Win Without Pitching - Insights

The Interesting People Will Win

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:34:46 GMT

Writing in a recent Free Press column, Tyler Cowen — who’s been prescient and largely positive on the subject of AI — eloquently put into words a point that I’ve been thinking about lately.

Who's Qualifying Whom?

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In all your client and prospective client relationships, you exist — in their mind — somewhere on a spectrum between the expert and a vendor. The expert's "expertise" is recognized and valued. They are seen as meaningfully differentiated.

Demand Is The New Supply

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 20:51:14 GMT

My inbox is full of pitches from people offering products and services I could genuinely use. I’m deleting, muting or marking them as spam. All of them.

AI has triggered a knowledge product oversupply and now we have a signal-to-noise ratio problem. How do you separate the wheat from the chaff?

How to Write a Book

Mon, 25 May 2026 19:30:27 GMT

Writing books is one of the hardest things I do. Like having children, however, it's also one of the most meaningful. I've described the process as "pain, pain, pain, pain, pain, pain... euphoria."

The Experts' AI Manifesto

Tue, 19 May 2026 22:25:49 GMT

I’ve tried to formulate in as few principles as possible how I think we “experts” — who endeavor to build reputation in the public domain as a means of proving our expertise and driving inbound leads — should think about and use AI.

Money and You

Mon, 11 May 2026 21:47:53 GMT

We are all guilty of mistaking our worldview for fact. I do this in the pricing domain all the time. Even though I know better. Maybe you do it too? Pricing is a prison in your mind, of your own making.

The New Age of Consulting

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

I may be changing my mind on productized services. Again.

I know what you’re thinking. “Ffs Enns, take a position and stick to it.”

If you’re new to Win Without Pitching, here’s the abbreviated timeline.

Embrace the Marketing Mess

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

During my 5-hour drive to the airport on Sunday I listened to an episode of Liam Curley's brilliant podcast Undisputed Authority, in which he chronicles the rise of Ogilvy UK vice-chair Rory Sutherland to his lofty place as the world's most visible and highly regarded advertising professional.

Designing Your Expert Sales Agent

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

A framework for thinking about where and how a sales agent might fit into your sales workflow.

Experts Can Use AI Sales Agents

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The tech we're all able to spin up today is pretty remarkable. We launched a new website recently that was fully vibe-coded with no external designer or developer and free of any back-end CMS like Wordpress or Webflow.

Willingness to Pay

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 21:40:04 GMT

Fellow pricing advisor Jonathan Stark posted a question on LinkedIn last week about how to value price when the value being created is not economic. He was asking on behalf of a reader of his who is a landscape designer.

Is Your Pricing Creating Resentment?

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:25:00 GMT

I’ve never been particularly price sensitive but I find myself resenting many of the prices I’m paying lately. This has got me wondering about pricing resentment in your business.

Don’t Bet On AGI

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 02:21:00 GMT

I’m going to conjecture here.

The reason AI will not lead to AGI is because it cannot conjecture.

That’s not my conjecture (that’s coming shortly), that’s fact.

Three Patterns of Lost Opportunities

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 02:13:00 GMT

There are lots of ways to lose a sale, but there are three categories of losses I would have you look for to see if a pattern emerges.

You might be one fix or even a small tweak away from a significantly better win ratio.

The Coming Collapse of “Thought Leadership”

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 01:22:00 GMT

This whole ponzi scheme is coming down. I don’t know when, but when it does there will be a lot of atrophied “expert” brains. I hope yours isn’t one of them.

We Will Build Expertise Rapidly

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 02:15:00 GMT

The seventh proclamation is really a function of the first, We Will Specialize. Those that do not specialize do not fully grasp the idea of perpetual progress. They don’t possess the drive, the healthy paranoia that fuels any specialist to speed their pace of learning lest they lose their marketplace advantage.

Do Less, Better

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 02:29:00 GMT

Do this three times a week, for the rest of your career. Not only will you not have a lead generation problem, you and the world will be better for it.

Time’s Up, Babycakes

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 02:29:00 GMT

Everyone knows that AI is destroying labor-based pricing.

But every week I encounter advisory businesses like ad agencies, consulting firms, legal and accounting practices — large and small — that are still selling time.

And I’m stunned.

What’s Your Mission?

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:04:00 GMT

Can you articulate your own mission in a way that grants you moral authority in the sale and empowers you to drop the clichéd sales tactics and behave like the expert you are?

Decoy or Anchor?

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:04:00 GMT

Decoy pricing and price anchoring are two different techniques that can increase your average proposal value in multi-option pricing.

“What’s The Status of That Opportunity?”

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:02:00 GMT

It’s my belief that the single most prevalent — and therefore most costly — mistake in all of sales is to mistake interest for intent and apply resources to trying to close an early-stage opportunity — something that’s still a long way from closing.

Getting More Out of Your CRM

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 04:00:00 GMT

All the sales data you need is there in your organization, most of it in email inboxes, calendars, proposals, contracts and recordings of conversations.

Value Mindset is Greater Than Value Pricing

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT

You are the first target and beneficiary of The Value Conversation. Yours is the mind that must first be untethered from solutions and costs. The client can only follow you in this regard. If you’re not thinking of price as a function of value creation here then the client will not.

Can Improv and Cold Plunges Improve Your Sales?

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

You’re in a Closing Conversation with a highly-coveted prospective client. The CFO enters the client boardroom, says some words to their colleagues, then looks right into the webcam at you and sternly says, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but this project is not a priority.”

Now what?

To Speed up Lead Generation, Slow Down

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A client of mine, Manny, said it best. “Instead of thinking about lead generation as a campaign, we should think of it as a practice.”

Your Business Is Not A Machine

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Your business — like you, the economy, the planet, even the universe — is not a machine, it’s a complex adaptive system.

It’s Never Really About the Money

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:20:39 GMT

Even when it’s about the money it’s never really about the money. Use The Value Conversation to uncover what the client really wants. Find the value beyond the money.

The Answer Is: Sell a Diagnostic

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 13:32:48 GMT

How do you help an early-stage prospect move forward with you?

How do you quantify and scope a messy or complex opportunity?

How do you get paid to write a proposal?

The answer to these questions, and many more, is you sell a diagnostic.

Ghosted. Now What?

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 13:55:14 GMT

The 100-day sprint began last Tuesday. This is a great time of year, right after summer vacation, to send The Magic Email.

Keep Calm and Close the Deal

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:04:39 GMT

Take a breath, calm yourself, and remember that the person you are about to meet is on the precipice of a big change. They’re looking for someone who can assure them that they will be okay—that everything will be okay.

Performance Pay Leads to a $500M Website

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 12:05:18 GMT

If I told you the US government paid more than $500 million for a website, you would probably cringe and think of this as another example of taxpayer dollars wasted.

And you would be wrong.

Chief Growth Officer

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 13:08:52 GMT

My brief experiment in a university education included just two economics classes—Intro to Micro and Intro to Macro—and while I didn’t retain much from either, I still vividly recall the first lesson that growth was a mandatory requirement of the economy.

Misautomation

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 16:29:30 GMT

I see lots of great examples of people automating business processes and client solutions. And I see just as many examples of people automating the wrong things.

The Closing Conversation Q&A

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 16:04:54 GMT

The Four Conversations Book Club wrapped up last week, with over 800 people participating in a four-week conversation (one per week) on The Four Conversations. In last week’s final chapter on The Closing Conversation, I reviewed the key principles and frameworks then took questions for about an hour.

The Value Conversation Q&A

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 17:08:49 GMT

The Four Conversations Book Club continued this week, with yesterday’s discussion on Chapter Three, The Value Conversation.

Once again, there were more questions asked than I could answer…

The Qualifying Conversation Q&A

Wed, 28 May 2025 09:36:31 GMT

I answer a few of the questions posed to me yesterday in the webinar The Four Conversations Book Club: Chapter Two, The Qualifying Conversation.

There Is No Credentials Meeting

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:05:36 GMT

In the Win Without Pitching model for selling expertise there is no credentials meeting. There are only The Four Conversations.

It’s Probably Time to Productize

Wed, 14 May 2025 10:07:18 GMT

Over the last decade I’ve gone from cautioning against the trend toward the productization of services, to neutral on it, to my current position that most of you better hurry up and get there quickly.

Replicating the Founder’s Skills

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 13:50:49 GMT

While few of your people will be able to do what you do to the level you do it, enough of them can do it well enough to get you through the plateau and back to growing again.

Can We Talk?

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 18:00:00 GMT

If I could do just one thing for you it would be to reach inside you and pull out all your ideas of what you think it means to sell.

When To Have The Answers

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 15:05:59 GMT

And when to have the questions.

The Power of a Metaphor

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 12:58:25 GMT

With a simple metaphor, expressed in 5 or 6 words, I can get you to think about something in a whole new way.

Anchor High

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:18:06 GMT

Your clients’ budgets are as fixed as your own clothing budget. (i.e., they’re not.)

The Four Priorities of Winning New Business

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 14:23:11 GMT

From The Manifesto in 2010, here is the original framework for navigating those opportunities where you cannot win without pitching.

Who Should Set Prices In Your Firm?

