Ralph Ardill spoke on the importance of relationships and gave a powerful presentation looking at many aspects of the subject including how to ask 'The Tough Relationship Questions' such as 'Is there a sense of trust and mutual respect?', 'Do we have compatible work ethics and values?' and 'Have we agreed roles, responsibilities, rewards and recognition?' Ralph pointed out that most companies lose 50% of their customers every five years so the subject of relationships is a particularly key one.

He also suggested that there are 10 ways to kill your agency
* Get too attached to your product
* Get too close to your clients
* Get too wrapped-up in yourself
* Get so busy you never get ahead
* Get on with anything to keep busy
* Get deluded by your ‘unique-ness’
* Get the ‘man-without-the-plan’ bug
* Get detached from the numbers
* Get trapped at a party you can’t leave

And went on to give his 10 designing relationships top tips on the assumption that designing great relationships is the same as designing great things – you have to ask the big questions:

* Designing relationships is your greatest creative challenge.
* Recruit clients on attitude and values not sectors and titles.
* Regard clients as customers and collaborators not commissioners.
* Be a farmer who loves to hunt, not a hunter who hates to farm.
* Treat new clients like old partners and old clients like new prospects.
* Don’t work with designers who can’t work with clients.
* Fire unprofitable, abusive, time-wasting clients as early as possible.
* Design a bespoke service relationship with each client.
* Design all professional relationships with the same rigour and respect.
* Design great relationships like great things - ask the big questions.

His conclusion? “The best compliment from a client is when they tell you that they are learning from you.”