Online Learning Center

The Online Learning Center contains edited versions of past WWP Webcasts, as well as other audio and video tutorials and supporting information, all geared to helping creative firms Win Without Pitching. Most (but not all) of this content requires a $395 annual membership to access. Members can log in here to view restricted content.

The Positioning lesson plan organizes video and other content into a complete do-it-yourself tutorial for positioning your firm.

An optional Positioning Guidance consulting module is available for those who would like instructor feedback on their positioning efforts each step of the way.

The first of three Process lesson plans, The WWP Way is sales training with a difference. It introduces some of the core Win Without Pitching concepts, such as the need to establish the firm’s expertise in a given area so that you can command the power position in the client-agency relationship, and how to use that power position to control or impact how your services are bought and sold.

It also addresses how to score opportunities and assign next steps, and how to drive costs and needless steps like proposal-writing out of the business development cycle. Your deprogramming starts here.

This Process lesson plan explains the concept of the ladder of lead generation and how to climb it over time.

It covers lead generation strategy and specific tools & techniques of web leads, telephone introductions, networking & referrals. This lesson plan also houses numerous webcasts on the specialized lead generation approaches of expert firms, many lead by the agency principals who employ them best and other outside experts.

The third of the Process lesson plans, Closing with Case Studies is centered on the proprietary Win Without Pitching tools called process-framed case studies. Dubbed the "black box" of the Win Without Pitching approach, they are explained here for the first time outside of a consulting engagement or seminar.

Four webcasts give you everything you need to begin building and using process-framed case studies to derail a pitch and get out of the proposal writing business. More than any other business development tool you use, process-framed case studies will change the way you sell, and ultimately deliver, your services.

This first of two Personnel lesson plans, Staffing is about getting the right people in the right roles, aligned to proper goals and supported by the right incentives. It's for those that manage the business development position, but it will also be of interest to principals of smal firms who want to explore their own business development strengths and set proper annual goals.

This lesson plan covers finding, tasking, paying and supporting business development personnel.

The second of the Personnel lesson plans, CRM & Reporting focuses on goal setting, annual planning, weekly reporting and the day-to-day tools and applications required to manage the business development function.

Some people view social media as the greatest advancement in recent civilization while others view it is a great waste of time. Regardless of your own personal perspective, as a marketer you should be excited about the SM monitoring and integration tools that now offer tremendous insight into who your prospects are, what's important to them and how they are connected to you.

Now it's easier than ever to get all this information in once place and use it to make informed decisions on who to reach out to, when and on what topic.

In this webcast you will learn:

• How to begin to integrate SM network data into your email client and CRM application
• How to create leads from tweets and status updates
• How to use this information to make more informed and timely approaches to prospects
• How to automate some of the resulting follow-up

After this webcast you'll start to see social media through a marketing lens and realize that everything you do out there is being Hoovered up by someone looking to sell you something.

Design unpackaged from strategy is a commodity, but recognizing this truth doesn't suddenly make it easier to be seen as more "strategic." So how does a creative firm back away from the precipice of commoditized creative outputs and develop a more strategic offering? I'll show you how in Improving Your Strategy Offering. Being more strategic doesn't mean changing what you do - it means changing how you do it, and then charging appropriately.

In this webcast you will learn:

• The basic components of strategy and how most firms get it wrong
• Four ways to expand your strategic offering 
• How to deal with the reality that clients want strategy but often don't want to pay for it 
• The other hidden traps of selling strategy

Have you noticed that your clients and prospects are increasingly concerned with the return on investment (ROI) of marketing dollars these days? And it's not 'the economy, stupid' - there's another trend driving the new marketing ROI focus.

In this webcast I'll explain that trend and I'll tell you how to capitalize on it. You will learn:

• When you shouldn't be drawn into ROI conversations (and how to avoid them)
• When you should lean into ROI conversations (and how to do it) -The elements of ROI calculation
• How you can develop and sell ROI-based marketing programs to your clients and prospects

The requirement to speak to marketing ROI is only going to gain pace in the coming months and years.

This webcast is devoted to organization and productivity. Do you ever get the feeling that you could be more productive over the course of an average week? Do you wonder if you're allocating the proper amount of time to the right business development tasks? Are you looking at the right metrics and reporting on the correct activity and results?