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 15:37:01 GMT

The right to price should be earned, not assumed or assigned by default.

The First Step

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 15:53:59 GMT

The steps of first aid are surprisingly instructive in aiding a stalled business.

A New Theme for a New Year

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:49:46 GMT

I don’t set goals for the new year so much as I select themes, and it seems to me that having better conversations would be a great theme for 2025.

Marketing Language vs. Sales Language

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 11:35:40 GMT

When marketing your expertise, you think and work in averages. When selling your expertise, however, you are in a conversation with an individual.

The Best Lead Generation Plan

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:06:55 GMT

The best plan is one that gets executed. Skip the veggies and eat lots of lead gen dessert instead.

Ideological Resonance

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:26:20 GMT

I’ve owned two businesses where people bought from us because they needed what we had, and for more than two decades now I’ve owned a business where people buy from us because we believe the same things.

They’re incomparable.

Assume An Advantaged Player

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 13:42:11 GMT

An excerpt from my brand new book…

Four Ways to Commodify Your Offering

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 12:54:22 GMT

When sales are sluggish you push harder. And then things happen. Some of these things are the desirable outcomes you seek, like new leads and closed deals. And some are the unintended consequences you didn’t foresee. Here are four specific activities that you might be employing today, each of which puts downward pressure on the perceived value of your offering.

The Target Is Not the Market

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 14:07:53 GMT

We all understand the idea of a target market. Hopefully, you have a formalized understanding of what or who your target market is. But you might be better off thinking about the target and the market as two different things.

Creating a Culture of Premium Pricing

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 13:31:43 GMT

I’m fond of saying that pricing is a prison cell in your mind, of your own making. You see yourself trapped within a narrow band of what you can charge. Your competitors are similarly trapped, but the band or cell they are trapped in is different from yours. Some of your competitors are charging significantly more than you, and some significantly less, yet everyone feels restricted, confined by the idea of an elastic demand that will drop with the slightest price increase.

Uncover The Wants Beyond Your Client’s Needs

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 08:08:28 GMT

Shannyn Lee from Win Without Pitching discusses the importance of the “Dan Sullivan Question” in uncovering a client’s desired future state during qualifying conversations. By asking, “You and I are sitting down three years from today, and you’re really happy. What’s happened in those three years to make you so happy?” early in the conversation, […]

Have We Hit Peak Strategy?

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 15:55:56 GMT

If you “do strategy” or price strategy as a line item it’s time to stop and look at your own business strategy instead. How will you become, and remain, unique, especially in the era of offshore labor and AI? What urgent and expensive problem will you help your clients solve?

Turning Your Delivery Team Into a Sales Team

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:48:48 GMT

Almost every leader of a business of expertise has a moment when they realize their delivery team could be a source of instant scale to their sales efforts.

Can We Dial This Down, Please?

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 14:15:12 GMT

Everyone is talking too much.

The Dichotomy of the Expert Salesperson

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 09:54:20 GMT

The world needs more of expert you. Let’s explore both sides of the expert salesperson.

Flip (the bird to) the Script

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 08:50:50 GMT

At Win Without Pitching we use a model that views the sale as a series of four conversations, each with its own objective and its own framework for navigating to that objective.

Attending The Way

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 10:37:19 GMT

“A man, sitting in his house, attending the way, will be heard a hundred miles distant. Work done truly and conscientiously, in isolation, calls unknown friends.”

The Time Value of Knowledge

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 13:30:46 GMT

Just as the interest on money compounds over time, the interest on knowledge compounds similarly, under the right conditions.

“Working/Non-Working” Doesn’t Work

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 14:21:07 GMT

If creative and production really are non-working then why be so irresponsible as to spend 20% of your budget on them? Shouldn’t you be focused on getting that to zero?

Quantifying The Value of Pricing

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 11:50:21 GMT

Your two main levers of profit are to lower your expenses and to raise your revenue. (Profound opening, I know. Stay with me.)

Are These The Last Days of The Pitch?

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 13:43:23 GMT

Something is in the air in Agencyland. After a long, cold and seemingly endless winter, something is finally in the air. Free pitching, the addictive and destructive opioid of both client and agency is disappearing like the White Witch’s endless winter. It may not yet be summer, but spring is most definitely here.

The Conflicting Ethics of Selling & Negotiating

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 10:42:02 GMT

Selling and negotiating are related, but they’re different enough from each other that they may require different ethical standards.

Payment Terms, On Your Terms

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 14:30:50 GMT

Payment terms are right below price on the list of important items you will negotiate. On one hand, I think some creative firms don’t think creatively enough about using payment terms to get an otherwise tricky deal done, but on the other hand, some larger clients can be ruthless at imposing arduous terms on their agencies and other suppliers. Let’s look at how to leverage the former and defend against the latter.

The Best Referral Machine I Have Ever Seen

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 10:26:23 GMT

I’m of two minds when it comes to referrals as a lead source. On one hand, I’m jaded by the people who claim their number one source of clients is “word of mouth and referrals,” when they really mean, “I have no idea and no plan.” On the other hand, I know people and businesses that have absolutely mastered the art of referrals, driving all their growth through this one channel.

Do You Even Need a New Business Person?

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 16:29:24 GMT

I’m a fan of constraint-driven exercises, so let me pose one for your consideration. Imagine that you could never employ a full-time dedicated new business person (let alone a team) What changes would you need to make in your business as a result?

You’re Always Selling. Everything is a Negotiation.

Mon, 15 May 2023 14:11:38 GMT

Two common refrains that you are “always selling” and that “everything is a negotiation” are often stated as facts, but they’re not facts, they’re points of view, and I don’t happen to subscribe to either of them.

Who’s Going to Own This?

Wed, 03 May 2023 13:52:39 GMT

Do you ever wonder why some of your clients are transformed by your work and others, meh—not so much? It’s the multi-million dollar question, isn’t it?

Why We Suck at Negotiating

Mon, 17 Apr 2023 16:19:09 GMT

The more I get to know procurement professionals through my pet project that is 20% – The Marketing Procurement Podcast, the more I am struck by how bad we in the creative professions are at negotiating.

Is The Agency Model Suffocating Your Business?

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 14:47:28 GMT

I’ve become aware recently that when I’m speaking to creative and marketing firm owners or other advisors in this space, we can sound like we are describing two entirely different industries. The agency owner is biased in thinking that the industry is made up of firms like theirs, and advisors like me are influenced by the types of agencies that we’ve most recently worked with.

Can We Change the Way Clients Buy?

Mon, 06 Mar 2023 13:45:59 GMT

Win Without Pitching’s mission is to change the way creative services are bought and sold the world over. Our focus has been on the sell side of the equation, teaching creative firms how to get better at selling their expertise without giving it away for free in the process. Last year I started to think more about the other side of the equation: is it possible to change the way clients buy creative services?

Inbound, Outbound & In Between

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 15:43:09 GMT

Is there any way to do outbound lead generation without giving up the expert high ground, or does any solicitation taint you with the stench of a needy, powerless vendor?

Beyond Good, Better, Best Pricing

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 13:35:06 GMT

I’ve written for years on the impact that three-option proposals can have on your closing ratio and your average selected price. Providing your clients with three or four different ways to engage you—at different price points—might be the simplest and fastest path to improving profit.

What’s In Your RAB Fund?

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 15:52:26 GMT

Everyone likes games. I have a fun one for you. There’s a simple financial metric that you might want to use throughout the year. Once you start measuring it, you will become addicted to improving it.

Think Big. No, Bigger.

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 14:00:33 GMT

Let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s try on outrageous success by moving to the outer range of what you have already proven is possible for a firm like yours.

Is Your Firm Addicted to New Business?

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 11:08:48 GMT

Some firms are black holes where accounts go in and seemingly never come out. Other firms are new business development machines, consistently generating 40%-50% (sometimes more) of their revenue from new clients every year.

6 Barriers to New Business Success

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 10:12:23 GMT

Over 20 years, I’ve heard a lot of success stories from people who have implemented our advice. This post is for everyone else—those who haven’t been able to make Win Without Pitching work for them.

Are RFPs the Spawn of Satan?

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 13:41:22 GMT

I’ve written previously on the steps creative firms should take, but here I’m suggesting we finally call bullshit and throw out the RFP altogether.

More Better Vetting

Mon, 07 Nov 2022 11:41:25 GMT

Qualifying is the act of vetting. In a qualifying conversation, the agency vets the lead to see if this prospective client and their project is a good fit for the firm, and the client vets the agency to see if their expertise is a fit for them and their project. That’s how it should work.

Reboot Your Culture Through New Business

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 09:26:47 GMT

You reinvent your firm one new client at a time. You are only 3-4 years and 10-15 clients from being whatever you want your firm to be—if you treat every new client as a step in your reinvention.

The Innoficiency Problem

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 09:07:55 GMT

The Innoficiency Principle states that innovation and efficiency are mutually opposable goals. In any reasonably functioning organization, one cannot be increased without decreasing the other.

The Role of Models In Your Firm

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 09:23:08 GMT

If you run any business of expertise you will come to rely on all sorts of models. The longer you are in business, the larger your model toolbox becomes.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 11:46:33 GMT

It’s been a couple of years since I fully delegated the sales function at Win Without Pitching but last week I found myself taking a few sales calls. I logged off of each one with an overwhelming sense of exuberance. “That was fun!”

