When presenting performance reviews to clients, the order and framing of information matters as much as the content itself. Leading with problems or missed targets — what Mark calls "leading with your chin" — puts the agency on the defensive before the conversation has even started. A structured framework that opens with accomplishments, contextualizes challenges, and closes with forward-looking solutions keeps the client confident and the relationship productive.
This framework was developed during a review of a ClearMix client presentation that had originally been structured to open with underperforming OKRs.
"What they call that in boxing is leading with your chin. The first thing you said is what you're not doing well. That's a bad habit — you get knocked out when you lead with your chin."
— Mark Hope
Open every client review by cataloguing what has been accomplished — including work that fell outside the original scope of the agreement. Clients often underestimate the volume of work delivered, especially when early-stage projects involve a lot of foundational setup that isn't immediately visible in metrics.
Tactics:
- List every completed deliverable, even those not in the original contract
- Explicitly call out over-delivery: "At the level of our retainer, we've over-served you — and we're happy to have done that because we're excited about your account."
- Highlight any early wins or positive signals, even if modest (e.g., a small email campaign that produced closed sales)
When underperformance must be addressed, frame it as a natural part of the process rather than a failure. Provide structural reasons for why something didn't work, and avoid language that implies the agency didn't know what it was doing.
Tactics:
- Acknowledge the challenge directly but briefly: "The ClearMix campaign has not performed the way we hoped."
- Offer structural context: regulatory constraints, market maturity, delayed launch timelines, inherent difficulty of the channel
- Avoid phrases like "we didn't realize" — instead use "we were spread across a lot of initiatives" or "we've now got the foundation in place"
- Don't volunteer problems the client hasn't noticed; if they bring it up, address it calmly with context
Example framing for a struggling campaign:
"THC isn't legal in most of the country. We had difficulty getting Google to approve the ads. And 300 clicks in the Google universe is a small sample — we're still in early days. Having said that, we want to talk about what we should do differently."
Close the substantive portion of the review with a concrete forward-looking plan. The client should leave the meeting feeling like the agency has already been thinking about what comes next.
Tactics:
- Frame the pivot as an addition, not a replacement: "We're not switching strategies — we're adding a new channel."
- Lead with the highest-confidence recommendation first
- Where possible, offer something tangible at no cost to demonstrate commitment (e.g., a batch of ZoomInfo contacts, a free audit, a strategy session)
- Set a clear 90-day horizon: "Let's focus on the next 90 days instead of worrying about the last 90."
| Step | What to Say |
|---|---|
| Lead with Wins | "We've done 16 different things for your account — more than any other client at this retainer level. We rebuilt your website, launched landing pages, set up email segmentation in Pipedrive, and launched two ad campaigns." |
| Contextualize Challenges | "The ClearMix Google Ads haven't gained traction yet. This is partly because THC is a new concept — we're not solving an existing search problem, we're introducing an idea. That's a harder lift for paid search." |
| Propose Solutions | "We want to add email to the mix. We'll provide 1,000 contacts from our ZoomInfo subscription — 500 ClearMix, 500 StickPacks — at no cost, and we'll work with you to define the targeting criteria." |