Business

When I left agency life I made a promise to myself that I would would place a value on the value I create for client organisations. And thus value myself. Thirty years of brand and communications strategy experience means I work fast and decisively. I’ve seen more brands, more opportunities to be seized, more problems to be solved, more briefs,

Uncertainty can prevent people from getting something they want. And by not addressing customers’ uncertainties, companies miss out on conversions they could otherwise get.

People will ultimately choose what is best for them, as they see it. It’s naive to think that, as the one putting at least one of the choices forward, you can let the choice stand on its own merit without you influencing the decision. That’s just not possible, so why not lean into it and learn to do it well?

Getting Paid as an Expert

• Focus on deeply understanding the client's problems by persistently asking questions until they inquire about your solution.


• Avoid pushing the sale or manipulating the client; this can make you appear needy and decrease your chances of closing the deal.


• Instead, thoroughly diagnose their problems, and aim to articulate

Thingification

This is something I’ve done a lot in my career. You say you don’t have “products”? Well that’s easy to fix. Just look at things you’re doing already for customers, codify them, slap a name on them, and hey presto what was a “service” becomes a “product”. When something has a name and a systematised process it gives the appearance of

54. Listen to clients. They may have an important point even if they are poor at expressing it

had an ad agency principal client once leave a voicemail message for a prospect who had negotiated in good faith then let the last two messages go unanswered. My client’s message to him was, “I’ve left you a few messages now and not heard back from you. If this is how we’re communicating now, I’m wondering what’s it going to be like if we actually

If we cannot Win Without Pitching, if we cannot derail the pitch, then we endeavor to be the one on the inside track. We begin to participate in the process but do so while constantly gauging whether the client recognizes and values our expertise. We ask for concessions. We ask for access to decision makers. We negotiate what we will and will not

You’ll sometimes hear the three-bid requirement from the client (not procurement) earlier in the sale. Even then it’s a good time to be clear that you won’t be a pawn in that game. “We’re not really in the business of getting into bidding wars. I’ve already kind of explained what we do and the price range of our solutions. Why don’t you go get your