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.
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”
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 Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth Read the transcrtipt and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/secret-tradecraft-of-elite-...
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 Margin” “Five Levels of Pricing Success”...
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 Maister Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/churn-baby-churn...
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 Position...After the Sale The Agency Gatekeeper Slapping Down Your Childlike Glee Everything Can Change in One Conversation The Enemy Within Masterin...
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/podcast/who-should-be-promoted
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-sale
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-drops
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
Blair recommends five things firms need to be effective at qualifying new business opportunities in order to prevent the over-allocation of resources against early-stage buyers. Links Slapping Down Your Childlike Glee Mastering the Value Conversation Models Everywhere Critical Questions Your New Business Person Should Be Able to Answer How and When to Talk About Your Firm Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-agency-gatekeeper...
David thinks creative firms can learn something from sex workers about how to run their business. Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/prostitutes-and-scope-creep
David is not an economist so he doesn’t have any idea if an economic downturn is imminent, but the signs aren’t great. If you decide that a downturn is around the corner, what would you do right now? Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/how-would-you-prepare-for-a-downturn
Blair had fun on a week of sales calls and came up with four reasons why he thinks most people can learn to have fun selling like he did. Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/selling-should-be-fun-or-you-arent-doing-it-right Links “Are We Having Fun Yet?” “This Should Be Fun” “Coaches Corner: Now This Is Fun”...
Blair and David go into detail about what a model is for a creative firm and how they can be useful in closing new business and improving profitability. Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/models-everywhere
David and Blair follow up their previous discussion about how marketing firms have evolved, going deeper into how different service categories and positioning might look in the near future. Read this episode's transcript and get links to what was discussed at http://2bobs.com/podcast/how-categories-andpositioning-options-might-change
Creative or marketing firms look a lot different today than they did 20 years ago. What happened to the ad agencies and design firms? And what trends are Blair and David seeing as businesses and technology continue to evolve? Read the transcript and listen to more episodes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-evolution-of-a-marketing-firm
David keeps getting asked: “what multiple are you seeing these days?” As if there’s some simple, magic answer that’ll lead to a company’s value. EBITDA is a great tool…but an incomplete one. Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/shortcomings-of-the-ebitda-multiplier
When someone makes Prospect Theory generalizations—saying that buyers either over-weight gains or over-weight losses—Blair wants us to remember that both are true at different times during the sales process, and we need to adjust accordingly at the right times to close the sale. Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-emotional-journey-of-buying-and-selling
Inspired by some observations of what sometimes happens to people on the journey from vendor to expert, Blair sees some newbie Win Without Pitching devotees going too far–power tripping. Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/hard-lines-soft-lines
Does your list of service offerings look like a Cheesecake Factory menu? David identifies five hallmarks of poor service design along with five principles of effective service offering design. Read the transcript and episode notes at http://2bobs.com/podcast/designing-your-service-offerings
In a follow-up to the popular “Secrets Behind the Killer Proposal” episode, David unloads everything firms can do to make sure their website is locked and loaded for winning over new clients (wink wink).
David has seven reasons for removing all barriers on his website for readers and prospects to access what he writes - but admits that it may not be for everyone. Read the show notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/why-all-my-content-is-ungated
Blair details each buyer type (Convenience, Relationship, Price, Value, and Poker Player), and demonstrates how your proposal should do the negotiating work for you regardless of which type of buyer you’re selling to. Read the show notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/selling-to-different-buyer-types
Blair discusses what they mean by having a process, how to develop it, what to avoid, and how your process at its highest level can be turned into valuable IP. Get the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-power-of-process
Would you fire yourself based on the firm's results? Fortunately, David cannot fire you. Unfortunately, David cannot fire you.
WARNING: If you only listen to only one episode of 2Bobs it should NOT be this one. In this send up of the ridiculous things people put in their proposals David and Blair give exactly the WRONG advice, hoping you get the joke.
Every firm will face the possibility of a client concentration challenge, and every client should probably say “yes” to that opportunity in spite of the warnings going off in their heads.
Blair identifies six variables that can change the trajectory of the sale conversation with your prospective client.
The most-read New York Times story of 2021 was about the dominant emotion many of us felt. Blair and David just hit record for this episode, without any plan for this conversation about the pandemic and how they feel about the new year.
