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?
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.
Blair and David discuss the seven most common mistakes firms make when positioning themselves.
Your power in the sale is a function of having your desirability be greater than your own desire. Makes sense, right?
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.”
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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