David gets into Blair's head to get his 10 basic negotiating tips that he has worked with clients on over the years. LINKS "10 Negotiating Tips" (with 5 bonus tips) "Selling in One Lesson," 2Bobs episode 49 Buying Less for Less: How to avoid the Marketing Procurement dilemma , by Gerry Preece Negotiating with Backbone: Eight Sales Strategies to Defend Your Price and Value , by Reed K. Holden TRANSCRIPT DAVID C. BAKER: Blair, today we are going to talk about 10 really interesting ways you can get...
Feb 13, 2019•35 min•Ep. 53
After having discussed positioning in multiple previous episodes, David puts together in this one episode the seven most common mistakes firms make when positioning themselves.
Jan 30, 2019•34 min•Ep. 52
David asks Blair about using "after action reviews" following sales calls, and the two key questions that should be asked as a part of that debriefing process. LINKS Episode #15 - The Best Learning Method Ever Devised: After Action Reviews, from The Soul of Enterprise Podcast with Ron Baker and Ed Kless TRANSCRIPT DAVID C. BAKER: Blair, today we are going to talk about debriefing after a new business call. Not after just a business call, but a new business call, right? So how did this topic come...
Jan 16, 2019•30 min•Ep. 51
Blair asks David to make some predictions about the new year, and then they discuss some ways that businesses can prepare for and react to (God forbid) an economic downturn. TRANSCRIPT BLAIR ENNS: David, predict the future. Coming year, the year ahead ... It doesn't matter when people are listening to this or when we've recorded it, but in the year ahead is it going to be a year of abundance or is it batten the hatches, we've got trouble? DAVID C. BAKER: I think it'll probably be right in the mi...
Jan 02, 2019•34 min•Ep. 50
Blair describes to David how he was able to distill his Win Without Pitching approach into a simple formula: P=db/D Power = desirability / Desire Links Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics by Henry Hazlitt Economics in One Lesson Wikipedia page Henry Hazlitt Wikipedia page The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Blair Enns Transcript DAVID C. BAKER: Blair, We are going to talk about selling in one lesson. BLAIR ENNS: I know why you're laughing. DAVID: ...
Dec 19, 2018•35 min•Ep. 49
After touching on the topic of risk in many other episodes of this podcast, David and Blair finally take a full episode to discuss at length the role of risk in entrepreneurship. LINKS "Confessions of a Recovering Consultant" by Blair Enns Hyman P. Minsky Archive Twitter exchange with Jonathan Stark on risk Strategic Coach program with Dan Sullivan "A Mission With No Exit" by Blair Enns Peter Drucker TRANSCRIPT BLAIR ENNS: David, what's the riskiest thing you've ever done? DAVID BAKER: I've alwa...
Dec 05, 2018•31 min•Ep. 48
Blair gets David to admit that he was kind of wrong about open book management being just a fad when he originally wrote about it almost two decades ago, and David offers ways that it can actually benefit both employees and clients when used appropriately. Links Financial Management of a Marketing Firm by David C. Baker TRANSCRIPT BLAIR ENNS: David, today we're going to talk about open book management. How does that sound to you? DAVID C. BAKER: Sounds like you think you're in charge. Why don't ...
Nov 21, 2018•24 min•Ep. 47
Blair and David analyze and then look beyond the requests for reassurance potential clients make during the late stage of a sale to address their underlying motivations. LINKS "Transtheoretical Model" (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983; Prochaska, DiClemente, & Norcross, 1992) TRANSCRIPT DAVID C. BAKER: Blair, today I want to ask you about something that I've heard you talk about for many years and it's this notion of alternative forms of reassurance. BLAIR ENNS: Yeah. DAVID: We used to do th...
Nov 07, 2018•30 min•Ep. 46
David disagrees with Blair (sort of) on his model for growing existing accounts in the post-AOR era, and then offers his list of 6 ideas on the topic. Links The Peter principle The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson Tony Mikes Transcript DAVID C. BAKER: Today Blair, we are coming to you live from the ReCourses Woodworking Shop, where so far I have done no woodworking, but a whole lot of podcast recording. Maybe I need to take my saws up to my office or something, but I can wander...
