Robert Solomon (businessman)

Robert Solomon
Nationality	American
Education	BA and MA
Alma mater	George Washington University University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill New York University
Occupation	Marketing executive and author
Notable work	The Art of Client Service
Website	Solomon Strategic

Robert Solomon is an American marketing executive and author.

Education

Solomon earned an undergraduate degree from George Washington University, after which he completed a master's degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also has a certificate in organizational and executive coaching from New York University.^[1]

Career

Solomon has served as a senior vice president at Bronner Slosberg Associates (now Digitas).^[2] After Digitas he then worked as the head of direct marketing operations for Foote, Cone & Belding.^[3] He also served as president of direct and digital marketing at Ammirati Puris Lintas.^[4] In 1999 Solomon formed the marketing consultancy Solomon Strategic, with early clients including APL, DraftWorldwide and Initiative Media. In 2002 Solomon was named the new CEO and president of Rapp Collins New York.^[3][5] In 2004 he then opened the direct response division for Gardner Nelson & Partners, where Adweek wrote, "Solomon oversees a network of freelance art directors and copywriters that will handle direct work for the New York independent's clients; the unit also will pitch in on new business and chase accounts on its own." Founding partner Steve Gardner described Solomon as "bilingual—able to converse and engage on brand-building initiatives and direct marketing".^[4][6][7]

Writing

In 2000 he released the book on account management Brain Surgery for Suits.^[4]

In 2003 Solomon released the book The Art of Client Service. Ken Inlow of Tools for Success wrote in the introduction to his interview with Solomon about the book that, "Distilling decades of experience, advertising executive Robert Solomon has compiled the definitive resource for advertising and marketing account executives: a fast-reading, pocket-size, actionable checklist of 58 essential ideas to help client service professionals improve their account management strategy and skills."^[8] Tom Messner of Adweek magazine recommended the book to all advertising executives as reading at the beginning of their careers.^[9] In a 2013 interview Solomon stated that the four points from his book that stood out the most were, "Know how to ask the right question", "Be voracious consumers of everything", "Be persistent, be persuasive, and above all, be prepared to meet the demands of a less-than-forgiving world", and "Pay attention to relationships".^[10]

Kimberley Mosher wrote of the book that "This book won’t teach you how to manage clients from start to finish, but for a young Millennial, eager to make a successful start in any line of work that involves client and/or relationship management, you can easily get a leg up on the other eager beavers competing with you with this book. Some of the content will seem to be very straightforward, but that just proves how simple things can go a long way in the professional world. And, let’s be honest, Millennials need to learn the ropes, and we need to learn them fast. This book will give you humble insight into the author’s own personal history in the advertising world. It’s organized in sections with short chapters that focus on specific issues, such as knowing the value of face-time with the client, the value of over-preparing and how to fight about the work with your co-workers, but fight for the work with your clients."^[11] The book's third edition was released by John Wiley in March 2016.^[12]

References

External links

• Solomon Strategic
• Art of Client Service website