Firing a Client
Blair interviews David on why dropping a client is sometimes necessary and how to best approach letting them go.
Attribution Errors
Where did the new client come from? Who gets credit? Should the new business person be involved in growing existing accounts? How should they, and/or the account people be compensated? Blair addresses all of these sales attribution questions.
How to Write That Book
You don’t need a degree or license or permission to write a book. David and Blair share the steps they took and what they have learned from the writing process.
Should You Write That Book?
If you think you might have a book in you but aren't sure writing and publishing your own book as an entrepreneur is worth the effort, this episode is for you.
Are You Ready for a Minority Partner
David has eight questions he wants agency principals to ask themselves before hiring him to help add a new partner.
Approaching Normal
In this follow-up to their July 2020 discussion, “Four Regrets You’re About to Have,” David interrogates Blair on the extent to which he is a valuable and accurate predictor of what is happening in the marketplace.
Talking About Mental Health
Blair interviews David on his recent article in which he was very open and honest about his struggles with depression and anxiety.
Orbiting the Giant Hairball
For the last time—ever—David and Blair discuss client-side marketing departments, their struggle to be entrepreneurial and what we can learn from them.
Five Levels of Pricing Success
Blair combines a few of the deeper topics he and David have already covered to provide a larger view of the overall pricing journey he recommends creative firms take.
Your Four Advantages Over an In-House Department
In-house creative departments aren't going anywhere, so David wants agencies to be mindful of the unique value they bring to the projects for which their clients still need them.
A Ten Year Retrospective on the Manifesto
David asks Blair some awkward questions to get inside his head about his successful book, The Win Without Pitching Manifesto.
What an Acquirer Will - and Will Not - Care About
Most of us haven’t sold one firm that we’ve owned, and those principals who have formerly sold their firm aren’t always...ahem...telling the truth.
You Contain Multitudes
In a nod to the Walt Whitman line, Blair believes successful sales people - as well as agency principals - often need to present themselves as different personalities in different situations. And David believes sales trainers are actually therapists.
The Challenges of Growing Too Quickly
As we’ve seen independent creative marketing and digital firms experience rapid growth over this past year, David offers five factors that principals should consider in order to avoid growing for the wrong reasons and/or mismanaging that growth.
The Tao of No
Having a problem with either hearing or saying “no” can lead to problems for your business. Blair has 12 statements about the word “no” that can help.
What a Normal Person Thinks of Your Creative Firm
When people from other industries learn about what goes on inside your firm, are they awe-struck in a good or bad way? Blair and David come up with a list of things that are unique to the creative firm biz and how they’ve seen outsiders react to them.
Communication Components in Your Sales Toolbox
Blair shares an overview of all the communication tools creative firms should be using throughout the sales process.
Performance Bands
David and Blair discuss what the four performance bands are, eleven critical factors that keep firms stuck at the lower performance bands, and what firms can do to move into a higher band.