# The Win Without Pitching Manifesto  ## Metadata - Author: [[Blair Enns]] - Full Title: The Win Without Pitching Manifesto - Category: #books ## Highlights - We will acknowledge that it is the availability of substitutes – the legitimate alternatives to the offerings of our firm – that allows the client to ask, and compels us to give, our thinking away for free. ([Location 39](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=39)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Expertise is the only valid basis for differentiating ourselves from the competition. Not personality. Not process. Not price. ([Location 44](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=44)) - Tags: [[pink]] - His power comes from the alternatives that he sees to hiring us. When the client has few alternatives to our expertise then we can dictate pricing, we can set the terms of the engagement and we can take control in a manner that better ensures that our ideas and advice have the desired impact. ([Location 47](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=47)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we drastically reduce the real alternatives to hiring our firm, we shift the power balance away from the client and toward us. ([Location 55](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=55)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must choose a focus Then articulate that focus via a consistent claim of expertise And finally, we must work to add the missing skills, capabilities and processes necessary to support our new claim. ([Location 61](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=61)) - Tags: [[pink]] - price elasticity is tied to the availability of substitutes. ([Location 76](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=76)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We are hired for our expertise and not our service. It is a mistake to believe that the service sector mantra of “The customer is always right” applies to us. Like any engagement of expertise, we often enter into ours with the client not truly knowing what he needs, let alone recognizing the route to a solution. For us to do our best work we need to leverage our outside perspective. We need to be allowed to lead the engagement. We need to take control. ([Location 81](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=81)) - Tags: [[pink]] - No one consciously chooses to be weak. In business, weakness is often a symptom of not making The Difficult Business Decision. ([Location 100](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=100)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Even when we pitch and win, we lose. We devalue what should be our most valuable offering and set up the wrong dynamics between the client and us. ([Location 161](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=161)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must move away from the place where the client sits with arms crossed in the role of judge, and we take to the stage with song and dance in the role of auditioning talent. ([Location 162](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=162)) - Tags: [[pink]] - There is an inverse correlation between the quantity of creative options we present to the client and the confidence we have in their quality. ([Location 197](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=197)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will be careful not to cede our expertise by asking, “Which one do you like?” We will direct all discussions around the creative back to the strategy and ask if we are accomplishing our goals. ([Location 198](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=198)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Presenting is a tool of swaying, while conversing is a tool of weighing. Through the former we try to convince people to hire us. Through the latter we try to determine if both parties would be well served by working together. ([Location 226](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=226)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our mission is to position ourselves as the expert practitioner in the mind of the prospective client. ([Location 233](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=233)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Objective: Determine Fit → While our mission is to position, our objective at each and every interaction in the buying cycle is simply to see if there is a fit between the client’s need and our expertise suitable enough to take a next step. That’s it. 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. Our mission is to position; our objective is to determine a fit. ([Location 240](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=240)) - Tags: [[pink]] - we will never put our clients or ourselves in the position where we are prescribing solutions without first fully diagnosing the client’s challenge. ([Location 261](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=261)) - Tags: [[pink]] - There are four phases in our client engagements: Diagnose the problem/opportunity Prescribe a therapy Apply the therapy Reapply the therapy as necessary ([Location 263](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=263)) - Tags: [[pink]] - While it is common practice in the creative professions to prescribe solutions without fully and accurately diagnosing the problem, in almost every other profession such a sequence would render the professional liable for malpractice. ([Location 266](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=266)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We owe it to ourselves and our clients to stand firm on this most basic of professional practices and to never agree to begin working on a creative solution to a problem that we have not fully explored. ([Location 268](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=268)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our reaction must be, “You may be correct, but let’s find out for sure.” ([Location 279](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=279)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Design is not the solution – it is the process. ([Location 283](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=283)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Other professionals are taught to drive the diagnostic process or risk their professional credentials. ([Location 308](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=308)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Like any other competent professional, it is reasonable to expect that if we address similar problems on a regular basis then we would have a formalized way of beginning the engagement. It follows that we would demand to be allowed to follow our own