David Baker David Baker

The X-Factor

Blair gives David some homework to identify patterns in the principals of creative practices who are successful and have that "je ne sais quoi."

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David Baker David Baker

Replacing Presentations With Conversations

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.

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David Baker David Baker

Reviewing the "Surveillance Footage"

There are seven patterns that almost all principals are guilty of. When David and Blair point them out, it leads their clients to say, “you must have hidden cameras in my office!"

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David Baker David Baker

Hacking Heuristics

Blair leads a discussion on how clients tend to take mental shortcuts in making business decisions, and how we can nudge clients without manipulating them to make a decision that is in their best interest.

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David Baker David Baker

Collaborating with Competitors

David and Blair compare each other's competitiveness, and then offer some specific ways principals can actually collaborate with their competitors as a part of building beneficial business relationships.

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David Baker David Baker

Four Segments of New Business

Blair and David come up with descriptive words that help clarify each of the four parts of what David calls the "pantheon" for new business: positioning, lead generation, sales, and pricing.

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David Baker David Baker

Thoughts on Partnership

Blair and David dive into a discussion on ownership structures, looking at the results of a survey that David did recently about partnerships.

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David Baker David Baker

What Good Clients Are Really Looking For

Listeners on Twitter wanted to know what clients actually want from creative firms, so David makes a list based on his experience of what good clients want, while Blair's reaction is "who cares what clients want... all they wanted was a 'faster horse.'"

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David Baker David Baker

Mastering the Value Conversation

David gets Blair to expound on his statement that “the value conversation is where value pricing theory goes to die,” and how crucial that conversation is within the sales framework he lays out in his new book, "Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour."

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David Baker David Baker

Defining Success for Creatives

David and Blair take a stab at answering the complicated question of what success looks like for each of them personally, as well as what it means for their clients.

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David Baker David Baker

Words That Make Us Wince

Blair and David try to wind each other up by going through a list of phrases they hear from their clients way too often.

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David Baker David Baker

Positioning Cheats

David is bothered by the notion of helping people cheat, especially at positioning. So Blair discusses 10 ways firms could succeed even if they either aren't ready or don't believe in the idea of tight positioning. You’ll feel dirty.

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David Baker David Baker

Words We Try to Define

Expertise, selling, marketing, entrepreneurship, branding, positioning, and consultant. Blair and David do their best to come up with definitions for terms that they use regularly with clients.

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David Baker David Baker

Planning for the New Year

David and Blair each share some goals that they have for their clients and themselves for the upcoming year, which turns into somewhat of a therapy session.

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