A Week in The Life of a Business Development Professional explores the subject of business development productivity in a creative firm. I'll coach you on setting up your week to be one of optimum productivity, ensuring that ankle-biting issues that arise during the week don't keep you from marching steadily toward your goals. 
In this webcast you will learn:

• Proper annual and weekly goals for the business development professional
• Appropriate allocation of time against key business development activities
• My favorite business development productivity tools
• The weekly reports you should be generating for your team
• The four things you must do at the end of the week to ensure the next week begins as productively as possible

Two years ago I began to see a change in the role that marketing was playing in your clients' business. I thought then that it might portend a change in the services that you bring to your clients and to the way you go about getting new business. Now I'm certain of it. The agency landscape is about to change (again) - especially for B2B firms and those with clients who sell high-ticket items. As usual with change this significant, there will be winners and there will be losers.

In this webcast I'll lay out your future for you as I see it. You will learn:

• How marketing has changed within your clients' businesses and how it needs to change within your firm
• One vital skill set that your firm needs to acquire that it almost certainly does not have today
• How the area of opportunity is at the intersection of sales and marketing, and why the firm that wins the VP of sales is increasingly likely to win the deal

In this webcast I discuss the concept of leads within a sales process and a CRM context, explaining the two main approaches to managing leads. 

I explain how to use lead status to manage your behavior and I explain how to use lead ratings to make smarter decisions about managing your behavior.

This webcast will be of interest to anyone interested in sales process or CRM.

48 min Video

Mark O'Brien, CEO of Newfangled Web Factory, returns as my guest expert to share some insights from his new book A Website That Works: How Marketing Agencies Can Create Business Generating Sites. Mark will explain how a properly conceived and built agency website can become a cornerstone of a firm's business development efforts. 

Mark will explain the common mistakes that he sees in agency websites and share with you his step-by-stepmethodology for planning a marketing website. 

In this webcast you will learn:

• The objectives of the business development website
• How to bring the right people to your site and make them do the right things once they get there
• The foundational elements of your site that will make it a successful marketing and lead-generation tool
• How to create a process that will let you plan effective marketing sites for yourselves and your clients for years to come

46 min. Video

In this webcast I explain the concept of "opportunities" within the sales cycle and in the context of CRM applications.

I offer a set of opportunity stages for you to use, explain each one and describe the appropriate next steps for each stage.

Finally I look at how to track this information within your CRM application so that you can build meaningful pipeline reports and sales forecasts. 

In this webcast, Greg Malpass, CEO of Traction Sales & Marketing, walks us through how to get more out of Salesforce.com and other CRM applications.

Greg is a consultant specializing in Salesforce implementation and optimization. He covers many important subjects in this webcast, including the depth to which he uses Salesforce to run his own organization - pushing it well beyond it's initial CRM usage.

This webcast is important viewing for all firms, whether you're using Salesforce, another CRM application or if you're just considering CRM software for the first time.

Also, this is the first webcast archive in the Brainshark format. Over the next 90 days we are converting all webcast archives to this format. You'll notice a difference in quality as well as new features like linkable table of contents and versions for all mobile devices.

Many firms narrow their positioning and see instant results. Others languish in positioning purgatory for a gap of two years or more as the market seems to ignore their forward strides. In this webcast I lay out the causes of the positioning gap and then explain how to close it quickly and fast track inbound leads from valuable prospects that view you as the expert.

52 min. video & slides

We all have a graveyard of dead or dying opportunities that once looked so promising, but for reasons that aren't often clear, just seem to die or go dark as the prospect disappears leaving us with little information. This webcast discusses why opportunities go dark, and offers a simple but powerful strategy for resurrecting them.

45 min. video & slides

This webcast on using webinars to drive leads identifies two different strategies and addresses how to promoting the event, preparing and delivering content, follow-up strategies and format and technology issues.

45 min. video & slides

Jan Vermeiren, author of How To REALLY Use LinkedIn, explains how to take the online business networking site to the next level as a new business mining tool.