process and not readily agree to use one developed by the client or his procurement people. It also follows that when a client comes to us self-diagnosed, we would feel the same sense of obligation to validate that self-diagnosis as any other professional would. ([Location 325](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=325)) - Tags: [[pink]] - 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. ([Location 328](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=328)) - Tags: [[pink]] - From here forward we will view the act of prescription without diagnosis for what it is: malpractice. ([Location 330](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=330)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will embrace sales as a basic business function that cannot be avoided and so we will learn to do it properly, as respectful facilitators. ([Location 336](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=336)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we are any good at what we do, we believe, then we should not have to talk people into hiring us. ([Location 341](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=341)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Making things and selling things are the two basic functions in business. For our business to succeed we must succeed at both. ([Location 352](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=352)) - Tags: [[pink]] - selling is about determining a fit between the buyer’s need and the seller’s supply (our very objective) and then facilitating a next step. Sometimes the proper next step is to part ways, sending the client on to another provider who is better able to serve him. ([Location 363](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=363)) - Tags: [[pink]] - To sell is to: Help the unaware Inspire the interested Reassure those who have formed intent ([Location 377](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=377)) - Tags: [[pink]] - He moves from unaware of his problem or opportunity, to being interested in considering the opportunity, and finally, to intent on acting on it. As he progresses in this manner, our role must change from one of helping, to inspiring, and ultimately to reassuring. ([Location 381](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=381)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The psychology of buying is the psychology of changing. Selling, therefore, is change management. ([Location 383](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=383)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The very best salespeople are respectful, selective facilitators of change. They help people move forward to solve their problems and capitalize on their opportunities. ([Location 384](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=384)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The role of our thought leadership is to educate, not to persuade. The future client should be smarter for reading it, we should be smarter for writing it, and, one day, when the client does experience a problem in an area on which we’ve written, our guidance may be helpful to him in seeing the opportunity within his problem. Until that day, we continue to cement our position as leaders in our field through our writing. Experts write. ([Location 403](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=403)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Writing our way forward is a long-term approach that requires the patience of a farmer versus that of a hunter. But it is the only effective, respectful way with the client who says no and does not see the fit between his need and our expertise. ([Location 409](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=409)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Let us be clear: our goal with such a prospect is to inspire him to form the intent to solve his problem; it is not to inspire him to hire us. ([Location 421](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=421)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our portfolios are our best tools of inspiration. They show the client what could be. They show him what others have done. ([Location 424](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=424)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Inspiration is the primary role of our website, our brochure, our sales collateral and our in-person portfolio review. It need not even be our own work that we show here to inspire the interested, just inspirational outcomes. ([Location 426](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=426)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Inspiration is something we must save for the interested. ([Location 431](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=431)) - Tags: [[pink]] - After only a few hours, the client’s euphoria wears off and he slips into a hangover of doubt called buyer’s remorse. Now he questions everything, including his decision to move forward. He considers all the things that could go wrong, all the reasons why this might not make sense. ([Location 440](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=440)) - Tags: [[pink]] - As natural inspirers, our tendency is to do exactly the opposite of what is required at this moment. Playing to our strengths, we lean towards inspiration once again at a time when we should reassure. ([Location 442](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=442)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We continue to talk big-picture when the client now needs to process sequentially and seeks to understand what the steps are that we would take together. He asks questions of the smallest detail – questions that seem meaningless and even odd to us, but are of the utmost importance to him in his quest for assurance that he is not about to make a significant mistake. ([Location 446](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=446)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Closing – the last step in the buying cycle – is all about reassuring. ([Location 449](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=449)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Phased engagements, pilot projects, money-back guarantees and case studies framed in defined methodologies are among the many viable alternative forms of reassurance. ([Location 453](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=453)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The goal is to win. The preferred means is to not pitch. A firm that does not win will not last. ([Location 459](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=459)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We first strive to secure the business before it gets to a defined, competitive selection process