 | Win Without Pitching is the business development consulting firm for ad agencies and design firms that believe there is a better way to build a marketing communication agency. |
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We Will Do With Words What We Used to Do With PaperWe will understand that the proposal is the words that come out of our mouths and that written documentation of these words is a contract—an item that we create only once an agreement has been reached. We will examine all the reasons we ask, and are asked, to write unpaid proposals and we will never again ask documents to propose for us what we ourselves should propose.
~ wwp ~
When we look back at the proposals we have written and we consider the engagements we have won, we can easily conclude that it was rarely the written document that secured the business. Those engagements we won were the ones for which we were best suited. The suitability of the fit was apparent to both parties throughout the conversations in the buying cycle. The written document did little to sway the decision.
Just as we are leaving behind the pitch, the presentation and persuasion, so too are we abandoning the written proposal and thereby freeing up the dozens or even hundreds of hours we previously devoted to it every year. We have long been conditioned to think that the written proposal is a necessary step in the buying cycle. It is not.
The document that we write is the contract. It serves as public verification of an agreement we have already formed with the client in conversation. The agreement is an oral understanding that covers the scope of work, timeframe, budget and the basic terms of the engagement. While the agreement may be subject to minor details, all of these issues are addressed in conversation first. The paper is produced only once the agreement has been reached.
Overinvesting Creates Buying ResistanceThe buying resistance that we engender in the client is partly a result of the obvious investment we have made in the sale. When we spend hours on a lengthy written proposal, one that diagnoses and prescribes for free, it sends the message that we need the client’s business. We clearly imply to him that he has the power in the relationship. Beyond giving him the upper hand, we also make it difficult for him to be honest with us. Let’s face it, No is the second best answer we can hear. If the client does not see a fit between his need and our expertise, we want to hear so as early in the buying cycle as possible. The more heavily invested we appear to be in the sale, the less likely the client will tell us what he is really thinking. When he thinks we cannot bear to hear no, he will simply stall or defer or deliver a string of maybes. Most of the time, he will do so behind the shield of a request for a written proposal.
We want to operate from the practitioner’s position where we have not overinvested in the sale, where we are not trying to talk the client into hiring us, and where we invite him to say no early and often. In this environment, there is no room for the written proposal, which, like the presentation, is a tool of swaying. Previous Page: The Four Priorities of Wi... Next Page: Why the Client Asks for a... Table of Contents Own the Manifesto
| Amazon Reviews
Expert Creatives Can Make Money Too
Anyone in any creative field MUST read this book! “Blair gives every designer the information they need to change the dynamics of the client relationship, become more profitable and deliver higher quality work - if they have the balls to follow his advice!”
I believe. ”I
used to hate my job of selling creative services. Blair and his
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The 12 steps a Creative Firm must take “The
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Build a better way of bringing the best business to your shop "The
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It's required reading for our partner team and anyone in our firm who
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Best book I've read on design/marketing firm business development “I just finished reading this slim book cover-to-cover, having highlighted about three-quarters of the copy. It's not an exaggeration to say that I've come away with a renewed sense of hope about the future of our business.”
Concise writing, invaluable solutions “[The
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Sell Anything by Following this Manifesto “No matter what business you are in, if you have to sell or present your services this book offers the guidance to be disciplined about the process.”
Essential reading for the creative business owner “The Win Without Pitching Manifesto is a long overdue wake-up call to all those running [creative] businesses. How to establish yourself not just as the agency of choice but as the must-have agency and to command a price premium to match. Great stuff.” |
At last: The secret to being creative AND successful© 2012 Enmark Performance Development All rights reserved
