David interviews Blair about his new book, which lays out his proven framework to boost closing ratios and average proposal values for any B2B service provider. Links Order The Four Conversations: A New Model for Selling Expertise by Blair EnnsAf David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Tony Kadillak has spent 20 years in branding and promotion, servicing today's most recognizable entertainment and sports brands. Currently EP at Versus, he’s been responsible for supporting the strategic growth of his agency teams, while focusing on key clients to drive the value of design-led thinking to their bottom lines. For over ten years, Car…

Blair and David reminisce about their podcasting journey since Blair first pitched the 2Bobs idea to David back in 2016, sharing what they've learned along the way, and what they might like to try with the podcast in the future.Af David C. Baker and Blair Enns

David unpacks six principles that can help creative firms benefit from delivering strategic guidance through their account managers. LINKS "Account Managers and Strategy" by David C. Baker at punctuation.comAf David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Join Esther and Tim for the DDD Catalyst Think Tank at DDD Milan this October. https://ddd.live/programs/catalyst-think-tank ​Esther Weinberg is a business growth accelerator that equips executives in high-growth media and technology industries to create game-changing breakthroughs, increase profitability in declining markets and create successful …

Blair sees four common behaviors when business owners are looking to get deals moving in times of economic decline, stagnation, or uncertainty that end up doing long term harm to their positioning and pricing. LINKS "Four Ways to Commodify Your Offering" by Blair Enns on WinWithoutPitching.com "Phase Your Client Engagements" 2Bobs episode…

Every few years we’re told that we need to move on from using email newsletters as a part of our marketing platform. And David says that advice has always been wrong. Links David’s article on Punctuation.com (subscribe to his newsletter at the bottom of the page) “Email is the Most Consistent, Reliable Marketing Channel on the Web and I Can Prove I…

David provides some clear examples of what is required for a firm to be successful at offering one service for many different verticals. Links “Strengthening a Weak Horizontal Positioning” by David C. Baker on punctuation.comAf David C. Baker and Blair Enns

This is a recording from RevThink's The Weekly Briefing from August 7th, 2024. This discussion was followed by a Q&A which you can watch here: https://community.revthink.com/c/the-weekly-briefing/resilience-in-chaotic-times-strategies-for-economic-shifts-d3d6ea28-b832-4e00-bf7b-e0aa74fd52d6 Blair Enns is on a mission to change the way creative serv…

Given these uncertain economic times we are in right now, Blair is asking if some creative firms might need to rethink the market they serve, looking at whether their positioning might be too broad, too narrow, or just wrong. LINKS "The Target Is Not the Market" by Blair Enns on winwithoutpitching.com…

David shares his decision-making framework that will help agency principals make better decisions during chaotic times like these. LINKS “Leading in a Chaotic World” article by David C. Baker on Punctuation.comAf 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Alana Tompson is a Melbourne cinematographer and the creative director of Said & Done Media. She also hosts a podcast called Said & Undone which interviews creatives about what could be done – and is being done – to increase the diversity of the film, TV, media and advertising industries to make them a more inclusive place. With her career commenci…

Pricing is a prison cell of our own making. And it’s cultural. Blair has come up with a series of prompts as a creative exercise to help us all move into a realm of higher pricing. Links “Creating a Culture of Premium Pricing” by Blair Enns at WinWithoutPitching.com “Have we Hit Peak Strategy?” “Be the Client You Want to See in the World”…

David wants agency principals to develop new business plans which delivers more new leads with less labor so their organizations can have more controllable growth, as well as increasing their likelihood for a successful exit when that time comes. Links 2Bobs episode: “The Rungs You Can Reach on the Ladder of Lead Generation” NY Times article: “How …

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.Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Kevin Robinson is an award-winning design leader with decades of experience as a director, entrepreneur, executive creative director, strategist, and advisor. Throughout his professional career, Robinson founded and led Juniper Jones, a multidisciplinary studio, and most recently, Creative Dept., a new platform whose mission is to provide access to…

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.comAf 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.comAf 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Marlene P. Naicker, a serial fashion entrepreneur and the Founder/Creative Director of MULDOONEYS, epitomizes resilience and innovation. Born in apartheid-era South Africa in 1975, she draws inspiration from influential figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, embodying fearlessness and empathy. Facing adversity head-on, Marlene battled canc…

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”Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Joanne is CEO of Turner Duckworth, a world-class branding agency with studios in San Francisco, London and New York. Turner Duckworth has designed some of the world’s most valuable brands, including Amazon, McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Levi’s and Samsung. Joanne’s first career was in the art world, having worked at prestigious art galleries in New York, …

Stephen Price is the founder and creative director of Stash Media Inc. and executive editor of Stash Magazine and the Stash Permanent Collection – the world’s only video streaming platform dedicated to design, animation, and VFX. Stephen has given dozens of talks on design at festivals/conferences from Los Angeles to Hamburg and Istanbul to Caracas…

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.Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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…

Will Travis is an internationally respected brand builder and social connector. With a career leading respected branding / advertising agencies ATTIK, Dentsu and SidLee as CEO, he has worked with brands like Toyota, Facebook, Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola. After a 25-year career in elevating products and services, Will launched Elevation Barn (link below)…

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 ChutneyAf 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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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.Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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.comAf 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”Af David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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”Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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…

Those who know, know: Camp Mograph fosters inclusivity, promoting open dialogue among attendees and speakers without hierarchy. Originally a passion project, the event has transformed into a business, posing challenges in balancing time commitment and preserving the initial vision. Today, a pivotal decision looms on whether to expand into a full-sc…

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

What happens when your studio fully exploits the untapped potential of sonic expertise? To answer that question, our guest Eric Singer shares a bit of the science – and a lot of his passion – from the forefront of audio awesomeness at Coupe Studios. Follow the work of Eric Singer and his team at Coupe Studios: https://coupestudios.com/ Enjoyed this…

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…

In this special podcast episode, Tim Thompson, founder at RevThink, sits down with the inspiring creators behind the newly formed community, Mothers of MoGraph: Jennie Davis and Kaci Smith. Discover the strength, resilience, and great creativity that drives the Mothers of MoGraph as they challenge stereotypes in the industry. Kaci Smith is a Motion…

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.Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

We rejoin forces with Ryan Summers and John LePore for a fresh deep dive into the incredible potential and versatility of motion design! Oh, if you missed PART 1, see the link below. In this episode, we answer these questions: - How can motion design skills be seamlessly transferred into adjacent industries, like automotive and experiential design?…

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.Af 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"Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

SVP, Design & Visual Effects at FX, Steve Viola, shares invaluable lessons gathered throughout his career in top-notch collaborations on both the studio side and client side of the table. Join RevCommunity: https://www.revthink.com/join Explore all RevThink https://www.revthink.comAf RevThink

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.Af 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”Af 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.Af 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.Af 2Bobs - with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Maybe you woke up this morning and wondered if I could keep doing this. What can I do differently to change this situation? Business is a lot like life itself. It has its seasons - the times of growth and prosperity and the inevitable downturns, testing our resolve. Knowing when it's worth the effort to persevere or when to seek a new direction is …