I wondered how many other people felt the same way. At the end of the week I posted a twitter poll asking, “Is selling fun for you?”

Everything Can Change In One Conversation

Mon, 21 Mar 2022 07:15:14 GMT

The Flip is our name for the moment in the conversation between you and a prospective client when you move, in their eyes, from the position of lowly vendor to the more lofty one of expert practitioner.

Should Your Firm Launch a Venture Fund?

Mon, 23 Aug 2021 08:42:34 GMT

If you have the appetite for it, consider investing in a venture unit where one success has the potential to generate the equivalent of years of profit.

The Five Levels of Pricing Success

Tue, 25 May 2021 05:15:46 GMT

In this post I lay out the five levels of pricing success and ask you to do an assessment of where you are now. Then I identify the best resources to help you move up from your current level.

Leading Through Disruption

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 11:26:03 GMT

Enough time has passed now I can tell this story without naming names.

How Assuming Can Cost You Time and Money

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 07:21:32 GMT

You never want to make assumptions in the sale. If you feel yourself assuming something, you need to lean into that and ask a question about what it is that you are assuming. Because when you make assumptions in the sale, it will likely lead you down a really long and expensive path.

The Enemy Within

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:44:14 GMT

In this 2Bobs podcast, Blair addresses the internal struggle for margin that happens in many firms between delivery teams and business development teams due to their lack of distinction between cost and price.

Getting Paid

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:44:00 GMT

There are three keys to getting paid: start with new standards for new clients, summon the resolve to enforce your new standards the moment client behavior starts to slip, and be willing to walk away from clients that don’t honor their commitments.

Five Alternatives to Cutting Price

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 11:10:00 GMT

The subjectivity of value works both ways. Value is highly personal and subjective but it is so to all parties on both sides of the buy-sell divide. Just as two different clients considering the same offering from the same firm will assign different value to that offering, so too will two different salespeople trying to sell that offering.

In 2020 You Were Spectacular

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 07:21:05 GMT

What a year. Our Win Without Pitching annual planning meeting is tomorrow and I can’t help but think back to the plans we made a year ago for 2020. The phrase “We plan, God laughs” comes to mind. Who planned for this? Putting aside the human tragedy of more than 70 million infected, 1.5 million […]

Seven Positioning Mistakes to Avoid

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:57:20 GMT

Blair and David discuss the seven most common mistakes firms make when positioning themselves.

The Complex Battle for Margin

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:57:31 GMT

The battle to increase gross profit margin isn’t that complicated. By simply charging more you generate a higher top line with no change to delivery costs, thus increasing the bottom line. Battle won, right?

Selling in One Lesson

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 13:22:54 GMT

Your power in the sale is a function of having your desirability be greater than your own desire. Makes sense, right?

How and When to Talk About Your Firm

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 11:30:02 GMT

One of the things that creative firms need to let go of is the need to present. It’s one of the proclamations in The Win Without Pitching Manifesto. “We will replace presentations with conversations.”

The Magic Email

Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:38:55 GMT

I think together we can make a few million dollars this week, quickly, simply. Use this simple email template that you can use to raise deals from the dead.

Red, White, Black and Blue: The Land of Mixed Signals

Thu, 09 Jul 2020 08:38:27 GMT

In light of where things are in America, I feel the need to point out that if you’re familiar with and have benefitted from my work, Creative Strategy and the Business of Design, and my #thinkhowtheythink philosophy, a sharecropper named Mr. Ben Frank Davis is where it came from.

You Don’t Really Partner With Your Clients

Mon, 18 May 2020 07:24:08 GMT

Many agencies like to boast on their websites and in their pitch decks that they “partner” with their clients. It’s bullshit of course. What they mean is they aspire to have their clients treat them like partners instead of vendors. I get it. It’s good to have a goal. But putting it on the website […]

Four Regrets You’re About to Have

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 08:13:56 GMT

Postmortems are great tools for steady improvement. At the end of any project or new initiative you simply revisit the objective and discuss what went well and what you would do differently next time. A similar idea is the premortem. Project yourself into the future, past the project you are about to undertake, and imagine […]

Play the Game of Constraints

Wed, 08 Apr 2020 06:10:39 GMT

I’ve been using constraint-driven exercises for years to think creatively about my own business and to help our clients free themselves from the mental models in which many have become trapped. Try these six constraint-driven exercises.

Is It Ethical to Sell in These Times?

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 13:50:51 GMT

We in the creative professions often recoil from the function of selling because we are scarred by the bad buying experiences involving the first salesperson who, for reasons of ideology, training or incentives, saw selling as the requirement to convince.

Collecting, Communicating and Closing in a Time of Crisis

Tue, 24 Mar 2020 12:21:28 GMT

In last week’s post Three Steps to Surviving and Thriving in a Crisis I said step one is to survive the crisis and economic gridlock that will be with us for a few weeks. In part one of two in my survival series, I’ll share some specifics of how you can shore up revenue now.

Recurring Revenue: Holy Grail or False Promise?

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 07:21:54 GMT

I see many agency principals pursuing recurring revenue as though it is the answer to all of their problems. I’m not going to say that recurring revenue models are bad or wrong—they are neither—but like everything in life they come with tradeoffs, and I think most marketing firms pursuing these models are unaware of the tradeoffs until they are deep into business model changes.

Three Steps to Surviving and Thriving in a Crisis

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 06:07:06 GMT

I’ve lived through two previous recessions as an entrepreneur and what we are experiencing right now is not a recession — it is an economic crisis. The recession is what comes next after things stabilize.

Pricing Difficult-to-Quantify Forms of Value

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:19:11 GMT

In the Win Without Pitching Workshop you heard me say that I think the ability to navigate the value conversation is the most valuable skill in all of business. Then we gave you the framework, a few hours of practice and we sent you on your way. Don’t worry if you haven’t mastered this important […]

The Only New Business Indicator That Matters

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 13:08:45 GMT

TRANSCRIPT David C. Baker: Blair, I’ve got this question, you got me started thinking about it. I’m just going to dive in here. This question is about the best indicator of new business success, not kind of a question. It cannot help but really make people curious. What’s the answer? Then I have a bunch […]

The Most Important Pricing Skill

Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:18:36 GMT

Do you know the one key to being a better pricer? It’s the ability to have a good conversation. Pricing success really does come down to your ability to encourage and navigate respectful dialogue.

Help I’m Being Held Hostage by a Sales Robot

Mon, 12 Aug 2019 15:02:16 GMT

“In the sale, your job is not to convince, you have no business trying to convince anyone of anything ever.” Blair Enns said these words from a stage in Memphis at a conference I was attending almost 15 years ago. It was the first time I’d heard him speak. At that moment, after he said […]

How to Write a Proposal

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 16:55:00 GMT

Friends, have you ever struggled with how to write a proposal? Sure you have, but I’m here to help. After years of reviewing written proposals from hundreds of marketing firms and about a dozen years of writing my own 100+ page proposals, I give to you, The Can’t-Miss, Killer Proposal. Read this before your competitors […]

The Story of Storytelling (Or, How To Make your Positioning Real)

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 06:05:41 GMT

The role of storytelling in your positioning in articulating your expertise — where it enters into your positioning, and being able to demonstrate your model so that when the prospect is engages and asks the question “how would this work?” you, won’t totally blow it.

Who Will Be the Adult In the Room?

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 09:58:22 GMT

Why do agencies get themselves into these situations where they feel they have to take work on onerous terms, where they have to put up with procurement’s powerplay moves and where they have no power to affect price?

Clients Deserve to Know What They’re Buying

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 22:11:23 GMT

Many of your proposals fail because the client isn’t sure what they would be buying. One of the first pricing principles I address in Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour is the idea that there are three things you can sell and price: inputs, outputs or value.

Tap Into the Purpose Behind the Transaction

Sun, 20 Jan 2019 08:24:16 GMT

I bet I can guess your Why. What I mean is, if you are one of the millions of people who have been moved by Simon Sinek to “find your Why”, as articulated in his TEDx talk and book Start With Why, I’m pretty sure I can guess what that Why is. With only subtle […]

New Year’s Themes, Not Resolutions

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 14:11:22 GMT

There is a period in everyone’s development, I believe, where they choose to be dismissive of New Year’s resolutions. If that’s you now, you’ll get over it. New Year’s resolutions are a perfectly valid mechanism for helping to drive change in one’s career, business or life, but most of them fail to achieve such change, […]

We Need to Talk About Your Confidence

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 14:03:01 GMT

Confidence is not evenly distributed in the world. I recognize that I probably have more than is merited, but I’ve been at the other end of the spectrum, too, having once worked for someone who seemed to actively undermine the confidence of her subordinates as a means of building her own. I quickly discovered that […]

Rethink Account Management, Raise Your Prices

Sun, 25 Nov 2018 15:35:09 GMT

At the highest level of pricing centralization and, I believe, value-and-profit creation, here’s how account leaders and a value council should work together

Open Book Management

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 14:38:48 GMT

Blair gets David to admit that he was kind of wrong about open book management being just a fad when he originally wrote about it almost two decades ago, and David offers ways that it can actually improve relationships with both employees and clients when used appropriately.

