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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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