in which we are pitted against our peers and asked to give our thinking away for free. ([Location 461](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=461)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We walk away when we cannot Win Without Pitching, when we cannot derail the pitch and when we are unable to gain the inside track. ([Location 483](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=483)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will look for those that we can best help. We will seek out those that see a fit between their needs and our expertise and who are willing to let us lead the engagement. ([Location 488](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=488)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Those engagements we won were the ones for which we were best suited. The suitability of the fit was apparent to both parties throughout the conversations in the buying cycle. The written document did little to sway the decision. ([Location 499](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=499)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we spend hours on a lengthy written proposal, one that diagnoses and prescribes for free, it sends the message that we need the client’s business. ([Location 509](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=509)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The more heavily invested we appear to be in the sale, the less likely the client will tell us what he is really thinking. ([Location 512](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=512)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In sorting through many similar firms, the client seeks to grid out their likenesses and differences. ([Location 536](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=536)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we are pomegranates then we will resist being pushed into a process designed to compare apples to apples. ([Location 541](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=541)) - Tags: [[pink]] - A client asking for unpaid ideas in a written proposal is like a patient asking for a diagnosis and prescription from a doctor he refuses to visit or pay. ([Location 547](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=547)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Either we leverage the power gained by our expertise to impact the client’s process and replace the proposal and accompanying presentation with conversation, or we walk away and leave this client to another firm. ([Location 549](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=549)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The most common, and costly, business development mistake shared by creative firms around the world is that of mistaking interest for intent. ([Location 551](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=551)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Clients often ask creative firms for proposals before their intent to act on their problem has been formed. ([Location 553](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=553)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must learn to measure the client’s intent; if his decision to act on his opportunity has not yet been anchored to a future date or event (a decent indicator of intent), then the written proposal is not the tool to help propel him forward. If the engagement has not yet moved from his wish list to his to-do list, then it is still inspiration he seeks. ([Location 554](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=554)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We are better off in these cases exploring our previous work for examples of inspiration, or examining with him his competitor’s work or other best practices from further afield. Sometimes such explorations merit a small paid discovery engagement, and sometimes they are merely part of the conversations in the buying cycle; but we must not mistake the seeking of inspiration for the will to move forward. ([Location 557](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=557)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If the answer is no, we want to hear it; therefore, we want to make it easy for the client to say it. It serves neither of us when we lob a written proposal over the fence and wait patiently for a reply. ([Location 564](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=564)) - Tags: [[pink]] - One of our new mantras that we will repeat to ourselves and our potential clients is: We do not begin to solve our clients’ problems before we are engaged. ([Location 574](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=574)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Doctors charge for MRIs. Accountants charge for audits. Lawyers charge for discovery. And we charge for our diagnostic work as well, whether it is a brand audit or discovery session that we conduct ourselves, or outside research that we commission. ([Location 580](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=580)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The outcome of the diagnostic phase is two parts: findings and recommendations. In our findings we deliver our diagnostic discoveries, and in our recommendations we include a plan to move forward, complete with timeline and budget. ([Location 583](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=583)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our proposal is indeed the words that come out of our mouths: “We propose to do X for you, over Y timeframe, for Z price.” Once we have agreement on the proposal, then we write up the contract for signature. ([Location 586](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=586)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Selectivity is one of the defining characteristics of the expert. It builds credibility, reduces buying resistance and creates the conditions where it is possible to replace presentations with conversations. ([Location 606](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=606)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will not win every opportunity, nor do we need to. ([Location 609](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=609)) - Tags: [[pink]] - It is human nature to follow what retreats from us and to back away from what advances. Confucius famously said, “Speak softly and people lean toward you; speak loudly and they lean away.” ([Location 614](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=614)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Buyers prefer to be politely vetted by a seller who has clearly defined parameters of the nature of the work he will do, the type of client he will take on, and the budgets with which he will and will not work. The client’s