Oct 24, 2018•32 min•Ep. 45
Blair remembers what it was like when he was an account person himself, and David shares five ways firms can treat their account people better. LINKS "How to Drive Your Employees Bat Sh*t Crazy" 2Bobs episode TRANSCRIPT BLAIR ENNS: David, we're talking today about how to disrespect people. This is your topic idea. DAVID C. BAKER: Yeah, I get so many requests from people that want help with this, and they naturally ask me. Right? BLAIR: Yeah. Of course they do. DAVID: "Who'd be really an expert a...
Oct 10, 2018•29 min
Blair offers seven mindsets that any seller of expertise needs to master so that they can behave like the expert in the sales cycle. Links "The Jedi Mindset" by Blair Enns McClelland's Human Motivation Theory, also known as Three Needs Theory, Acquired Needs Theory, Motivational Needs Theory, and Learned Needs Theory Transcript DAVID C. BAKER: Good morning, Blair. You are in London. I'm in Nashville. BLAIR ENNS: Yeah, it's my afternoon, and it's your seven AM. DAVID: And don't tell me you've got...
Sep 26, 2018•33 min
LINKS "The Great Convergence Is Upon Us" by Blair Enns "CRM: The Train Coming At You" by Blair Enns AltGroup.net website "Eight Gauges on Your Agency Dashboard" by David C. Baker The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success by William Thorndike "Rising From the Ashes: A New Agency Model" by Blair Enns TRANSCRIPTION DAVID C. BAKER: Blair today we're going to start over. Both you and I are going to start over. We're going to pretend to start over anyw...
Sep 12, 2018•35 min
Blair gives David some homework to identify patterns in the principals of creative practices who are successful and have that "je ne sais quoi." LINKS 2Bobs Episode 28 - "Positioning Cheats" Start With Why by Simon Sinek "Top 10 Podcasts Agency Owners Listen To" by Daniel de la Cruz Crucial Conversations - Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler TRANSCRIPT DAVID C. BAKER: Blair today, we are going to catch up with the rest of the wo...
Aug 29, 2018•33 min
Blair interviews David on what each of the three levels of success in running a creative firm looks like. Links 2Bobs Episode 39 - "Replacing Presentations With Conversations" The Win Without Pitching Manifesto , by Blair Enns The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth , by David C. Baker Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You , by John Warrillow Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour , by Blair Enns 2...
Aug 15, 2018•34 min
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. TRANSCRIPT DAVID C. BAKER: Blair, we are going to talk today about replacing presentations with conversations. BLAIR ENNS: The second proclamation. DAVID: Yeah, it's actually the second chapter in your book, which I'm holding right now in my grimy little hands. The book, it's black with red, looks like foil to make it ...
Aug 01, 2018•29 min
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!"
Jul 18, 2018•27 min
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. Links Rory Sutherland Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion and Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade by Robert Cialdini Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein "The Dark Arts of Leveraging Cognitive Biases" by B...
Jul 04, 2018•41 min
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. TRANSCRIPT BLAIR: David, today we're going to talk about how to crush your competition, is that right? DAVID: Instantly I got very excited about the concept, that's really not what we're going to talk about, but I love that idea. Oh my God, I'm just too competitive, but that's actually the oppos...
Jun 20, 2018•27 min
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. Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour Mastering the Value Conversation podcast episode
Jun 06, 2018•28 min
David and Blair explore the big topic of personality assessment tools that can help firms "get the right people on the bus." Not Your Typical Personality Types →
May 16, 2018•34 min
Blair and David dive into a discussion on ownership structures, looking at the results of a survey that David did recently about partnerships.
May 02, 2018•35 min
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.'"
Apr 18, 2018•34 min
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."
Apr 04, 2018•35 min
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.
Mar 21, 2018•31 min
Blair and David try to wind each other up by going through a list of phrases they hear from their clients way too often.
Mar 07, 2018•34 min
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.
Feb 21, 2018•32 min
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.
Feb 07, 2018•38 min•Ep. 27
Blair revisits David's new book, " The Business of Expertise: How Entrepreneurial Experts Convert Insight to Impact + Wealth " in front of a live audience in London, who get to ask their own questions.
Jan 24, 2018•29 min
Blair talks about his new book, "Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour," and the process it took to write it. David gets him to share three of the main rules laid out in the book that firms should apply in order to see significant increases in profit.
Jan 10, 2018•28 min
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.
Dec 27, 2017•32 min
