The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

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A good client will begin to relinquish control once he has the confidence that the expert practitioner knows more than he does, or has the tools to learn more. Formalized diagnostic processes are such tools." In the end of buying cycle, clients need reassurance. Hence, we should do exactly that, but we should focus on their motivation, rather than their request to fulfill this need. Best salespeople = help clients see their problems / opps and solve / get them (they are respectful facilitators of change).

Portfolios are inspiration. They can be beautiful outcomes and can also be of somebody elses's, but it helps to inspire the interested client. Presentations (in which one party tries to convince the other to hire them) build buying resistance; conversations (in which both parties endeavor to make an honest assessment of the fit between one’s need and the other’s expertise) lower it. Seek those that see a fit between thier needs and our expertise, and are willing to leave us the lead of engagement. Going along that vein, Enns talks about how to approach 'sales' in a way that doesn't injure the entire point of the approach. So, he contrasts the typical sales presentation, which is geared towards persuasion, with an entirely separate approach, which is trying to find out if there is a fit between the service offering and the needs of the business WITHOUT doing the free work of diagnosing the business' problem. Enns then goes on to talk about why trying to treat without diagnosing is as bad an idea in creative or business service ventures as it is in medicine or law and how other professionals don't allow people to pressure them into doing things that are bad for both, including offering free diagnostics. The Win Without Pitching Manifesto is a treatise defining how creatives, consultants, and marketers like you can reclaim your status as a prized practitioner…

Accept that clients will turn over —> this is healthy —> client hire in times of need —> if we do our job, this need reduces. I feel that the proclamations are easier for established firms to follow than those that haven't yet built up a strong reputation.

Blair Enns has the answers. Blair is the author of the game-changing book, the Win Without Pitching Manifesto. He has survived the ups and downs of the business side of creativity for long enough to achieve guru status. In this episode, Blair talks about the philosophy that informed his book, and, ultimately, led to the Win Without Pitching program. and we will never put our clients or ourselves in the position where we are prescribing solutions without first fully diagnosing the client's challenge."

And last of all -- I love this one - put discounts in writing. Clients/people will never give you credit for anything unless they know up front you are doing something different for them. You may think you are out on a limb doing everything you can to make it happen... they won't. It is not our objective to sell, convince or persuade. It is simply to determine if there exists a fit suitable enough to merit a next step." Clients smell selectivity - when they know you are selective, they will drop their guard and participate in meaningful discussions of fit Enns made the thematic and structural choice for this book to write it entirely in "we" statements, or proclamations, of which there are 12. It has the vibe of certainty, of time-worn experience creating some trustworthy principles. But it also means we don't get to hear any personal stories from Enns' actual experience, though, and it sounds like there could be some awesome anecdotes from contracts gone wrong.