Brain Surgery for Suits: 56 Things Every Account Person Should Know [Hardcover]

Robert Solomon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 134 pages
• Publisher: Strategy Press (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0967623499
• ISBN-13: 978-0967623498
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Solomon is one of America's most knowledgeable and respected client service executives, and is a frequent speaker and executive coach on account management.

Robert runs Solomon Strategic, a firm he founded in 1999 to provide marketing counsel to advertising agencies, client companies, and individual marketing professionals.

Robert has handled a wide range of consulting assignments, in both offline and online media, for dozens of clients, including Ammirati Puris Lintas, Cognitive Arts, Conde Nast, Draft Worldwide, Falconhead Capital, Gilbert and Partners, Initiative Media North America, Jordan Industries, R/GA Interactive, and Sotheby's.

Robert previously was President and CEO of Rapp Collins New York, President of Direct and Interactive Marketing at Ammirati Puris Lintas, General Manager of FCB Direct West, and Senior Vice President of Bronner Slosberg Humphrey (now Digitas).

In his 25+ years in the advertising business, Robert worked with a wide range of industry leading clients, among them American Express, Ameritech, AT&T, Cablevision, Citibank, Columbia Business School, Compaq Computer, DHL, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Levi-Strauss, MasterCard, Mercedes-Benz, Pacific Bell, Polaroid, Seagram, Standard Oil of Ohio, TSYS, UPS, VantageScore, and VISA. For many clients he pioneered brand-enhancing relationship marketing programs.

In addition to writing the current and previous editions of The Art of Client Service for Kaplan Publishing, he also wrote Brain Surgery for Suits, which was published in 2000 by Strategy Press. Many agencies and marketing firms use the books as account management training tools.

Robert also writes a blog under the name "Adventures in Client Service," designed to help people get smarter on how to serve clients well, which in turn should lead to better advertising.

Robert does book signings, has conducted workshops, and given talks on client service, direct marketing, discipline integration, agency search, and related topics for a wide range of organizations, including the Association of National Advertisers, Columbia University, the Direct Marketing Association, the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, DM Days, Kaplan Communications, Mercedes-Benz, Messner, MWW, and Omnicom.

Robert has a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His undergraduate degree is from George Washington University, in Washington, DC, where he graduated with honors, and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He has a certificate in organizational and executive coaching from New York University's school of continuing and professional studies.

Robert lives in Manhattan with his wife Roberta and their cat Sam, and the world's best dogs, Alvin and Molly.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You need this book, August 19, 2002

By 

Brian Cauley (new york, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brain Surgery for Suits: 56 Things Every Account Person Should Know (Hardcover)

I wish Robert Solomon had written this book ten years ago. We all want to get the best work for our clients. And we all need to work within the realities of an agency. If you want to make sure you're doing your part to build and nurture a successful relationship with a client, you need this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I don't get it., August 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Brain Surgery for Suits: 56 Things Every Account Person Should Know (Hardcover)

"... it is amazing how the best relationship can keep a client, even if the work is far from the best."

How good can the relationship possibly be if the client is getting work that is "far from the best"?

And why on Earth should a client stay with an agency that is delivering work that is "far from the best"???

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Just for Account People!, May 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Brain Surgery for Suits: 56 Things Every Account Person Should Know (Hardcover)

This book is a wonderful resource that gets right to the point and provides important information. I wish that every business coaching book was this enjoyable to read -- I read it in one sitting!  Although this book is written for the "Account Person," I think that it applies to anyone who has client contact, runs a meeting, or makes presentations.  I am a "Media Person," and I picked up some great pointers on relationship-building.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who works at an agency.