experience in dealing with the selective expert versus the enthusiastic generalist who barges headlong into every opportunity is night and day different. One invites him to advance; the other causes him to retreat. ([Location 615](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=615)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Selectivity begins with positioning ([Location 620](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=620)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The client should be able to determine from a sentence or two whether our expertise is likely to meet his needs. ([Location 621](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=621)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The narrower our claim of expertise, the more integrity we earn. ([Location 622](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=622)) - Tags: [[pink]] - No is the second best answer we can hear. If the answer is no, we want to hear it as soon as possible, before we and the client unnecessarily waste valuable resources. ([Location 629](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=629)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When an opportunity first arises, therefore, we try to see if we can kill it. ([Location 630](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=630)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If the opportunity is right and we retreat just a little, the client is likely to follow. The retreat-and-follow is an important test of how much the client recognizes and values our expertise. ([Location 632](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=632)) - Tags: [[pink]] - There are many common reasons why an engagement might not make sense: money, the nature of the client’s need, his willingness to let us lead, geographic location, the depth of our experience. ([Location 636](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=636)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We want to develop the habit of putting on the table for early discussion these or any other concerns we, or the client, might have. ([Location 637](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=637)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our tendency is to avoid areas of potential objection, but they cannot be avoided forever. Eventually the client raises them and we are forced to address them. Such dynamics are easily reversed when we learn to raise the objections first and place them on the table for the client to address. Instead of waiting to hear, “You seem expensive,” we might say, “I’m a little concerned about the ability an organization of your size has to afford us.” ([Location 640](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=640)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In this manner we want to learn to lean into potential objections. If the objection is going to kill the deal, then let’s kill it early. ([Location 643](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=643)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Our claim of expertise should be a lot narrower than the sum of our capabilities. ([Location 652](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=652)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We owe it to him to reiterate our claim and point out the gap between what he needs and what we do. From there, the client can make the decision to bridge the gap or not. ([Location 654](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=654)) - Tags: [[pink]] - On this point of accepting work outside of our expertise, let us remember that we never want to be enticed into competing for it. ([Location 658](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=658)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The client may view our display of passion as an invitation to take control and an admission that our expertise may be lacking. ([Location 670](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=670)) - Tags: [[pink]] - As our expertise deepens, so too does our ability to be selective. Expertise forces selectivity. ([Location 672](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=672)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The generalist is drawn to the problem he has not yet solved. His curiosity trumps all else. He feels no discomfort in operating outside of his area of expertise because such an area is broad, shallow and loosely defined. He pursues with passion the new and the different. ([Location 673](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=673)) - Tags: [[pink]] [[favorite]] - Selectivity is something he must learn. He must put his passion in its place and walk away from those opportunities where he is not viewed as the expert. ([Location 684](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=684)) - Tags: [[pink]] - This is one of the indulgences of the generalist: it is an easier life. It is not as lucrative. It is not as fulfilling. It is, however, easier. ([Location 693](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=693)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The proven reality is that most people will change their desires, even their values, before they will change their behavior. Now, the question we must face is, are we most people? ([Location 696](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=696)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The proof that we desire to build, and that our future clients need to see, is rooted in our skills, capabilities and processes. These are things that we must never cease to build – assets to which we must never stop adding. ([Location 714](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=714)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Writing gets us found. Writing helps to cement our position as experts. Most important of all, writing about what we do is the fastest way to deepen our knowledge. ([Location 722](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=722)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The skills we must possess or acquire in order to succeed in a differentiated creative enterprise are: consulting first, writing second, artistry third. ([Location 727](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=727)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Nothing reassures the client more than him drawing the powerful inference that little variability in process equals little variability in outcomes. ([Location 740](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=740)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we have no meaningfully defined processes, then there is not much to train our people on. But once we commit to defining and improving how we work, then we must commit to training our