Alternative Forms of Reassurance

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 15:47:34 GMT

Blair and David analyze and then look beyond the requests for reassurance potential clients make during the late stage of a sale to address their underlying motivations.

“Let’s see what kind of client you’ll make.”

Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:57:09 GMT

Let’s try on the idea of you being as ruthlessly discerning with your prospective clients, if a little kinder in your language. What are the questions you would like to know in advance of working with a client to determine if this relationship is going to work?

Seven Strategies to Grow Accounts

Wed, 24 Oct 2018 09:40:50 GMT

David disagrees with Blair’s model for growing existing accounts in the post-AOR era and then offers his list of 6 ideas on the topic.

The Most Valuable Skill in Business

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 11:59:55 GMT

The goal of value-based pricing is not to charge more—that’s merely a beneficial consequence. The goal of value-based pricing is to create an organization that is intently focused on creating extraordinary customer value.

The Best Ways to Disrespect Account People

Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:39:38 GMT

Blair remembers what it was like when he was an account person himself, and David shares five ways firms can treat their account people better.

The Seven Masteries of the Rainmaker

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 14:30:20 GMT

Blair offers seven mindsets that any seller of expertise needs to master so that they can behave like the expert in the sales cycle.

If I Were Starting Over

Wed, 12 Sep 2018 14:02:02 GMT

David and Blair take turns asking each other questions about what they each would do differently if they were going to start a new firm today based on what they know now.

The X-Factor

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 16:58:26 GMT

Blair gives David some homework to identify patterns in the principals of creative practices who are successful and have that “je ne sais quoi.”

Workshops: Better or Worse Than a Paid Pitch?

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 21:51:33 GMT

It’s been common for a long time for agencies to kick off a new client engagement with a workshop of some form. Sometime in the last two years, however, clients started to suggest to agencies that instead of pitching for free they would pay them to workshop some ideas. It sounds good on the surface, but is it better than pitching?

Starting…Existing…Thriving

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 18:48:21 GMT

Blair interviews David on what each of the three levels of success in running a creative firm looks like.

Rising From The Ashes: A New Agency Model

Wed, 08 Aug 2018 20:23:45 GMT

As someone who is perhaps a little too fond of a grand statement, I’m tempted to borrow from Landau and shout that I have seen the marketing agency model of the future and its name is Communo. Like Landau, however, I have a bias. (Landau went on to become Springsteen’s manager shortly after writing those words.) I’m an advisor to Communo and have a financial interest in their success.

Replacing Presentations With Conversations

Wed, 01 Aug 2018 20:12:08 GMT

David re-reads the 2nd chapter of Blair’s first book, leading to a discussion about how sales people have to choose between either presenting to clients or being present to them.

The Great Convergence is Upon Us

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 22:10:49 GMT

One of the clearest trends in professional firms today is the convergence of the disciplines of design, business consulting and software engineering on the same client business challenges. This Great Convergence is pitting firms of radically different types against each other in the battle to best serve the client, and it’s creating new types of […]

Reviewing the “Surveillance Footage”

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 17:05:51 GMT

There are seven patterns that almost all principals are guilty of. When David and Blair point them out, it lead their clients to say, “you must have hidden cameras in my office!”

Hacking Heuristics

Wed, 11 Jul 2018 17:54:50 GMT

Blair leads a discussion on how clients tend to take mental shortcuts in making business decisions, and how we can nudge clients without manipulating them to make a decision that is in their best interest.

Collaborating with Competitors

Wed, 27 Jun 2018 22:44:46 GMT

David and Blair compare each other’s competitiveness and then offer some specific ways principals can actually collaborate with their competitors as a part of building beneficial business relationships.

Four Segments of New Business

Wed, 06 Jun 2018 20:22:13 GMT

Blair and David come up with descriptive words that help clarify each of the four parts of what David calls the “pantheon” for new business: positioning, lead generation, sales, and pricing.

Coaches Corner: The Solution For Being Too Expensive

Wed, 09 May 2018 17:01:38 GMT

It’s early January. My phone rings. It’s Sue, a former client I spoke with two weeks earlier. She had called to share she was leading a new firm and they were growing like mad. She needed our help again. I had always liked Sue. We did really good work for her and she’s a straight […]

A Creative Professional’s Progression of Financial Success

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 17:24:03 GMT

I’m pretty sure I can show you the levels of financial success you’ll move through in your career. I can’t predict how far you will go, but by reading the descriptions of the levels you’ll be able to see where you are on the journey and what lays ahead.

Quit Giving The Client What They Want

Wed, 14 Mar 2018 17:15:46 GMT

A mainstay of some agency new business conferences is a few highly coveted clients on the stage lecturing the agency audience on what they want from their agency partners that they’re not getting. While it would be foolish to dismiss these client entreaties out of hand, it would be just as foolish, I believe, to give them what they want.

Hacking The Value Conversation

Tue, 30 Jan 2018 17:52:17 GMT

The value conversation is where value pricing theory goes to die. The difficulty in mastering this conversation is what causes most people to give up on value-based pricing completely and revert back to selling time and materials. It needn’t be so difficult, though.

Project 2018: An Incredible Story of Success

Tue, 19 Dec 2017 15:21:04 GMT

I don’t care what you or I did in 2017. Good or bad, it’s done, and I’ve never been one for lingering too long in the past. A lot of people think that their past defines their future. That the things they can accomplish now and tomorrow are limited by what has happened previously. But that’s ridiculous. The wake doesn’t push the ship. You’re free to go wherever you want, do what you want and earn what you want in 2018, regardless of the reality that was in 2017.

Protecting Your Superpower

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 14:15:18 GMT

You cannot fully understand a system from within the system. You cannot read the label from inside the jar. The thinking that got you here won’t get you there. It’s unlikely the problem will be solved from within the context it was created.

Coaches Corner: Now This Is Fun

Wed, 01 Nov 2017 22:53:01 GMT

But while I may be an expert, I’m far from a perfect salesperson. I let him distract me from the big picture with his incessant questioning. I miss one particularly potent chance to drive home our differentiation. I don’t handle the value conversation all that well, but instead, I jump right to the topic of prices. Oops.

Navigating The Seven-Year Chokepoint

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 17:10:33 GMT

Business is a game with hidden levels. By succeeding at one level, you get invited to play the next. The common mistake is to bring those first-level tools to the next level. Not only do they not work here, but they also work against you. Many of the habits you learned you will now have to unlearn. Accepting this inevitable obsolescence of tools is the key to obtaining all the advanced levels of success.

Coaches Corner: “I’m wondering why they didn’t ask for the slides?”

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 15:12:50 GMT

Sales ability is not innate; however, it can be learned. Even by someone who is (more than a bit of) a geek. Sales ability rests on some foundational principles and core attitudes. Then you can layer on some behaviors and language.

The Tech Sector’s Negative Influence on Creative Firms

Wed, 30 Aug 2017 16:57:11 GMT

No, this isn’t a rant about how things were better before everything was digital. Rather, it’s an observation on how principals of creative firms have borrowed some of the wrong things from the cultures of technology businesses and startups, in particular.

Everybody On the Same (New Business) Page

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 16:45:49 GMT

“We never pitch.” It was a lie. We pitched all the time but I was getting tired of it. I’d seen this film before and I knew how it ended. I wanted to try to change the ending, even if I didn’t know what should come after my small act of defiance.

Five Rules for Pursuing Project Work

Thu, 01 Jun 2017 00:00:18 GMT

Some firms don’t take project work at all, while for others project revenue vastly outstrips the income from their few ongoing clients. What’s the proper role of project work in your firm, and what’s the proper approach to pursuing or vetting it? In this article I lay out some specific guidelines on projects as a part of your overall client mix, and the rules of pursuing and accepting project work.

Is The Design Firm an Endangered Species?

Wed, 26 Apr 2017 16:47:18 GMT

I imagined that there is a line among design-based businesses that separates those who see themselves as in the business of design from those who see design as just one of the tools they use, in the service of whatever business they are really in. I wondered if this line was moving, squeezing out the traditional design firm.

Four Steps To Lead Generation Success

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 17:22:50 GMT

When I think of the firms that drive numerous inbound leads they all have one very clear thing they do. Their lead generation efforts are as focused as their positioning. They’ve resisted diluting their efforts across numerous channels, avoiding Warren Buffet’s admonishment that “Diversification is for people who don’t know what they are doing.”

Coaches Corner: Gravity

Wed, 05 Apr 2017 15:37:48 GMT

You’ve got choices to make. The future is coming at you fast, bearing down. If you spend all your time with your head being pulled down, the future is going to catch you standing still. It will rock you back on your heels. You will end up sprawling, stunned, wondering what just happened.

Coaches Corner: Getting Smacked in the Back of the Head

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 15:29:03 GMT

I was working with a WWP client recently, and as we discussed a range of topics I heard a common refrain, one I’ll call the entrepreneur’s educational lament: “I train my employees, and once they learn all these skills they take them and go work for my competitors.”

