Blair thinks too many design firms and other service providers are trying too hard to raise prices by presenting themselves as more “strategic.” Both he and David see these agencies losing more and more work to competitors moving to off-shore teams and AI centered services. Links Blair’s “What Is Strategy?” episode of the Ditching Hourly podcast wi…

David definitely doesn’t want anyone to be like tech bros, but he has recognized a few things creative agencies might be able to learn from them.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Happy Mothers day to all! Today a VERY special guest joins us on the show, Ennovy's mom! And don't forget to follow us on all our social media platforms! Instagram - @ennspirations TikTok - @ennspirationsDoor Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

Blair has five steps creative agency leaders can take to turn their account managers, project managers, developers, engineers, and advisors into a source of instant scale to their sales efforts. LINKS “Turning Your Delivery Team Into a Sales Team” article by Blair on WinWithoutPitching.comDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Whether you call yourself an advisor or consultant (or not), David has seven core ethical principles that should govern advisory work. LINKS "Advising Clients Ethically" article on Punctuation.comDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

The fact that sales people tend to talk too much is nothing new, but Blair has observed in recent client work just how profound of an effect this pervasive problem has on sales outcomes. Links “How and When to Talk About Your Firm” “Replacing Presentations With Conversations”Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

When it comes to qualifications for ideal clients, David doesn’t hear anyone talking about how agencies can benefit when the person across the table is someone who presses boundaries and ethically skirts the rules within their own organization.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Today a VERY special guest joins us on the show from Philadelphia, Ell! You can follow her on social media! Instagram - @Bellaelll82 And don't forget to follow us on all our social media platforms! Instagram - @ennspirations TikTok - @ennspirationsDoor Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

As Blair is finishing his new book that drops later this year, he comes to the realization that pretty much everything he does comes down to the fundamental issue that experts think they need to show up as a different person during the sale: pitching, persuading, and convincing instead of as the leader their prospective clients need them to be. LIN…

Join us for the fifth cup of coffee, where Ennovy discusses making it to 9 years of sobriety!Door Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

While discussing eight ways creative firms can do pro bono work better based on an article David wrote recently, both he and Blair discover a couple new profound insights together. LINKS “Maximizing Your Pro-Bono Contributions” by David C. Baker at Punctuation.com Left-handed Mango ChutneyDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair recognizes how a Confucius quote is really bad business advice, but is still moved by how a highly principled creative firm in New Zealand continues to thrive by prioritizing their creative practices and client fit over new business strategy. LINKS "Attending the Way" article by Blair on WinWithoutPitching.com AltGroup.net…

David frequently gets hired to help resolve issues at firms between multiple principles when it comes to who does what and how much each should get paid, so he’s come up with a 7-point framework he can use in each unique scenario.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Join us for the fourth cup of coffee, where we discuss finding our internal peace.Door Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

David interviews Blair about his recent article in which he takes a lesson from investing with compound interest to understand the increasing returns we can receive from our relentless pursuit of knowledge over time. Links “The Time Value of Knowledge” article on WinWithoutPitching.comDoor David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David looks at the current data and weighs all the pros and cons of continuing to have staff who work from home in our post-pandemic economy, which makes Blair wonder if he would even survive if he was starting out in his profession today. Links “The Pros/Cons of Remote Work”Door David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Grab your third cup of coffee as we bring in the New Year. We discuss what no longer serves us, making tough decisions, and making sure we take care of the most important person in our life! Ourselves!Door Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

Blair sees too many creative firms talking at prospective clients using sales scripts instead of having a series of wide ranging conversations on their unique issues and objectives that set the tone for the potential long-term engagement. Links “Ten Set Pieces” “Mastering the Value Conversation”Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Thanks for joining us on the Ennspirational Podcast! This is Episode two, the second cup of coffee. where we discuss that sometimes the worst relationship, is the one we have with ourselves. "Keep doing what you do, so we can do what we do, see you at the top, you got this!" #EnnspirationsDoor Ennovy Wolf-Sanchez

Blair’s latest obsession is bounded rationality, in which he sees too many creative firms failing to make “rational” decisions because they choose to bind their businesses with outdated and overly-constraining ideals like the 80/20 principle. Links “The Great Convergence is Upon Us” by Blair Enns for Win Without Pitching Award-winning “Unapologetic…

David shares his thoughts on some bad advice he hears involving the focus on pursuing personal passions in business.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair weighs in on this year's Forrester report, which shows the ridiculous amount of money agencies have been wasting on pitches. LINKS "Are These the Last Days of the Pitch?" by Blair Enns for Win Without Pitching "A New Forrester Report Urges Brands and Agencies to 'Ditch the Pitch'" by Olivia Morley for AdWeek published on 4 A's…

Thanks for joining us on the maiden voyage of the Ennspirational Podcast! This is Episode one, where Ennovy discusses the power of a postive mindset and changing your perspective, and not giving your power away. "Keep doing what you do, so we can do what we do, see you at the top, you got this!" #Ennspirations…