people on such methods. ([Location 744](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=744)) - Tags: [[pink]] - While creative people have a proclivity for generalist tendencies that allow them to explore the new and the different, most will select a path of deep expertise once it is shown to them and they have experienced the benefits. Without that experience, not all will be convinced to join us on our journey. ([Location 753](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=753)) - Tags: [[pink]] - How can we diagnose and prescribe for free one minute, and later ask for hundreds or thousands of dollars for similar thinking? ([Location 776](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=776)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must strive for a consistency in our behavior that says we know our own worth and we will not be led into selling ourselves short. ([Location 777](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=777)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must address our own negligence in standards around this behavior, and simply agree that there is a line that separates proving our ability to solve the client’s problem from actually solving his problem. ([Location 778](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=778)) - Tags: [[pink]] - It is as simple as deciding we will no longer do it, writing this commitment into a policy statement, and then stating to the client with polite conviction, “It is our policy to not begin to solve our clients’ problems before we are engaged.” ([Location 781](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=781)) - Tags: [[pink]] - It is irresponsible of us to use our identity as artists as an excuse for not forming business standards and policies. ([Location 783](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=783)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: Another example of creativity vs business. - We encounter far less client resistance when we preface our requirement with the words, “It is our policy that…” ([Location 785](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=785)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: Speaking the business language. This gains respect from potential business associates because we are now in the same world. We are in the world of business. - Each of the phases that precedes design or any other application work has a value at least as high as the application. ([Location 788](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=788)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: Every single phase is equally as valuable. The two areas that I am corelating to right now are planning and wireframes in web design as well as the idea of documenting your work. - We correctly collect preliminary diagnostic information in the buying cycle in order to assess the client’s situation and make a determination of our ability to help. But we should not progress so far as to share our diagnosis with the client before we are hired and appropriately paid. ([Location 791](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=791)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: We have to provide enough information for the user to assess whether we are a fit for their needs while at the same time refrain from providing diagnosis. We do so by seeking inspiration via other sources like old work, competitor research or best practice exploration. - While we do not doubt his word when he speaks it, we must remember that he is not fully committed until he has parted with his money. Every client reserves the right to change his mind until he parts with his money. ([Location 796](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=796)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The escalation of commitment begins with a private one, when he says to himself, “I’m going to do this.” From there he moves to shared commitment when he says aloud to us, “Let’s do this.” He then further escalates his commitment by signing his name to a legal document, be it a contract, letter of intent or memorandum of understanding. But even now he is not truly committed. It is not until he has parted with his money that he is fully committed to moving forward with us; and even then we will still have to reassure him through the inevitable period of buyer’s remorse. ([Location 798](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=798)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Note: Stages of client commitment through the buying cycle. This also applies to personal stages of commitment in anything else. - One third to one half of the fee portion of the engagement is appropriate, or even the entire fee for the first phase in a phased engagement. ([Location 804](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=804)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We simply say, “We’ll get started as soon as we receive the deposit, as is our policy for all new clients.” ([Location 806](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=806)) - Tags: [[pink]] - the Win Without Pitching rule of money: Those who cannot talk about it, do not make it. ([Location 815](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=815)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In every culture it is impolite to talk about money in a personal setting. Just as ubiquitous as this rule is its corollary: in every culture it is considered a sign of poor business acumen to avoid talking about money in a business setting. ([Location 817](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=817)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we take stock of the stress in our life, it is easy to see that almost all of it is caused by things that are either out of our control – or, more often, things that are within our control that we are avoiding. ([Location 827](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=827)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The annual fee minimum that we require becomes our Minimum Level of Engagement. It is an approximate number (usually somewhere around 10% of our total target fee income for the year) ([Location 837](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=837)) - Tags: [[pink]] - let the prospect know that we only work with a small number of new clients every year and therefore can only add clients that will spend at or above our Minimum Level of Engagement. ([Location 841](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=841)) - Tags: [[pink]] - “This is the size of client it makes sense for us to work with, so if you decide at some point that you would like to work with us, we ask that you be prepared to commit to fees at or above this level over the year.” ([Location 