Managing Bad Referrals From Good Clients

Wed, 22 Feb 2017 15:25:21 GMT

It takes a lot of work in fact to generate a steady stream of good referrals and it’s no surprise that very few firms ever get to this place where the business is sustained and growing entirely by doing great work for good clients and systematically asking for and following up on referrals. It is however the highest form of “marketing” that we should all aspire to.

The Diversification Trap

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 17:33:28 GMT

The closer a principal gets to his target exit age, the less risk he takes. At some point, within the five year window, the firm quits evolving altogether, and just when he should be building something strong that will survive the transition to new owners and therefore be easy to sell, the firm begins to deteriorate. The last few years in the business are poor ones. If it gets sold at all, it’s not at the price hoped for. The result is underfunded retirement for a burned out entrepreneur who put all his eggs into the end-game basket. The journey was unnecessarily painful and stressful because of the decisions deferred, and the payout wasn’t there in the end. Lose, lose.

The Ultimate Test of Your Positioning

Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:50:13 GMT

When we’re working with owners of independent creative firms on the positioning of their firms, we separate the exercise of choosing a focus, from the exercise of articulating a claim. The first is an act of sacrifice, which most people in the creative professions struggle with (even more so than the average business owner, I believe), and the second is an act of communication, something creative professionals revel and delight in.

Why Your Positioning Problem Doesn’t Go Away

Sat, 26 Nov 2016 17:33:30 GMT

Imagine a more detailed map than this for every new business development decision that you face like positioning, lead generation, dealing with RFPs and closing. And then add a peer group of other owners just like you going through the same steps and the helpful guidance of a Win Without Pitching coach. That’s what’s available to you in the Win Without Pitching program where we have numerous training formats to match your learning style and budget.

The One Question I Would Ask Your People

Thu, 06 Oct 2016 13:32:09 GMT

Take this simple test and consider putting it to your team members. It’s one question to which the answers reveal so much about the firm and the individual respondents. I love putting this question to people who do not have day-to-day business development responsibilities – people like creative directors, partners, CFOs and pretty much anybody else in the firm.

Okay, here’s the million dollar question…

When Clients Ask for Financials

Wed, 14 Sep 2016 16:35:35 GMT

If you’ve ever found yourself in a client-driven selection process where you’re being asked to disclose financial details, this article is for you.

Coaches Corner: The Real Trade Off You Will Make

Wed, 24 Aug 2016 17:22:49 GMT

The truth is, there are plenty of clients out there. Even in disciplines and markets that are very narrowly defined, there are lots of clients.

Coaches Corner: The Sale Is The Sample

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 16:25:33 GMT

What are you selling? If it’s service then you should be service-oriented in the sale. But it’s not service, is it? It’s something else entirely, therefore…

Coaches Corner: It’s Not For Everyone

Wed, 20 Jul 2016 16:25:45 GMT

It’s not for everyone. But if it’s for you, you’re ready. You’re ready to transform your trajectory, your business, your career. You know that you’re ready, at some level, deep in your gut. You’re ready, you’re hungry, but how?

A Target Audience of One

Wed, 06 Jul 2016 13:38:03 GMT

There is a woman. I see her clearly. She is an artist, a creator. It is her passion.

At some point she decides to make her passion her business. She opens a design firm. Owning a business demands other responsibilities of her. Now she must sell as well as create.

Why Advertising Agencies Don’t Advertise

Wed, 22 Jun 2016 14:01:43 GMT

Most firms have no problem making these claims of creativity or strategy privately in the protective bubble of a boardroom (where the claims are often expressed through the work itself, which is pitched for free, rather than articulated in conversation) but going public in an ad that is bound to be seen by the firm’s competitors is another matter.

The End of the RFP?

Wed, 25 May 2016 11:03:24 GMT

Our mission at Win Without Pitching is to change the way creative services are bought and sold, our focus is really on the selling side of the buy-sell relationship.

How to Fake Authenticity

Wed, 04 May 2016 16:10:39 GMT

This authenticity thing must be really deep, because everyone is talking about it. I keep waiting for it to blow over, but like the Internet fad, it just won’t go away.

Coaches Corner: How Would You Derail This RFP?

Mon, 02 May 2016 13:11:21 GMT

The WWP coaching team received this email this week from a webcast viewer about an opportunity they’re trying to close. We thought we could have some fun by answering publicly to see if you would respond the same way or differently.

The One Word You Need to Hear

Wed, 13 Apr 2016 23:24:33 GMT

There’s a word you need to hear that I’ve been struggling to say to you. I’ve been keeping it from you because I have incontrovertible proof that you don’t like this word. Now, you, the individual, might be an exception but you and your peers as a group don’t like it. I know because every […]

Coaches Corner: Scientists Do This Crazy Thing, And You Should Too

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 15:09:13 GMT

The Rule is simple: Publish or Perish. If you don’t regularly come up with original thinking, and write it down, and make it interesting to read, and give it away for free, you can’t stay in our cult. That’s crazy, but that’s the Rule.

Trust Your Gut

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 23:19:47 GMT

We need to trust our guts more – in business, in life and in particular in sales where we’re prone to acting against our intuition for long periods of time, all the while knowing that this story ends with the client hiring someone else or not having the budget or the authority or just being The Client From Hell. In hindsight, the evidence was always there. We saw or felt it early and we chose to ignore the signs to our detriment.

Letter to a Drowning Agency Principal

Wed, 09 Mar 2016 14:41:34 GMT

I know everything looks bleak. You feel like things are so far gone that you wonder if the only avenue left to you is to shut it down. It’s difficult in times like this to have clarity on your situation and know what to do next, but if you still have the fight in you and want to make this business work, I can help by telling you what you need to do. Then it’s up to you to do it.

The Changing Face of Agency Networks

Wed, 24 Feb 2016 15:40:09 GMT

Independent agency networks have been around for decades, but many face a battle of declining relevance in the face of market changes and new competition.

The Dark Arts of Leveraging Cognitive Biases

Wed, 10 Feb 2016 15:30:34 GMT

Read about the top eight cognitive biases that you can leverage with your clients and prospects in The Dark Arts of Leveraging Cognitive Biases

Evaluating Your Sales Infrastructure

Wed, 27 Jan 2016 16:46:41 GMT

How well is your leadership team supporting the people on the new business development front lines? Find out by answering this eight-question quiz.

How to Respond to “Show Us Your Work”

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 15:56:48 GMT

“Show us your work,” is an invitation from a prospect to step closer, to open or deepen a dialogue. This request can take many forms: “show me what you can do,” “tell me about your services,” or even “I’ve got an RFP, and we’d like to know if you’re interested (in giving away your high value thinking for free).”

How Often Should You Publish?

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:07:04 GMT

Last year I upped my writing and online publishing commitment significantly as a year-long experiment. In this post I want to share what I did, what I learned and what you might take away and use yourself. Falling Into and Out of the Writing Rhythm I built the consulting practice that was Win Without Pitching […]

The PowerPoint Problem

Wed, 16 Dec 2015 16:16:20 GMT

There are many patterns one sees after working with hundreds of creative and marketing firms on their approach to business development, and one of them is an over reliance on presentation software like PowerPoint. When I spot a strategy document written for a client or the firm itself that was composed in PowerPoint I know we have a problem and I can immediately identify the co-presenting symptoms.

The Only New Business Indicator That Matters

Thu, 10 Dec 2015 09:52:48 GMT

If you want to predict your likelihood of winning new business (and therefore whether or not it makes sense to pour resources into the opportunity) just ask yourself this one question.

Is Your Lead Gen Stalled? Do This One Thing

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 16:52:23 GMT

Have you lost momentum on the lead generation front? Check this out. I’ve discovered that firms who commit to doing this one easy thing tend get out of the rut. Those that don’t do it stay stuck. Before you click through to read what the one thing is, make a promise to yourself that you’re going to do it, whatever it is. It’s not hard, it’s not ridiculous of embarrassing – it’s pretty straightforward.

Transitioning Away From Selling & Tracking Time

Tue, 24 Nov 2015 11:36:48 GMT

When selling time you tend to strive to a consistent level of profitability across every project. When selling value, your profit measurement focus should broaden out to make sure the entire relationship is profitable, accepting that some projects will be wildly profitable and others less so, even allowing some smaller projects to be unprofitable.

A Mission With No Exit

Wed, 11 Nov 2015 17:30:49 GMT

I now see the idea of retirement, in this age of the knowledge worker, as destructive. It causes us to put up with less than ideal circumstances today as we wait for our reward in the end, except the idealized reward of the retired life isn’t really what most of us want. We’re not coal miners retiring from physically punishing careers, after all. We have the luxury of working with our brains and enjoying it. Plus, as entrepreneurs, we have the ability to shape our reality to whatever we want it to be. The only thing in my way is me.

Should You Publish Pricing on Your Website?

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 10:35:38 GMT

We’ve gone from an era where creative firms never published their pricing on their website to one where, while it’s not common, there’s a bit of a trend toward it among certain types of firms.

There are right and wrong reasons to disclose your pricing on your website and right and wrong methods of doing so.

Four Reasons to Write

Wed, 21 Oct 2015 13:01:36 GMT

Agency business development is a cocktail of sales, marketing and public relations activities. To be successful, your firm has to possess assets in each area.

