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For agencies
Hear from every retainer client this week. Without booking a single account-management call.
Totem checks in with every account on your book. The drift you'd find in month three of the renewal cycle, surfaced now, with the AM and the moment that flipped it.
Silent betaFully free in beta
Q2 Retainer Check-ins, Brand & Digital
Agency client check-ins. Totem ran this conversation across 9 retainer clients and synthesized what came back into the takeaway below.
Key findingsAI-synthesized from 9 retainer clients
Of 9 retainers, 5 are healthy and would refer us tomorrow. Two are drifting on responsiveness, the same junior account is on both. One is actively comparing alternatives, though the work is fine. One wants more strategic involvement, less production, a scope conversation, not a complaint.
- Refer-tomorrow healthy
- Drifting on responsiveness
- Comparing alternatives
- Wants scope shift
- Same AM on both drifts
- 20%Positive
- 60%Friction
- 20%Focus
- Responses
- 0
- Fully completed
- 0/0
- Avg. completion
- 0%
- Avg. length
- 0m
From silent-beta calls
“Two clients flagged the same junior AM, in the same week, in the same way. I would have heard about both of them in three months when one of them was already gone.”
— a creative director, MD-level
What agency leaders ask first
“But my clients want me on the call.”
For the strategic conversations, yes. For the recurring "how's it going" check-ins that never happen because nobody books them, Totem fills that gap, and the synthesis surfaces what the AM team would have heard if they'd had the hour. You walk into the strategic call already knowing what's working, what isn't, and the line that flipped it.
What agency leaders start with
The conversations agencies never have time for.
Agency pitch research
Pitch research
Walk into the pitch already knowing what they'd love to hear.
Post-project debrief
Post-project debrief
Repeat the wins; don't repeat the friction.
Marketing campaign retro
Marketing campaign retro
Did it move metrics or just feel good?
Why agencies pick Totem
- 01
Catch the drift before the renewal call. Clients don't churn because the work is bad. They churn because the responsiveness drifted in month two and you found out in month eleven. Hear it in week one.
- 02
Pattern across the AM team. When two clients name the same person, that's a signal, not a coincidence. Totem surfaces it as a signal, before it becomes a conversation.
- 03
Pitch research without the pitch. Walk into the pitch already knowing what's broken with their current agency, what they wish someone said, and the angle that wins.
What changes
What changes for agency leaders.
- 01
Renewal as a healthy conversation, not a hostage moment
Clients arrive at renewal having already told you what's working, what isn't, and what they want next. The renewal call confirms; it doesn't surprise.
- 02
AM-level signal across the book
Patterns that span clients, repeat-name AM friction, repeat-time-zone responsiveness gaps, surface in the synthesis. The fix is operational, not strategic.
- 03
Pitch research as a regular practice
Before the pitch deck, before the brief, you've already heard from ten people inside the prospect's category about what's broken with their current agency.
Common questions
What agency leaders ask before they try Totem.
- How can agencies hear from every retainer client at scale?
- By replacing the account-management call with an async AI-moderated check-in. Totem reaches every client on the book, runs a 10-minute structured conversation on the client's schedule, and surfaces the cohort-wide patterns — including the drift the AM hasn't noticed yet.
- What's the best tool for agency client retention?
- Most retention tools are CRM-coded — health scores, automation, dashboards. Totem runs the conversation behind the score: same questions across the book, real follow-ups, verbatims preserved. Agencies use it for monthly client check-ins, mid-project temperature, pre-renewal intake, and post-project debrief.
- How can agencies catch renewal risk earlier?
- By running the same structured check-in monthly with every client, not quarterly with the loud ones. Totem's synthesis ranks accounts by drift-language patterns ("slower turnaround", "junior contact", "missed brief") and grounds each in the client's exact words. The renewal call confirms; it doesn't surprise.
- How is Totem different from a project management tool?
- PM tools track tasks, time, and deliverables. Totem captures the conversation behind the work — what the client thinks of the relationship, the pace, the quality, the moment things flipped. Different output: relational signal, not project signal. They're complementary.
- Can agencies use Totem for new business pitches?
- Yes. Walk into the pitch already knowing what's broken with their current agency, what they wish someone said, and the angle that wins. Totem can run a 15-minute pre-pitch interview with people inside the prospect's category — competitors' clients, ex-employees, peers. The pattern is the pitch.
- How does Totem help with account management consistency?
- Same questions, same probes, every client. Drift between AMs — different team members, different weeks, different conversation depth — gets eliminated when one structured intake runs the check-in. The signal that flagged a junior AM in week three of one client surfaces the same signal across the book.
Your turn
Describe the check-in. Hear back from every client.
One prompt covers the whole book. Totem runs the check-in async with each client; you wake to the renewal forecast that survived contact with reality.
Drop your promptFree during the betaNo cardYour prompt, your data