{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Premium Creativity Results: A Strong ROI for the Client, Profit for the Agency","description":"Blair Enns, CEO of Win Without Pitching (Kaslo, British Columbia) and author of The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour   Blair Enns is Founder and CEO of Win Without Pitching, a company that trains creative agencies on how to win business without giving away their most valuable product\u2014their intellectual property\u2014in getting that business. Blair authored two business books that have proven to be transformational for many creative firms: The Win Without Pitching Manifesto and Pricing Creativity: A Guide to Profit Beyond the Billable Hour. Key to the power of these books is Blair\u2019s recognition that Creative people have an inherent difficulty with \u201csales.\u201d   Blair defines creativity as \u201cthe ability to see, the ability to bring a novel perspective to a problem you haven\u2019t previously solved.\u201d Creative people tend to build businesses that allow them to solve problems they haven\u2019t previously solved. However, their personal desire for variety does not work from a business standpoint\u2014to build a strong, financially solid firm, they need to differentiate, to focus on doing a specific thing for a specific market.   In this interview, Blair emphasizes the importance of client selection . . . of building your business with clients who are interested in value and a return on investment . . . rather than chasing budget-driven clients who are focused solely on price\u2014those who see marketing as a commodity with charges based on billable hours and the cost of materials. The foundation of a strong business is value-driven clients who recognize that creativity is unique in its ability to produce bottom-line results and worth the investment. Although a creative agency might sell excess capacity to price-buyers, it is critical that the agency \u201cstrip out the extras\u201d for the reduced-price client, instead of trying to \u201cfly everyone first class.\u201d   Blair is very clear that a price-focused buyer is unlikely to become a value-focused buyer. The creative\u2019s job is to discern a buyer\u2019s-type and manage that buyer appropriately.   Blair is available on his company\u2019s website: winwithoutpitching.com and as Blair Enns on Twitter and LinkedIn. If you\u2019re interested in his book, Pricing Creativity, go to pricingcreativity.com.   ","author_name":"The Marketing Agency Leadership Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/spinutech.com","html":"