57 min. video

An interview with Suzanne Shelton whose firm Shelton Group publishes four branded studies every year. Suzanne's transition story from generalist to specialist makes this webcast required viewing whether you plan to use branded research studies to drive new leads or not...

56 min video

In this special round-table format webcast I interview four agency principal-authors about their experiences is writing their books and the impacts the books have had on their businesses.

43 min video

The second of a two-part webcast on using the podium to drive new leads, Part 2 deals with structuring and delivering content.

42 min video and slides

The first of a two-part webcast on using the podium to drive new leads. Part 1 deals with how to target and get the best speaking gigs.

42 min. video and slides

A tutorial on developing a strategy to handle the three different types of web leads. Also contains a quick look at some tools you can use to help.

54 min. video & pdf

Outside expert David C. Baker applies some of the lessons from his new book, Managing (Right) for the First Time to the management of business development personnel.

33 min. video

Former P&G design procurement chief John Gleason explains how to differentiate yourself in the eyes of procurement professionals and then offers tips and steps on negotiating with procurement once shortlisted. Having heard pitches from more than 400 firms from around the world, John's perspective on this issue is invaluable.

42 min. video

The second in a three-part series on process-framed case studies, this tutorial explains how mood boards can be used with clients to better navigate the transition from strategic recommendations to creative deliverables. This tutorial focuses largely on using mood boards with existing clients, but it sets the stage for the final tutorial in the series, The Case Study, where the mood board becomes a powerful sales tool.

42 min. video & PDF

The final in a three-part series on the WWP proprietary tool called the process-framed case study, this tutorial puts all the pieces together to explain how properly constructed and presented case studies can be used to derail a pitch and get out of the proposal-writing business.

59 min. video & pdf

The Diagnostic Sales is the first in a three-part series on process-framed case studies. This tutorial sets the stage by laying out the four phases of the client engagement and exploring the first two (Diagnose and Prescribe). It explores the role of the diagnostic, various diagnostic forms, and it explains how to use a diagnostic sale to close on a phased engagement in a manner that gets you paid for writing the proposal.

47 min. video & PDF

The Takeaway is a tutorial on the power of saying no in the buying cycle. By taking the deal off the table, or retreating where others would advance, we determine how much power we have with the prospect. This tutorial examines the need to say no, then explores the various places in the buying cyc

le to employ it, and finally, it addresses how to get to yes after our no.

42 min. video

The Rainmaker Autopsy looks at the three common profiles of agency business development personnel and explains the strengths and weaknesses of each. It identifies the best lead generation strategy for each profile and offers tips on how to manage and support each.
52 min. video

If you're not pitching free ideas, if you're not diagnosing or prescribing for free and if you're not writing proposals, what then are you doing in the closing meeting? This tutorial covers the tone, manner and content pf the closing meeting.

52 min. video

There are three parts to this tutorial. The first few minutes is devoted how to establish pricing for your firm. The second part covers various techniques for negotiating price, including two methods to help you discuss money early and often. The last section suggests five different closing technicques to help you get the price you want, late in the buying cycle.

48 min. video

A tutorial on understanding the year just passed and planning for the year ahead, this video covers the four key lagging indicators of business development performance and the one key leading indicator. By following the simple measurements and steps laid out you'll remain focused on the proper goals and objectives for the year, driving your client quality up and your cost of sale down.
46 min. video

The second in a two part tutorial on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software options for agencies, Part 2 reviews four CRM products - Salesforce.com, Workamajig CRM, Highrise and Daylite - and explains how to use the WWP sales system within each.
47 min. video

The original 90-minute webcast on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software for creative firms has been split into two parts. Part one offers an overview of CRM applications and explains how information moves through them. This basic primer is recommended viewing for all but the most advanced CRM users.
23 min. video

In Part 2 of this two-part tutorial, our outside expert Gemma Went delves into four main social media tools of blogging, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, describing how to employ each in your efforts to build your firm. At the end I facilitate some questions for Gemma that leads us into a discussion of social media strategy.
29 min. video