The Third Way

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 12:00:16 GMT

In this post I confess to a long-held secret, philosophize on a broader life issue and then wrap it all up by explaining how most people get this pitching-or-not-pitching thing wrong.

The Jedi Mindset

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 21:18:59 GMT

If you want to sell from the high ground, push back on a flawed selection process and lower your cost of sale, you need to arm yourself with a series of mindsets that you can stack one on top of the other. They’ll form sort of a modular mantra that you recite silently to yourself in certain situations.

Bring Your Disruption Sooner

Thu, 10 Sep 2015 11:22:15 GMT

Most firms claim to be disruptive in their thinking and believe they bring that disruption to the sales cycle. Most, however, bring it too late.

Learn how to step it up.

Stop Talking! (And Other Rules of Telephone Success)

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 18:35:04 GMT

Win Without Pitching coach Shannyn Lee draws on her years of outbound experience for numerous firms to compile a list of rules for telephone success.

Is There an Industrial Pitch Complex?

Thu, 27 Aug 2015 13:27:58 GMT

Win Without Pitching founder Blair Enns writes about his conspiracy theory that there is a self-interested complex when it comes to free pitching in the creative professions.

Seven Universal Truths About Money

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 15:34:01 GMT

Money, money, money. Most of us, I believe, have poor relationships with money. Another belief of mine is that some of us have warped or skewed views on the topic that we think are universally shared by others when they are not.

Five Ways Into a New Account

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 18:44:23 GMT

An article by Blair Enns that explores five ways to say hello and get the relationship off on the right foot.

Seven CRM Mistakes to Avoid

Wed, 05 Aug 2015 18:07:08 GMT

An article by Win Without Pitching founder Blair Enns on the common mistakes creative firms make in setting up or using their CRM application…

Creativity: Friend & Foe When Selling

Wed, 15 Jul 2015 21:58:06 GMT

An article on three ways in which creativity aids in selling and three ways in which creativity creates makes selling difficult.

The Art of Outbound Lead Generation

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 18:21:47 GMT

If you need leads now, nothing beats picking up the phone or sending an email. Yes, response rates are abysmally low today but with selectivity and proper technique, you’re far more likely to deliver results sooner through outbound than inbound.

How to Cheat at Content Marketing

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 16:59:29 GMT

Content Marketing for Those Who Can’t Quite Bring Themselves to Write Experts write. I’ve been saying this for years and until recently I’ve never seen any way around it. If you want to be positioned as an expert on a topic and you want to drive inbound enquiries then you have to engage in content […]

On Being the Vulnerable Expert

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 10:40:30 GMT

This week’s post is a brief stream-of-consciousness piece on the paradox of being an expert in substance and not style. It’s about the need to not have all the answers when selling; an admonishment to not be the slick salesperson…

Ten Legit Ways to Cheat at Your Positioning

Wed, 17 Jun 2015 15:40:53 GMT

An article on how to get around the painful sacrifice of positioning.

5 Reasons You Should Offer Guarantees

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 12:36:51 GMT

The satisfaction guarantee I’m proposing is simply the guarantee that after hiring you and working with you for a little while the client has the freedom to decide whether he made the right decision and would like to continue, or decide that hiring you was a mistake from which he’d like to extricate himself and get his money back.

The Problem With Service

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 13:53:21 GMT

Although I think I do a good job of masking it, I remain scarred by the dozen years I spent working in advertising agencies and design firms before I began advising them. The scar that marks me, and perhaps you, is the service scar.

Are You Really Needed?

Wed, 20 May 2015 18:27:36 GMT

Passion is a great thing, but if you fail to match your passion to a need in the market then you’re setting your firm up for failure…

Top Ten New Business Development Myths

Wed, 13 May 2015 22:01:01 GMT

An article on the ingrained myths and bad practices of advertising agency and design firm new business development…

How Will You Feed The Machine Today?

Fri, 24 Apr 2015 15:19:09 GMT

Are you continuously haunted by the question: where will I find the work, and the revenue, to keep everything and everyone going…

A Fair Price

Wed, 08 Apr 2015 23:32:31 GMT

Should you be pursuing as much as you can get from your clients or should you be driven by the idea of a “fair” price? Many economists would say that any price paid is by definition a fair price otherwise the buyer wouldn’t pay it. They’re wrong.

Always Be Anchoring

Wed, 01 Apr 2015 16:03:31 GMT

Anchoring is one of the most powerful techniques of effective pricing. You are subjected to it all the time…

This Should Be Fun

Wed, 11 Mar 2015 22:25:27 GMT

A proper approach to selling should be energy positive. It should be sustainable. And it should be fun – even when you lose…

The Flip

Wed, 04 Mar 2015 11:59:43 GMT

The moment in the sales cycle when a prospect who previously had you boxed into the vendor position in the relationship…

Digital Disruption Disrupted

Sun, 15 Feb 2015 08:45:32 GMT

The web design firms that disrupted generalist design firms just a few short years ago are now themselves being disrupted…

Everything You Need to Know About Pricing

Mon, 02 Feb 2015 12:13:35 GMT

A resource guide to all things pricing, including book reviews & recommendations, seminars, webcasts and articles…

When to Hold and When to Fold

Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:20:12 GMT

Some of the core WWP principles include delivering a minimum level of engagement or otherwise talking money early…The direct conversations around money reduce the likelihood that you’ll be scuppered later in the deal by financial objections that could have been uncovered early, and behavioural concessions extracted from the client are indicators of your likelihood of winning the business.

Never Discount (But when you do…)

Sun, 18 Jan 2015 18:05:44 GMT

The rule of price discounting is never discount. There’s a time and a place to bend and even break most rules, however…

The Tao of No

Sun, 28 Dec 2014 17:45:51 GMT

When we master no we will master selling our expertise. The two sides of no are hearing it and saying it…

Debriefing After a New Business Call

Mon, 08 Dec 2014 14:40:32 GMT

To get better at selling your expertise you’ll require a certain amount of self-assessment at the points of interaction with…

It’s Official; I’m Out

Mon, 03 Nov 2014 14:21:24 GMT

“You’re my last client. After this, I’m no longer a consultant.” These words escaped my mouth last week at the beginning of…

Say What You Think

Wed, 03 Sep 2014 12:18:05 GMT

Say what you think. Say it early before stress and resentment build. You’ll make more money, you’ll have more fulfilling…

Mining for Confidence

Tue, 12 Aug 2014 10:46:44 GMT

Confidence and expertise are inextricably linked, not like two boxes connected in a PowerPoint flowchart, but more like…

The Justice of Price Premiums

Thu, 06 Feb 2014 21:24:50 GMT

How much does a logo cost? Your answer probably begins with the words, “That depends…

My Prospecting Email

Wed, 04 Dec 2013 12:47:47 GMT

Recently, I wrote about my Closing the Loop email that’s a bit of a secret weapon when it comes to raising deals from the dead. I received some comments and many more emails about the fantastic responses people were getting from it. One of the emails asked me if I had a similarly effective email template for […]

Why Creative Firms Don’t (Really) Scale

Sun, 18 Aug 2013 17:46:10 GMT

Michael Gerber, author of The E-Myth, made his name on the idea that you should build and run your small business like you are going to franchise it, even if that’s not a goal. This means mapping out functions and processes, including proprietary strategic processes, to the point that anyone could come along, buy a franchise of your business and replicate your product and your success just from your operations manual and a little bit of training.

Are You Trying Too Hard to Win New Business?

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 21:31:16 GMT

A competitive mindset can sometimes be at odds with a creative one. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal, made this claim in a New York Times op-ed piece last year. (All links to external sources are at the bottom of this article.) When you’re constantly trying to outcompete others, says Brooks, it’s less likely […]

Confessions of a Recovering Consultant

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:37:26 GMT

Last year was a year I’d love to forget but probably never will. I committed to too much (anyone else?) and I got sick just before the first wave of obligations hit. I juggled big commitments and various illnesses, getting sick four times on three continents with debilitating but benign illnesses and ailments that were […]

Seven Words You Can’t Say in Business Development

Tue, 01 Jan 2013 21:53:08 GMT

A couple of years ago I wrote an article titled, ‘I Wish I’d Said That: Seven sentences to get you out of sticky situations.’ Just as there are words you can employ to helpful means, there are also words that you should avoid to keep you out of trouble and in control of the buy-sell […]

Debunking the Myth that “It’s Everyone’s Job to Sell”

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 21:57:55 GMT

One of the things I am most fascinated by is how people become trapped in mental models, or ways of thinking, often in spite of overwhelming evidence that the model is flawed or, as is often the case, completely, absolutely 100% wrong. The perpetuation of falsehoods happens in individuals and groups, with intelligence seemingly no […]

The New Rainmakers

Tue, 29 May 2012 22:01:45 GMT

Years of insisting that business development people generate leads instead of just follow up on those generated by other means has forced creative firms to prefer sales-based skill sets of cold calling and networking over others. In this article I explain why those skill sets are less valuable today and what is replacing them in […]

