David feels like project managers get a bad rap and has tried to raise their profile within creative firms. So he’s gathered a list of traits from the best project managers he’s met in the hundreds of agencies he’s worked with over the years.
A lot has changed since Blair wrote his article about seven mistakes he sees creative firms make with CRM years ago, and David wants to know why Excel isn’t a good tool for managing sales leads.
Blair has six challenges creative agencies face when it comes to being compensated for the actual value they generate for their clients.
David addresses how vertically positioned agencies can manage a client roster containing multiple companies who are competitors with each other.
Blair has been getting too much spam lately and sees an opportunity with warm leads that lies between inbound and outbound marketing which is not being mined well among the creative firms.
“Inbound, Outbound & In Between” article on WinWithoutPitching.com
Blair wants sales people to stop ranking proposal options in a way that assigns judgement for prospective clients without considering the many tradeoffs that need to be considered.
Read the episode notes and transcript at http://2bobs.com/podcast/the-perils-of-good-better-best-pricing
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.
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.
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-advisors
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.
“The Marketing Procurement Problem”
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.
Tim Williams, The Unscalable Business Model
Jim de Zoete, Don't Pitch Your Mental Health
Maintaining the Expert Position...After the Sale
Slapping Down Your Childlike Glee
Everything Can Change in One Conversation
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
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
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