842](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=842)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We want to develop the habit of routinely sharing our Minimum Level of Engagement in every first discussion of an opportunity with a new prospect, while always reserving the right to waive it, if appropriate. ([Location 847](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=847)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We may choose to take on new project work if it meets certain criteria, such as, if we have capacity, if we can do it profitably, if it does not impair our ability to obtain more appropriate strategic work from the client in the future and if we do not have to compete for it. ([Location 853](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=853)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Delivering our Minimum Level of Engagement early teaches us of the client’s ability to afford us. ([Location 862](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=862)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we find that the client does not meet our minimum, but for other reasons, may still represent a lucrative opportunity, we can simply follow up with language such as, “Before I say no, let me ask you a few questions.” ([Location 862](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=862)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we determine the fit is suitable and we decide we would take this client on as one of our few exceptions to our minimum requirement, we must ensure that removing the minimum is the last thing we do before accepting the engagement. ([Location 865](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=865)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must dispossess ourselves of the notion that we can operate on thin profit margins at the beginning of a new client relationship and then work to increase those margins over time. We know that profit margin, like power, only diminishes with time. ([Location 885](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=885)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The first two phases of diagnose and prescribe represent the strategic portion of the engagement – the thinking phases that precede the doing. Our strength in these first two phases is what sets us apart from our competition and keeps the commoditizing forces of the profession at bay. The thinking that precedes and wraps our doing is our value-added differentiator. It is the basis of our deep expertise. Our opportunity for profit margin in the engagement is greatest in these first two phases and diminishes from there. ([Location 892](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=892)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we win by charging less, price becomes our positioning that we wear like an albatross with that client forever: we become the price shop. ([Location 899](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=899)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will save the use of discounts for our best and longest serving clients at times when they need our support. ([Location 902](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=902)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If, from time to time, we decide that it makes sense to cut price to win the engagement, we must ensure we never cut so deep as to jeopardize its profitability. ([Location 904](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=904)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We may negotiate from time to time, but before we cut price we will ensure we have explored all the alternatives. ([Location 907](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=907)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Guarantees → Clients may attempt to negotiate because they are unsure of the value of our services. In these situations we can consider guarantees as alternatives to discounting. Not guarantees of return on investment – for too many variables remain out of our control. Not guarantees on our entire spectrum of offerings – for they may be used against us late in the engagement. ([Location 909](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=909)) - Tags: [[pink]] - It is appropriate to guarantee the first phase – diagnosis and prescription – of a phased engagement in order to reassure the client of the value of moving forward with us. There is far less risk in this guarantee than there is in pitching free ideas and hoping to get paid. ([Location 911](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=911)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Terms → Clients may see the value of our offering but attempt to negotiate based on their inability to pay. In these situations, before we discount we should consider offering favorable terms that let the client pay over time. ([Location 913](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=913)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Holding Our Ground → Sometimes clients will see our value and will be able to afford us, but will negotiate to get a better price nonetheless. ([Location 915](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=915)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We Leave it to Last → First, we will ensure that cutting price is the last thing we do. We will search for and address all other objections before we agree to discount. ([Location 921](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=921)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We Put it in Writing → Second, we must ensure that such discounts are clearly identified in all written documentation, including contracts, estimates and invoices, in order to remind the client of the true value of our services. ([Location 925](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=925)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will treat charity as charity and not confuse it with business development. ([Location 933](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=933)) - Tags: [[pink]] - This is the emancipating duality of pro bono work: it is the charity we must do, and it gives us the courage to turn away work that would be only marginally charitable or questionably profitable. ([Location 937](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=937)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Every one of our for-profit engagements will bring us profit. Our carefully selected pro bono clients will bring us nothing but fulfillment. ([Location 938](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=938)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In the early days of a firm, there can sometimes be little foundation on which to build expertise. Here, pro bono – or even deeply discounted work within the selected field of focus – might