CRM: The Train Coming at You

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 22:05:22 GMT

There is a trend within your clients’ organizations that is going to affect the offerings of your firm. It will open up exciting new areas of opportunity that you will be forced to capitalize on. To ignore this trend would be dangerous, I think, because not only will it affect how you deliver your services, […]

The Legal Implications of Issuing an RFP

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:07:17 GMT

There is little that’s more frustrating than receiving a request for proposal (RFP) written by an individual who doesn’t know what he’s doing–especially when it’s a company you really want as a client. You know what I’m talking about–the RFP unexpectedly shows up in your inbox offering a moment of excitement, but your deflation follows […]

A Bite From The Apple

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 22:54:05 GMT

The passing of Steve Jobs has left many of us contemplating his impact on our lives beyond the devices we now take for granted. Perhaps even more important than the technology itself, Jobs left behind some powerful business lessons for us. We’re all going to draw different lessons and inspirations from the man; here are […]

The Impact of Creative Quality on Business Development Success

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 23:07:51 GMT

Imagine that you’ve won a full-page ad in The New York Times for the use of promoting your firm. What would you say in that ad? If yours is a specialist firm, the answer is easy. In one variation or another you would stake a claim to your expertise as the leading provider of X […]

The Evolution of Confidence

Sun, 27 Mar 2011 23:25:25 GMT

I once played a first game of chess with a friend in which he destroyed me with his opening move. In the very first second of the game he had me panicked – robbed of my ability to think clearly. The only thing that was clear at that moment was that he would beat me […]

Meeting Madness

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:32:49 GMT

Picking up on the theme of my last article, Five Things to Master in the New Year, there’s another area that most of us would do well to work on at a time when we’re making promises to ourselves: new business meetings. And I don’t mean we should strive to get more of them.

Five Things to Master in the New Year

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 23:38:13 GMT

As there are less than 20 meaningful business days left in the year, it’s time to think about what we might do differently next year. Below are some business development resolutions for you to consider, each an issue that you might attempt master or at least make progress on in 2011. The first three are […]

Voicemail: To Leave or Not to Leave

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:40:48 GMT

For years I counseled that rather than leave a voicemail when doing telephone introductions, you’re better off hanging up and dialing again at a later date. Then someone (I wish I could remember who) explained the dynamics of cold calls and voicemail to me in a new light: “Knowledge is power…”

Five Positioning Mistakes

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:47:03 GMT

After almost ten years of advising creative businesses on their positioning, I’ve looked back to find the five most common mistakes that I’ve seen. If you’re repositioning your firm, use this guide to help you avoid the mistakes I’ve seen and even contributed to over the years.

Positioning Transitions

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:05:54 GMT

Four Ways to Get from Here to There Business development success is rooted in a firm’s positioning, and while choosing a focus for the firm is The Difficult Business Decision, it’s not the only decision around repositioning a firm. The question that immediately follows once you have chosen a focus is, how do we make […]

Becoming the Expert

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:48:20 GMT

The difference between success and failure is often not in knowing what to do, but in doing it. One of the areas where the getting it done problem routinely arises is in living the firm’s positioning. When working with a firm I routinely see this pattern:

Are You Hard-Wired for Business Development Success?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:40:07 GMT

Nine years into advising creative people on how to sell their services I have come to see that the variability of our individual hard-wiring not only predicts our likelihood of success, but it helps to identify which business development strategy we will select in our pursuit of success. McLelland’s Theory of Needs postulates that people […]

Social Media Sins

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:43:54 GMT

I’m relatively new to social media and a light user. But I can’t get over the ‘rules’ of how we’re supposed to use these tools. Turns out, I’m breaking most of them. I know I’m not doing it right, and I don’t care. Hear my confession of my 10 social media sins.

16 Brief Points on Free Pitching

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:04:12 GMT

Two of my favorite things collided this week when author and blogger Tim Ferriss put out a call for a design contest on 99designs.com to design the cover for his new book. It was picked up on Twitter by free pitching watchdogs No!Spec and @specwatch and the debate was on.

The Polite Battle for Control

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:18:16 GMT

In simple terms, agency business development can be described as the polite battle for control. In this brief 20-point thesis on modern day business development philosophy for marketing communication agencies, I’ll make the argument for control as the goal.

Pitches, Search Consultants & Hissing Cockroaches

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 17:20:50 GMT

It’s been interesting to read the heated online discussions in recent days regarding the Zappos pitch and the Portand Online website design contest. Agencies and clients are squaring off in mixed camps over whether these pitches are handled fairly or are even appropriate to begin with. I thought I would dust off this article that […]

The Armor-Piercing Introduction

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:25:54 GMT

Even the most specialized firms are capable of delivering a range of services that are broader than their declared specialization. It’s tempting, therefore, when making a telephone introduction, to pursue all the work that your firm is capable of instead of focusing on the work that it is best at. The mathematics say that if […]

7 Tips for Selling into a Recession

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:35:53 GMT

I’ll leave the bottom line guidance to the finance, human resource and other experts and stick to my knitting: business development. How do you protect the top line at a time like this? Here are seven suggestions.

The Cost of Creativity

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:41:11 GMT

When an entrenched specialist is invited to compete for opportunity outside of his area of expertise, his reaction is often something close to terror. The specialist believes that when an opportunity within his area of focus comes to him, there is nobody better qualified to help the prospect.

The Five Objections

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:58:46 GMT

I spent the early part of my consulting practice advising you on using classic selling techniques to help overcome objections raised by the prospect in the buy-sell cycle. Over time it became clear that rather than trying to overcome these objections, you should be raising them for the prospect to overcome.

Business Development Compensation

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 18:14:30 GMT

How and how much should a marketing communication firm pay its business development personnel? While there is no easy answer, following these five steps should help lead to a compensation (pay) plan that works for employee and employer. This article builds on last month’s Win Without Pitching Newsletter issue, Business Development Planning, which discussed setting […]

Business Development Planning

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:17:04 GMT

Planning begins with the setting of goals and while we all know the value of goal setting, I regularly see marketing communication firm’s business development achievements hampered by aiming at the wrong goals. Follow these three simple steps to ensure that next year is a banner year for business development.

Google’s Impact on Business Development

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 18:19:41 GMT

In his 2006 book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More, Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson explores how technology has enabled many businesses to exploit tiny, previously unviable niche markets rather than chase the lowest common denominator mass markets. One set of such enabling technologies is what he calls […]

Proving Your Expertise

Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:24:17 GMT

Okay, you’ve repositioned your firm as a narrowly focused expert. Now what, you ask? Now, my friend, you ask yourself the product question: What skills, capabilities and processes do you need to add to support your positioning? While positioning is rooted in a claim of expertise, product represents your ability to prove such a claim. […]

The Right People on the Bus

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:31:03 GMT

In Jim Collins’s 2002 book Good to Great he explained that one of the common denominators of success that turned ordinary companies into consistently extraordinary performers was the ability to get the proper people on the team, or the bus, as he put it. But in agency business development, who are the right people? In […]

First, Do No Harm

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:32:50 GMT

When a family member had some health problems a few years ago we began meeting with doctors. We marched into one doctors’ office after another and offered our diagnosis of the situation, then asked to hear the recommended course of treatment. Finally we happened upon one who stopped us in our tracks: “Stop. You’re diagnosing. […]

Twelve Resolutions for the New Year

Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:34:17 GMT

Our most productive years are usually the ones that we enter armed with solid goals and plans. What follows are twelve business development resolutions with which to begin the New Year. They are excerpted from the forthcoming article, A Call to Arms: Twelve Proclamations of a Win Without Pitching Agency.

Responding to Requests for Proposals

Sun, 01 Oct 2006 18:39:14 GMT

Building an agency one request for proposal (RFP) at a time is a painful and potentially humiliating way to grow a business. And while winning without pitching means not playing the RFP game, there’s more subtlety to the approach than simply saying no and feeling good about yourself all the way to bankruptcy. In this […]

Expanding Your Expertise

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 19:29:32 GMT

For years now I have preached to you about narrowing the focus of your firm in order to eliminate competition and shift the power in the buy-sell relationship to you, the seller. A narrow positioning is one of the foundational Win Without Pitching principles that allows you to take control of the buying process, lower […]

Creating Objections

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 19:30:17 GMT

In my counsel to agency principals and business development personnel I spend too much time on the subject of how to overcome objections. If you find yourself constantly dealing with or dreading objections late in the buying cycle then there’s something you’re not doing early in the buying cycle: you’re not creating objections. You should […]

Testimonials, References and Referrals

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 19:32:18 GMT

Rare is the new client that is secured without the help of outside assistance. The common vehicles for this assistance are testimonials, references and referrals. In this issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter we examine how each of these vehicles of assistance is different from the others, and how each should be applied in […]

Tools of the Trade

Mon, 01 May 2006 19:34:03 GMT

If there’s a tool out there that will increase my productivity, I get it. Some have proven to be wastes of time, money and attention, but others have contributed to increased productivity or enjoyment of routine tasks. In this issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter I cover five tools of the trade that anyone […]

Lowering Your Cost of Sale

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 19:41:10 GMT

In any large consultative sale there are costs associated with buyer and seller coming together. How those costs are assigned to each party is a valuable indicator of who possesses the power in the relationship. Order-taker agencies routinely incur most of the expenses associated with the courtship, while some well-positioned expert agencies are able to […]

Quit Selling & Start Helping

Wed, 01 Feb 2006 19:43:11 GMT

To understand selling is to understand that in the pursuit of profitable new clients you have no business trying to convince anyone of anything, ever. To the question, if my job is not to convince, what then, I respond: It is to help the unaware, to inspire the interested and to reassure the intent. This […]

I Wish I’d Said That!

