 | 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 Address Issues of Money EarlyWe will resist putting ourselves in a position where we have overinvested in the buying cycle only to find the client cannot afford to pay us what we are worth. We will set a Minimum Level of Engagement and declare it early in conversations so that if the client cannot afford us, both parties will be able to walk away before wasting valuable resources.
~ wwp ~
Let us commit to memory the Win Without Pitching rule of money: Those who cannot talk about it, do not make it.
We claim to have been raised in a family or a culture where it is impolite to talk about money, but we know this is only a half-truth, don’t we? In every culture it is impolite to talk about money in a personal setting. Just as ubiquitous as this rule is its corollary: in every culture it is considered a sign of poor business acumen to avoid talking about money in a business setting. We must reconcile these two conventions and not confuse social mores with sound business practices. One of the goals of our enterprise is to make money; therefore, we must form the habit of talking about it early and often.
The Stress of Money ConversationsHow often have we found ourselves deep into a business development opportunity, heavily invested in time and other resources, only to learn at the end that the client’s budget was far below what was required for us to do the job? How is it that we get so far with such a gap in vital information? How is it that we allow ourselves to do so much work without first having a meaningful conversation about the financial fit between both parties?
The client has a budget, or at the very least, budget limitations, and we should have our own parameters that define our minimum client size. With each party having such criteria, it becomes easy to determine as early as practical if there is a financial fit. But for many of us, it is not easy: money conversations are a source of stress.
When we take stock of the stress in our life, it is easy to see that almost all of it is caused by things that are either out of our control—or, more often, things that are within our control that we are avoiding. Stress is caused by the things we do not do. The root of this money stress is not in the conversations themselves, but in not having them when we know we should. Overcoming this stress begins with deciding that from here forward we will talk about money early and often. As soon as the opportunity arises we will lean into the discomfort of the topic, deal with it immediately and eliminate the stress from the subject. In time we will learn to do this with ease. Previous Page: Free Thinking is Not Just... Next Page: A Minimum Level of Engage... 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
principles taught me how to turn selling and manipulation into helping
and serving. Cold calls became introductions. Unsure of my next step
became clarity. I believe...”
Stop Selling, Start Serving - But please don't give it away! “I
have been in the agency world in new business development for over 25
years and have read all the books - Blair wrote this book for me.... and
everyone that sells creative solutions. The Win Without Pitching
Manifesto is a must read by any agency owner, leader or new business
pro.”
The 12 steps a Creative Firm must take “The
book is simple, direct, engaging, and will smack you in the head about
all the false "have-to's" in the sales process of our profession. I am
on my second copy of the book. The first copy is highlighted, marked,
folded and covered in scribbles of my notes.”
Build a better way of bringing the best business to your shop "The
Win Without Pitching Manifesto is the most important book we've read in
the last 5 years on how to build and grow a better service business.
It's required reading for our partner team and anyone in our firm who
participates directly in new business and client engagement.”
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
Win Without Pitching Manifesto] will make a valuable addition to your
business philosophy library. The respectful treatment of creative
businesses will enchant the loopy creative mindset into focus. The
writing is concise, the solutions are invaluable.”
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