be required to build that expertise. In these cases, there is no shame in being upfront with a prospective client about working cheaply or for free to amass expertise. ([Location 941](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=941)) - Tags: [[pink]] - If we truly are trading profit for expertise building, then we will be honest and direct with our client about it. To do it quietly is to employ the generalist tactic of competing on price. ([Location 944](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=944)) - Tags: [[pink]] - In boldly charging more than our competitors, we advertise to our prospective clients that we have confidence in our ability to deliver high quality outcomes. ([Location 954](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=954)) - Tags: [[pink]] - As we get better we will charge even more, until we find that equilibrium that captures the appropriate remuneration for the value of our services. Our premium pricing will cost us clients from time to time; but if we are not losing business on price occasionally, then we are not charging enough. Conversely, if we need to win on price, we are not setting ourselves apart as experts. ([Location 955](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=955)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We will invite the client to tell us that he would prefer to work with a more affordable firm. We will not apologize for charging more; it is fair compensation for the increased value we deliver as experts. It lets us improve our offering by giving us the means to reinvest in ourselves and, most important of all, it almost certainly improves the outcome and the experience for the client. ([Location 961](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=961)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Superior service does not improve profit; profit improves service. ([Location 967](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=967)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The test for this is the ringing phone. When we look down and see the profitable client’s name, we are happy to pick up. When the unprofitable client calls, we cringe. ([Location 968](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=968)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Failing to charge enough leaves us little room to move and creates discordant dynamics with our clients. ([Location 970](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=970)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we charge for this thinking by the hour we undo much of the work of the previous proclamations. “How much an hour?” we hear the client think. “How many hours?” When we employ commodity pricing we invite commodity comparisons, regardless of the value we deliver. ([Location 987](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=987)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We must price our upfront work, right up to the first creative deliverable, in big round numbers that end in zeros, and thus clearly imply that our pricing for these services has little to do with the hours it takes to deliver them. ([Location 996](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=996)) - Tags: [[pink]] - For the reapplication work that follows, we are free to charge by the hour. When our clients buy our thinking, however, they need to understand they are not buying it in units of time. ([Location 997](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=997)) - Tags: [[pink]] - We never want our clients to be in situations where it is easy for them to decide to not take our advice. ([Location 1000](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1000)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Yes, it is our job to tell him what to do, but that is often the easy part. We are equally obliged to give him the strength to do it. ([Location 1002](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1002)) - Tags: [[pink]] - There must be the appropriate amount of pain associated with our pricing. This implies the need for our pricing to change as the size of the client changes. Larger organizations need to pay more to ensure their commitment. ([Location 1005](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1005)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Another reason larger clients must pay more is they derive greater financial value from similar work we would do for smaller organizations. ([Location 1008](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1008)) - Tags: [[pink]] - The larger client pays more to ensure his commitment to solving his problem and to ensure his commitment to working with us – and he pays more because we are delivering a service that has a greater dollar value to him. ([Location 1010](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1010)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Price premiums give us the profit to reinvest in our people, our enterprise and ourselves. The corporations that we most admire are the ones that invest in research and development. We must follow their path. ([Location 1013](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1013)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Let us dream the dream but also be practical enough to make The Difficult Business Decision, and let us make a habit of barging headlong into the sometimes-undesirable tasks that must be done if our enterprise is to thrive. ([Location 1041](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1041)) - Tags: [[pink]] - When we express our resentment for the client who does not value us, we are really expressing our self-loathing for not being able to walk away from him. ([Location 1044](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1044)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Even though we can no longer deny the importance of it, it is still not money that drives us. Profit is the proof of the worth of our enterprise. It validates our gifts and gives us the strength to make our mark on the world, and that is all we have ever wanted. ([Location 1053](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1053)) - Tags: [[pink]] - Perhaps we started to believe the lie that to get new clients we had to sacrifice a little bit of self-respect. ([Location 1057](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1057)) - Tags: [[pink]] - How can we harness our gifts to change the world if they are so common or undervalued that they must be given away for free? ([Location 1059](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1059)) - Tags: [[pink]] - What we once saw as a battle with our clients we now see as a journey of personal transformation. ([Location 1061](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B07PPMGDLX&location=1061)) - Tags: [[pink]]