Sun, 01 Jan 2006 19:46:35 GMT

Have you ever been close to securing a lucrative engagement only to be thrown off your game, and possibly out of contention, by an unforeseen late question from the client? While there’s no way to prepare for every objection that might arise there are a few common ones that seem to create that deer-in-the-headlights response. […]

The Meeting, Part 2

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 19:52:04 GMT

This is the second in a two-part series on The Meeting. If you missed part one in the October issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter, you’ll find it posted to our web site here. Part one explored why an unqualified focus on getting more meetings can be counterproductive to business development efforts, and it […]

The Meeting, Part 1

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 19:53:51 GMT

Getting More Meetings “If I get a meeting with someone I can almost always close them. I just need more meetings.” I hear this often. Years ago, between the end of my agency career and the launch of my consulting practice, I heard these words from an agency president who was hiring me to do […]

Beyond the Rolodex

Thu, 01 Sep 2005 19:58:59 GMT

Last week Adweek published an article titled Shortcut to a Long Relationship in which they commented on the $400mm Volkswagen advertising account going to Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami without a review. The authors pointed out a small trend to this type of account movement and explained it away with a comment on the […]

Selling to Committees

Mon, 01 Aug 2005 20:00:40 GMT

Some agencies have policies about not doing business with law firms. Some refuse to work with not-for-profits. Others steer clear of government and government agencies. The reason for all is usually the same: committees. Committees can be difficult to deal with in the buying cycle and even more difficult once the account is won. But […]

Inspiring the Interested

Fri, 01 Jul 2005 20:02:31 GMT

It is often stated that all buying is emotional. While this is an oversimplification that gets many salespeople into trouble, emotions do play a role in most significant purchases. Knowing how and when emotions come into play allows the seller to employ the emotional tools of inspiration to his advantage. But seller beware: emotions are […]

Can Sales Be Outsourced?

Sun, 01 May 2005 20:04:38 GMT

“I know we need to get out there and sell our firm’s services, but I don’t want to be the one to do it, and I can’t justify a full-time position. Can’t I outsource it?” If you’ve ever posed this question, this issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter is for you.

Rainmaker Wanted

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 20:06:24 GMT

The title of the ad says it all. This firm isn’t seeking an employee; they’re looking for a miracle worker. No other position in the agency has a moniker loaded with such expectation, so wrapped up in the myth that the firm is but one uber-human away from success, as the business development magician: The […]

Ten Tests of Your Positioning

Thu, 03 Mar 2005 15:31:24 GMT

Winning without pitching begins with positioning. How’s yours? This brief post offers ten simple questions to ask of how your firm is currently positioned or for any new positioning you may be considering.

Ask yourself these ten questions.

Strategy Traps

Tue, 01 Mar 2005 20:08:48 GMT

Agencies all over the world today are trying to get ‘more strategic’: to position themselves as strategic partners to their clients, to sell higher margin strategy over increasingly commoditized implementation – all in a bid to profit proportionally from the greater value being delivered. Most are failing in this bid, suffering from the same four mistakes that are easily avoided once they are recognized.

Proposal or Contract

Thu, 03 Feb 2005 20:20:04 GMT

Blair Enns founder of Win Without Pitching latest article on Proposal or Contract. The proposal is the words that come out of your mouth. The document is the contract.

The Ladder of Lead Generation

Sat, 01 Jan 2005 20:22:10 GMT

In this issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter we discuss the costs and benefits of using various public relations, advertising, and selling activities in driving business development for your agency, and we examine what the use of each says about your firm.

Reassuring Words

Wed, 01 Dec 2004 20:23:29 GMT

The lexicon of sales clichés is filled with words and phrases designed to convince people they have a problem that only the salesperson’s product or service can solve. Selling (facilitating the buying process) however, is rooted in helping, not convincing. It is something that requires empathy, understanding, and the knowledge of how to reassure the […]

Expert or Order-Taker?

Mon, 01 Nov 2004 20:24:59 GMT

Expert agencies and order-taker agencies could not be more different from each other. Usually, you cannot spot the difference by looking at their work or their premises. You can however spot the difference by listening to the words that come out of the mouths of the firms’ principals and employees. The expert agency mindset about […]

The Case for Case Studies

Fri, 01 Oct 2004 20:26:37 GMT

Case studies are among the most effective yet most misunderstood and misapplied business development tools available to marketing communication agencies. When presented properly, their power in helping to land the account is almost unrivaled. However, they are often applied incorrectly, and almost always used too early. Case studies are closing tools best used right at […]

Telephone Truths

Wed, 01 Sep 2004 20:28:42 GMT

When speaking to a successful agency business development VP the other day I asked him, ‘Why are cold calls so easy for you?’ Without missing a beat he responded, ‘Because I enjoy helping people.’ He explained that when calling into organizations in industries where his firm had experience he felt confident of his ability to […]

Decision Maker Dynamics

Mon, 01 Dec 2003 13:34:24 GMT

‘Thanks for coming in to make your presentation today. I’d like to introduce you to Carl, our VP of Special Projects. He’ll be sitting in.’ Through the gritted teeth of a forced smile you shoot your business development person a look that says, “Who the Hell is Carl?”. Carl, you are about to learn, is […]

The Rapport Trap

Wed, 01 Oct 2003 13:36:58 GMT

In Good To Great, Jim Collins writes of the liability of charisma, pointing to charismatic CEOs who built what looked to be successful companies only to have them implode after the departure of the leader. His point is that, far from being an asset, charisma is a liability that masks inefficiencies – a crutch for […]

The Art of Walking Away

Mon, 01 Sep 2003 13:41:30 GMT

‘You are never worse off walking away,’ said Harvey Mackay in his book on selling and negotiating, Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive. People want what they can’t have and often they need to lose or risk losing something before they fully appreciate it. That’s one of the reasons why the Take-Away can be one of the more effective closing techniques in your arsenal.

The Agency Gatekeeper – Keeping Bad Clients Out

Sun, 01 Jun 2003 13:43:45 GMT

When discussing specific new client opportunities with agency business development personnel I often offer some qualifying questions for them to put to their prospects. One VP of business development recently responded to these questions in exasperation, ‘It sounds like you want me to look for reasons not to do business with this person!’ ‘Exactly,’ was […]

Compensating Your Revenue Builders

Thu, 01 May 2003 13:46:20 GMT

Most agencies have a difficult time arriving at a fair and effective compensation model for their business development personnel. If you grapple with how and how much to pay your revenue builders, then this issue of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter is for you.

Price: The Final Objection

Sat, 01 Mar 2003 13:48:09 GMT

We are culturally conditioned to avoid talking about money in our personal lives and as a result, in our roles as business development people, we tend to put off financial discussions until the last possible moment. In the last two issues of the Win Without Pitching Newsletter we discussed the commoditization trend in the agency […]

Battling Commoditization

Wed, 01 Jan 2003 13:49:59 GMT

Commoditization is the act of turning something of subjective or unrealized value into something of quantifiable value. Inherent in this definition is the implication that the value quantified is subject to the same market forces as are physical commodities. A physical commodity is readily available in large quantities from numerous producers, enjoys little product differentiation […]

Strange Creatures: Pitches, Search Consultants, and Hissing Cockroaches

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 10:43:17 GMT

I liken agency business development practices to the island of Madagascar. Broken off from the rest of the sales world and left to evolve on it’s own, agency business development has evolved in a peculiar direction, spawning some unique and fascinating creatures. Two of the more interesting are the speculative pitch, and the agency search […]

Set Your Account People Free

Fri, 01 Nov 2002 10:48:29 GMT

Most agencies look to their client services staff to fill the majority of business development duties in addition to their account management responsibilities. But a subtle re-assignment of these duties can often bring a surprising performance increase, not just in client acquisition, but also in account services and ultimately in the quality of client relationships. […]

The Selling Website

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 10:50:07 GMT

An understanding of how people buy is important to anyone who has anything to sell, but it is doubly important to marketing communication agencies for the reason that you are in the business of helping your clients sell. Through the development of ads, point-of-purchase material, and sales collateral you develop some of the sales tools […]

The Four Keys to Qualifying

Sun, 01 Sep 2002 10:51:27 GMT

If you’ve ever wondered why your agency spends so much time and money to land so few accounts, this has been written just for you. We have all heard the term, qualified prospects in reference to potential customers, but what does ‘qualified’ really mean? A qualified prospect (my term of choice for ‘prospect’. He’s buying from […]

Positioning for Profit

Sat, 03 Aug 2002 10:52:51 GMT

There is only one reason marketing communication firms are hired, and therefore only one viable basis for the positioning of your firm. It is not personality, it is not process, it is not price. Marketing communication firms are hired for what they can do for their clients based on their expertise.