How To Be an Effective Project Manager For Your Clients

In project management, structure and clarity are everything. The moment you allow people to pick and choose their tasks freely, you lose control. Instead of executing, they’ll start “helping” in ways that don’t drive results.

For example, if your task is to drive qualified leads through Dollar-a-Day ads, and instead, we focus on repurposing content for SEO, that’s a failure on the part of the project manager for not keeping things in-line. Even if it does contribute to our Content Factory,

Therefore, your job as a project manager isn’t to be a business partner – it’s to ensure flawless execution with existing SOPs.

Operations: Roles Over People

The foundation of a strong operations system is roles, not individuals. Every person fits into a defined role with specific responsibilities. This ensures that if someone leaves, the system continues without disruption.

The top role in project management is the Operations Leader, who oversees the client tracker—a real-time dashboard tracking every client’s status.

Client Tracker: The Stoplight System

A well-structured client tracker prevents miscommunication, overlooked tasks, and dissatisfied clients. It classifies clients into three categories:

• 🟢 Green: The client has explicitly stated they are happy in the past 7 days.
• 🟡 Yellow: The default status if there’s communication but no confirmed positive feedback.
• 🔴 Red: No communication from either side for over a week—urgent action is needed.

This simple system prevents clients from feeling neglected, which is the #1 reason they leave—not results, but a lack of perceived care.

The Role of the Operations Leader

When I was mentored by Al Casey, the former CEO of American Airlines, he gave me wonderful project management advice I still use to this day: “Never let the urgent crowd out the important.”

This principle emphasizes the need to prioritize long-term strategic goals and strategy over constantly reacting to urgent but less impactful tasks.

In project management, we can apply this by ensuring that systems and processes are built to handle recurring issues efficiently, rather than always firefighting. This approach helps maintain focus on sustainable growth and high-leverage activities.

In the RACI model (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed), there’s only one “A” per project—the Operations Leader.

They are accountable for ensuring:
✔ The client tracker is accurate.
✔ Tasks are assigned correctly.
✔ Communication is happening on time.
✔ The system can be trusted by executives.

If there are errors, outdated client statuses, or missing information, it’s their responsibility—no exceptions.

The Role of the Account Manager or Project Manager

If there are 73 clients, they should be divided among account managers (e.g., 20 per manager). Each account manager owns their assigned clients and is responsible for their satisfaction.

BUT—just because you’re doing the work (setting up campaigns, running ads, or optimizing funnels) doesn’t mean the client is happy.

A great project manager identifies why a client is unhappy. There are six possible reasons:

Three Reasons Based on Actual Performance (Tangible Problems)

1. The work wasn’t done – Deliverables weren’t completed, deadlines were missed, or key tasks were overlooked. The client is upset because they aren’t getting what they paid for.
2. The work was done incorrectly – The execution didn’t meet the expected quality or was full of errors. This could be due to miscommunication, lack of proper skills, or failure to follow the process.
3. The work didn’t drive results – Even if everything was technically completed, the campaign didn’t generate leads, sales, or other expected outcomes. This can happen due to poor strategy, ineffective targeting, or external factors.

Three Reasons Based on Perceived Performance (Psychological Issues)

4. The client doesn’t understand the progress – Work is being done, but the client isn’t aware of it because updates aren’t being shared in a way they understand. A lack of visible progress creates frustration.
5. The client doesn’t feel cared for – Even if results are great, the client might feel ignored due to poor communication. If they go days without hearing from you, they assume their project isn’t a priority.
6. The client had unrealistic expectations – They expected faster results, more services, or a different approach. If their expectations weren’t properly set in the beginning, they will always feel dissatisfied, no matter what you deliver.

The rationale behind why these 6 reasons are divided in half, is because we can’t always control client expectations, even though we try to make it clear in the beginning.

It’s a fact of life in the agency space that some work won’t ever be good enough. But the goal of a project manager is to ensure we do everything possible on our end to prevent this from happening.