David addresses another frequently asked question, looking at what creative firms should budget in terms of both money and time for their website, SaaS/automation, PR, content creation, and social media.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair identifies the differences between the ethics of selling expertise and the three schools of bargaining ethics, and what happens when we don’t adapt our bargaining approach to match our opponents in the game of negotiation. Links “The Conflicting Ethics of Selling & Negotiating” article by Blair Enns on WinWithoutPitching.com…

In an era of rapid turnover and remote working arrangements, developing a structured onboarding process for new staff is more important than ever. David has a checklist to help agencies get their new employees up to speed as quickly as possible.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair sees non-standard payment terms as a two-sided issue, where agencies should be creatively leveraging terms more to their own benefit as opposed to just defending themselves against procurement departments who impose onerous terms. LINKS "Payment Terms, On Your Terms"Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

While analyzing data from his Total Business Reset surveys, David has noticed five significant trends which principals should be aware of to run their firms more effectively, as well as one thing your team wishes you’d stop doing.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

As a follow-up to the discussion in the previous episode, Blair has some criteria for firms that would beneift from prioritizing and codifying an effective referral strategy as a way to gain new business. LINKS “The Best Referral Machine I Have Ever Seen”Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

In part one of a two-part discussion about developing a business referral strategy, Blair is surprised to hear that David wants to cover how and why we can get better at giving away business, before talking about how to get more referrals.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair runs through one of his constraint driven exercises with David by having us imagine running our business with nobody dedicated to the various functions under the banner of new business.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David has observed six common characteristics of agency principals that can affect whether or not their business succeeds.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Even after understanding and trying to adopt the philosophies from Win Without Pitching, Blair sees many creative firms struggling to increase profit because of these six obstacles involving their people and processes. Links Mastering the Value Conversation The Complexities of Commission Culture Innoficiency in Your Agency The Enemy Within The Comp…

This is your intervention and David has some tough questions about the important decisions you should be making to manage and grow your creative firm. LINKS "The Four Types of Employees at Your Firm"Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David feels like project managers get a bad rap and has tried to raise their profile within creative firms. So he’s gathered a list of traits from the best project managers he’s met in the hundreds of agencies he’s worked with over the years. Links “Understanding Account People”Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

A lot has changed since Blair wrote his article about seven mistakes he sees creative firms make with CRM years ago, and David wants to know why Excel isn’t a good tool for managing sales leads.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair has six challenges creative agencies face when it comes to being compensated for the actual value they generate for their clients.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David addresses how vertically positioned agencies can manage a client roster containing multiple companies who are competitors with each other.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair has been getting too much spam lately and sees an opportunity with warm leads that lies between inbound and outbound marketing which is not being mined well among the creative firms. Links “Inbound, Outbound & In Between” article on WinWithoutPitching.comDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair wants sales people to stop ranking proposal options in a way that assigns judgement for prospective clients without considering the many tradeoffs that need to be considered. Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-perils-of-good-better-best-pricingDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair is confused by David’s mixed metaphors about creative agencies being able to sell strategy services up front, instead of entering through the implementation door with new clients and then trying to demonstrate how much more your firm can provide.Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair sees some creative firms as “black holes” where accounts go in and seemingly never come out, and others as “new business development machines,” consistently generating half of their revenue from new clients every year. Links “Is Your Firm Addicted to New Business?” “Churn, Baby, Churn”Door 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David has a brand new book, Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors: Covert Techniques for a Remarkable Practice. In it he reveals exactly how he manages engagements with his clients, and he’s nervous about how it will be received. Links Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors: Covert Techniques for a Remarkable Practice The Business of Expertise: How Entr…

Blair has talked many times on the podcast about how innovation and efficiency are mutually opposable goals, and after presenting his first keynote on the "Innoficiency Principle" goes deeper into this idea with David. Links “The Innoficiency Problem” “The Marketing Procurement Problem” The Google Cemetery “The Enemy Within” “The Complex Battle for…

David gets flack for his contrary perspective on how agencies shouldn’t necessarily aim for long-term client relationships. So he clarifies how he’s seen the the fear of both client and employee churn hold firms back. LINKS "Reboot Your Culture Through New Business" "Your Firm Should Be A Team—Not A Family" "The Problem of Standards" by David Maist…

Blair frequently tells his clients, “You reinvent the firm one new client at a time.” So looking ahead to the new year, he has five areas where principals can be looking to upgrade their agency’s culture through the next new client. Links Tim Williams, The Unscalable Business Model Jim de Zoete, Don't Pitch Your Mental Health Maintaining the Expert…

Have your firm's managers been promoted based on technical proficiency and status, or was it because of their self-awareness and critical thinking? David shares why he sees so many poor managers in the creative firms he's worked with, and then lists what he looks for in great team leaders. Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/p…

Without turning everything into a power play, David provides seven sources of leverage that can help agencies maintain the leadership role in client engagements long term. Read the epiosde notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/maintaining-the-expert-position-after-the-saleDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David has 16 things for principals to try when they feel the need to do something different from running their firm. Links Play the Game of Constraints Read the epsisode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/when-your-engagement-level-dropsDoor 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Blair talks about his new podcast with Leah Power, 20% - The Marketing Procurement Podcast, in which they are speaking with marketing, procurement, and agency professionals about how to "procure" creativity without killing it. Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-marketing-procurement-problem…