managers
Master the art of slick meetings with these simple, actionable tips—designed to help you impress clients, boost team collaboration, and keep projects on track!
Introduction
Have you ever left a meeting thinking, "What just happened?" You're not alone. Many people find them to be a waste of time, especially in their fast-paced agency.
If you’re new to client services or project management, you're probably realising how much time you DO spend in meetings and how they can be unproductive if left unchecked.
The good news? You can make every one of them count by using some simple techniques. This guide will show you how to make them productive, engaging, and helpful in driving your projects forward.
Let’s dive in!
Why Do Great Meetings Matter?
Let’s face it—time is money, especially in agencies. Whether you’re working with clients, brainstorming with your creative team, or catching up with your strategist, meetings help you stay on track. But if they’re not run properly, they can become a drain on time and energy.
Here’s the deal: a great meeting keeps everyone focused, solves problems, and helps you get real work done. You leave knowing what comes next, and everyone is clear on their responsibilities.
Sound good?
Preparing for your Meeting
Before it even starts, you’ve got a little work to do.
Preparation is key to making sure it isn’t just a chat-fest and, before you realise it, you’re 15 minutes down as someone’s been on a monologue about their weekend away.
Here’s how to get ready:
1. Set Clear Goals
Think about what you want by the end of the meeting. Is it a decision? A plan? An action list? Whatever it is, make sure you’re clear on the outcome you want to achieve. You should come out feeling like everyone is on the same page and knows where you’re headed next.
2. Create and Share an Agenda
Without an agenda, your meeting staring into a dark cave, looking for a light switch. Write a simple agenda and send it to everyone beforehand. This way, they’ll know what to expect and (hopefully) come prepared.
3. Invite Only the Right People
Don’t invite the whole team. Keep it lean. Only invite those who need to be there. Less is more when it comes to meetings, and your project budget will thank you.
4. Gather Your Materials
If there’s design, content, data or anything else people need to see, make sure you have it ready. It’s even better if you share it with them before the meeting so they can make their review beforehand. But don’t forward to share it with any important context.
Running the Meeting
Once everyone’s in the room or on the call, how you run the meeting will make all the difference.
5. Start and End on Time
No one likes waiting. Respect people’s time by starting and ending on schedule. Set time limits for each agenda item and stick to them. If you run out of time, you can always schedule a follow-up.
6. Assign Meeting Roles
To keep things smooth, give out roles and agree them with people beforehand.
Facilitator & Timekeeper: Keeps the meeting on track
Note-taker: Records key decisions and action items.
Presenter: Specific to the type of session, this could be the designer, copywriter or developer (for example) - presents the work.
7. Stick to the Agenda
It’s easy to go off-topic, but that’s how things get off track. Follow your agenda point by point. If something comes up that’s important but unrelated, take note and handle it later.
8. Use Visuals
When explaining ideas or showing data, visuals can work a treat. Charts, slides, the Designer’s Figma board, can make things clear and exciting for everyone.
Keeping Everyone Engaged
Meetings work best when everyone’s involved. If you’re the only one talking, it’s not a meeting—it’s another monologue.
Here’s how to get everyone to contribute:
9. Encourage Participation
Ask questions. Invite quiet team members to share their thoughts, no matter who they are. It’s important to give them a voice and an opinion - You never know where great ideas will come from.
10. Use Brainstorming Techniques
Need a lot of ideas? Use a technique like mind mapping or the “Crazy 8" method to get everyone thinking. Let each person share an idea in turn. It keeps things lively and creative.
Check out the Miroverse. It’s a gold mine of community-sourced templates that you can steal to make your meetings more engaging and make yourself look great in the process. It’s my go-to for inspiration and shortcuts for workshop planning.
11. Limit Distractions
Phones and laptops can kill the mood. If you don’t need them, have everyone put their devices away. You’ll be amazed at how much more focused everyone is.
12. Camera’s on!
Some of my client’s seem to have a culture of leaving cameras off on video calls, but personally I think this creates a bad impression.
So, as the agency, put your camera on and let everyone see how personable YOU are.
13. Take Breaks for Longer Meetings
If your meeting is longer than an hour, give everyone a five-minute break to stretch, recharge and get some caffeine.
Handling Client Meetings
When you’re meeting with clients, the stakes are higher. You need to be organised, prepared, and time with their agency needs to be the best of their day.
Here’s how to impress your clients every time:
14. Come Prepared with the numbers
Clients want to know how things are going. Bring reports that clearly show campaign performance and all the key metrics.
Use simple language and visuals to make the data easy to understand.
If you have it, bring up that awesome looking dashboard you’ve been hiding for just the right moment.
15. Showcase your creative work
On the opposite side of numbers are VISUALS. That wonderful creative and design work your agency’s been crafting for the last couple of weeks. This is exciting and will likely provide a welcome break to your client’s normal routine.
16. Tackle Problems Head-On
If something isn’t working, don’t hide it. Be upfront about any challenges and suggest solutions. Clients appreciate honesty and a plan to fix things.
17. Focus on the Future
People want to know what’s next. Talk about upcoming project milestones, new opportunities, or campaign optimisations. Keep the conversation positive and forward-looking.
Using the Right Tools
Technology can make your meetings run more smoothly, especially if your team is spread out or, you’re working remotely. Here are some tools to consider:
18. Project Management Tools
Use tools like Trello, Asana, or Monday.com to track tasks and updates. They can help you assign and follow up on action items. Some clients have their own systems, so use those if it’s most efficient to do so.
19. Presentation Software
When you need to keep a structure to things or have lots of information to share, use PowerPoint or Google Slides.
Optimise images to keep the file size low and loading quickly.
20. For Hybrid and Design Presentations
You may have worked out by now that I love Miro. Use it for a bit of extra flare in a simple meeting, or if you want to run a full online (or hybrid) workshop.
Use Figma for presenting designs. Assuming your organisation uses Figma and your Digital Designer is a fan (and they should be) then Figma can give you the added bonus of a slick workflow AND getting feedback at the same time.
Following Up After the Meeting
The meeting might be over, but your work isn’t done yet. Following up is crucial to making sure things get done.
Here’s what to do:
21. Send Meeting Notes
Within 24 hours, send a summary of the meeting. Include key decisions, action items, and who is responsible for what.
In an agency, this is called a ‘Contact Report’.
22. Track Action Items
Make sure everyone knows their next steps. Use your project management tool to track tasks and deadlines. Or at the very least a status report.
23. Ask for Feedback
Once in a while, ask your team how meetings are going. Are they too long? Too short? What is working and isn’t working for everyone? Ask your client too.
Wrapping It All Up
Great meetings don’t just happen—they’re planned, structured, and run with a purpose.
When you prepare, keep people engaged, and follow up on action items, they can become one of the most powerful tools in your agency piggy bank.
By running better meetings, you’ll be more organised, impress clients, and help your team hit their deadlines faster.
So, next time you’re planning a meeting, try out these tips—you’ll see the difference.
Do you have any tips for running great meetings? Let me know If this guide helped you, and feel free to pass it along to a colleague. And don’t forget to subscribe more tips on working smarter in your agency.