💡 Key question: Is it a real issue (results are bad) or a perception issue (the client doesn’t understand the progress)?

Ensuring Proactive Communication

An account manager might say, “But I already sent three emails!”

That’s not enough. If the client hasn’t responded:

✅ Call them
✅ Facebook message them
✅ WhatsApp them
✅ Visit them if necessary

For example, we once had a client who was unhappy with our communication, despite us submitting Weekly MAA Reports and keeping them in the loop on Basecamp. But because they didn’t check Basecamp, they assumed nothing was going on for weeks at a time, despite us working on their digital marketing.

This is our fault, since if the client hasn’t responded after a week in Basecamp, we should’ve reached out to them over Facebook or phone to make sure they were kept in the loop.

This is an example of extreme ownership, since the buck stops with the project manager.

If a virtual assistant (VA) disappears, the project manager steps in. If a system fails, they revive it.

This is called “repeatable excellence.” Every process has a backup plan, just like an airline ensures a backup for every flight crew role.

Execution Through Checklists and Standardized Roles

Every task should follow a predefined checklist. People don’t own tasks—roles do.

For example:

• CEO role → Business strategy
• Operations Leader → Client tracker
• Project Manager → Client happiness
• Video VA → Editing 1-minute videos

A VA should never need to “figure things out.” Their job is to execute a checklist.

This is why we maintain an A Player Only role – since confidently executing checklists means that nothing gets dropped by accident.

Scaling Up with Systemized Training

To scale, we must train people efficiently. Instead of one-on-one coaching, create training that teaches three or more people at a time.

• 1-on-1 training wastes time and money.
• Repeatable, structured training scales.

Examples of systemized training include this blog article, along with our more comprehensive guides which serve as SOPs.

We should rarely have to train others, since the training is already well documented.

💡 Example: Instead of personally coaching a VA, record a training and assign it as part of their onboarding.

The Power of a Well-Structured Client Tracker

A strong operations system allows executives to glance at the client tracker and immediately see where attention is needed.

If a client is yellow or red, they drill down and find out why.

This prevents situations where a CEO or client suddenly asks, “What’s going on with Client X?” and the whole team scrambles for answers.

For example, if Sal Sciorta from the Plumbing Pros LLC in Easton, PA is texting us that he loves our results, we can safely put him in the green category of our client tracker.

But if another client expresses his frustration over lack of completed work, they’re placed in the red category, which is a 911 for us to get in gear and improve.

Unless the client is explicitly telling you that they’re satisfied with your work – assume they aren’t. 

Communication is Non-Negotiable

No excuses. If someone goes silent for days and later claims they were “sick” or had a “family emergency,” it’s not acceptable.

• If a VA disappears, the system reassigns the task.
• If someone doesn’t know what to do, they must ask immediately.
• No one should ever have to chase someone for updates.

For example, we once had a VA who we tasked with completing website work for a client. After a few days of no communication, we fired them and delegated the task to an existing team member.

We have a 24 hour response time rule on weekdays to ensure this doesn’t happen.

This is how we can scale to hundreds of clients—by running a tight, queue-based system with clear roles, responsibilities, and escalation processes.

If your team-member fails in their duties, how can they be trusted with more responsibility?

There’s a reason that the first part of our 9 Triangles Framework stresses the importance of communication and personal efficiency, since it holds the glue together for everything else.

Are You an Effective Project Manager?

Ask yourself:
✔ Are you tracking every client in a structured system?
✔ Are you proactively communicating with clients?
✔ Are you using roles, not people, to drive execution?
✔ Are you following checklists and templates for repeatable success?
✔ Are you eliminating inefficiencies in execution?

If you can anticipate problems before they occur, rescue failing projects, and keep clients happy, you’re on your way to being a fantastic project manager.

Project management isn’t about managing people—it’s about managing systems. Set up the right structure, and your team will succeed without chaos.A part of leveling up means understanding each of these points in detail and acting on them.

To learn more about becoming an effective project manager, you should study our Account Manager Level 4 Course.