In November, 2009, Gemma Went, director of Red Cube Marketing in London, was our outside expert in social media. We've broken her webcast into two parts. In Part 1 Gemma offers an overview of social media, explaining why she thinks you should consider using social media to aid in your business development practices. Part 1 will be of interest to those learn more about social media. Those already employing media or with a working knowledge might proceed to Part 2.
20 min. video

In this tutorial I explain the idea of commitment as a tool, and explore how to use it throughout most of the buying cycle to help improve everything from the qualification process, right down to the close and the amount of fees you can command. I also review some of the latest research on the science of commitment and explain how to use the results of these studies to improve your business development performance today.
43 min. video

The first question to ask after the firm has been properly positioned is the Product question: What collection of skills, capabilities and processes do we need to add to support our claim of expertise? This tutuorial explains the role of product and then offers a five-step exercise to help inventory the firm's current product and identify future product. It also addresses how to institutionalize product development into the culture of your firm.

28 min. video & pdf

Positioning is strategy articulated. Once the firm's focus has been selected, the next step is to articulate it succinctly, compellingly and consistently. This tutorial aids in the crafting of a two-sentence elevator pitch, made up of a positioning statement and reassurances statement. Together, these two lines form the reply the next time somebody asks, "What do you do?"

36 min. video & pdf

The 1st step to winning without pitching is to change the power structure in the buy-sell relationship through positioning. Power is gained by reducing or eliminating competition. In most firms, this requires a narrowing of focus. This tutorial makes the case for the specialized, expert firm and then maps out seven steps to choosing the right focus for any firm.

47 min. video & pdf

The term cold call implies the hunter's objective of looking for something to kill. Hunters have a high failure rate and thus need above average sales drive to be able to keep going in the face of hearing no all day long. For the rest of us, we're better off with an approach that's more like that of a farmer than a hunter. In this video I explain and explore the difference, and then lay out the format of the perfect telephone introduction.

37 min. video

A tutorial on the metrics and tools of tracking business development performance, this video  explains how to use the WWP Business Development Meeting Report to frame your weekly business development meetings. It lays out the agenda and format for the meeting and identifies the key metrics to track.

42 min. video & report (MS Word)

Newfangled Web Factory CEO Mark O'Brien is my outside expert on the agency website in this video on the What, Where, Why, When and How of agency websites. I learned a ton when he first did this webcast for us and I still refer to it and his other guidance on the dos and don'ts of the agency website.

31 min. video

A tutorial on improving language and performance in selling situations, this video spends a few minutes on the basics of overcoming objections, then it gets into the WWP approach of creating objections for the prospect to overcome, including five that any business development person should be armed with at all times.

31 min. video

RFPs are the bane of the creative firm, but they don't have to be. Win Without Pitching firms routinely circumvent, derail, help write, ignore and otherwise beat the RFP. It all begins with raising a standard objection as soon as one hear those three letters, "We don't typically respond to RFPs." From there, the fun begins in this step-by-step video on responding to RFPs.

37 min. video

Cal Harrison from Beyond Referrals is my outside expert for this tutorial on the differences in nature and use of references, testimonials and referrals. Cal looks at where each is used in the buying cycle, then explains the two main types of referrals and how, and how not, to solicit referrals from clients and friends.

30 min. video

Many firms produce and distribute a newsletter, and most get it wrong. It's not about selling, or promoting; it's about helping. The newsletter is the firm's primary nurturing tool for managing early-stage prospects. In this tutorial I cover the dos and don'ts of newsletter writing and distribution and I share some examples of better agency newsletters.

33 min. video

This Win Without Pitching Overview is a 50-minute webcast (with Q&A) delivered to Function Fox users in March, 2008. If you're new to the WWP approach or just skeptical that a creative firm can win new business without first pitching free ideas, start here. No membership is required to view this video.

In this opening keynote from the 2008 HOW Mind Your Own Business Conference I discuss the softer side of positioning. After years of telling agency principals to position their firms on expertise and expertise alone, I finally get the question of the role of personality in positioning an agency.

75 min. (approx) audio

Another speech from the the 2008 HOW Mind Your Own Business Conference, this one on the Fourth P of business development success: Personnel. Here I outline the different business development functions in the firm, I discuss the considerations of assigning these functions, and I describe the attributes of the most successful business development personnel

75 min. (approx) audio