Keeping the Handshakes Warm When Taking Over a Client Project
When a vendor PM takes over a client project, the job isn’t just delivery — it’s diplomacy. The client’s watching, the team’s watching, and somewhere nearby, the Account Manager is quietly watching hardest of all.
1. The Hand You’re Actually Shaking
When you inherit a client project, you’re not just picking up tasks — you’re stepping into someone else’s trust account.
And hovering nearby, there’s always an Account Manager. You know the one — the “don’t screw it up” guy.
He’s the gatekeeper. He built the relationship, knows every promise made over coffee or corridor chat, and carries the memory of every small bruise the client ever took. Ignore him, and you’ll find doors start to close — quietly, politely, and permanently.
So before you fix a single Gantt chart, go find him. Ask what’s still tender, what’s already forgiven, and what must never be mentioned again. That conversation will save you weeks of political archaeology.
2. The Three Handshakes You Need to Keep Warm
A project takeover is never just one handover. It’s three happening at once:
| Handshake | What It Needs | What to Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Client | Calm and respect — they need to feel continuity. | Overpromising or changing tone too soon. |
| Team | Direction and air cover. | Blaming the last PM; it kills morale. |
| Account Manager | Alignment, reassurance, and proof you’re not a risk. | Acting like you now own the relationship. |
Get those three right and you’ll feel the project exhale.
3. The Listening Tour
The first week isn’t about proving competence; it’s about curiosity. Do short one-on-ones with each key client contact. Ask simple questions:
“What’s working for you?”
“What’s been frustrating?”
“If we could change one thing this month, what would it be?”
Then, and this is the trick, debrief your Account Manager right after each chat. They’ll tell you what landed, what didn’t, and which phrases mean “not yet” in that client’s dialect.
Those 30-minute conversations are how you rebuild situational awareness without making noise.
4. Keep the Story Straight
To the client, the project story has two narrators: you and the Account Manager. If those stories drift out of sync, the relationship unravels.
Before sending any update:
- Check that your metrics and phrasing match how the AM reports upstairs.
- Avoid re-opening old wounds disguised as “clarifications.”
- Don’t introduce new language for old issues, it sounds like you’re rewriting history.
For the first few weeks, copy the AM on your updates. Let them see how you communicate. Once trust settles, you can both go lighter on the CC list, but the rule never changes: no surprises.
5. Reset the Relationship, Not the Contract
You’ll want to rebuild the artefacts: plans, budgets, registers. Fine. But before you rewrite anything, find a small promise you can deliver fast.
Maybe it’s clearing a long-stalled action, or producing a one-page project map that finally makes sense. Deliver it quickly, and quietly let the AM tell the client first.
That’s how you buy credibility without calling it a “reset meeting.”
6. Pet the Gatekeeper (Genuinely)
Yes, the AM’s job is to protect revenue — but remember, they’re also protecting you. They know what renewals, audits, or procurement cycles are looming. Ask them what’s keeping them up at night.
When they see you looking after both delivery and commercial health, you stop being a risk and start being an asset. That’s when future work starts finding its way back to you, usually via a quiet message that starts, “Hey, you free next quarter?”
7. Close the Loop Gracefully
If you do this right, your best compliment won’t come from the client. It’ll come from the AM, in a line like:
“They trust us again.”
That’s the real win, the handshakes stayed warm, the people take your calls. And when that happens, the next project starts before this one even ends.