The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

This has been a complete game changer and I would consider it essential reading if you are in the creative space and need guidance on how to position yourself as an expert. Blair's writing style is engaging and easy-to-read. He's able to distill big concepts into bite-sized, highly actionable, nuggets of gold. Easily could be priced over $100 and still be a bargain in the knowledge you gain. Buy this book. Read it. Re-read it. Apply what you learn and crush it!

There are books. There are good books. There are really good books. There are bestsellers. There is even the Good Book. And then there is this kind of book. A true classic. A Thomas Paine's Common Sense for creative business owners and bus dev people. More in the company of Paine, Jefferson, Lincoln, Twain, Franklin, Marx... you know, truly great manifestos. And look, I've read a lot. And you just don't read things this good very often. If you are in the creative professions, you are going to hang on every word, love every sentence and compulsively turn every page. If you happen to own an agency or design firm or web shop or... well you get the point... you are going to find the answers to the questions you've been struggling with - and you're going to find the answers to even better questions you hadn't yet thought to ask.

Yes: "The forces of the creative professions are aligned against the artist." However, with this slim, succinct Molotov Cocktail of a book, you can create your own successful revolution, one artist, and one creative firm at a time.

This succinct and beautifully written book clearly conveys what whole armies of consultants and self-help gurus have tried in vain for years to teach. You will learn something just by reading the table of contents; what Enns calls The Twelve Proclamations. I have spent 30+ years practicing the alchemy of matching the gifts and talents of creative people with clients who so desperately need them. During that time I have witnessed and even encouraged the growing tendency of creative firms to give away their best work for free to win new commissions. I knew there must be an alternative. Surely this strategy of mutually assured destruction could be replaced with something better. Never, until now, have I seen the secret shared so thoughtfully and so well in this (literally) little black book.

The message here is for all creative businesses who want to move away from being "order-taker suppliers to expert advisers" and want to forge "a more satisfying and lucrative way of getting and doing business." The transformation begins with a willingness to focus and then articulate that focus through a consistent claim of expertise, working continuously "to add the missing skills, capabilities and processes necessary to support our new claim." Enns first audience is marketing communications firms, yet the fundamental truths and lucid examples he shares are completely applicable to the creative enterprises I am most familiar with, architecture and photography.

Enns is clear about the difficulty of beginning and sustaining the transformation, both personal and business, that is required to move from a commodity provider forced to give away their best thinking for free in order to win new work to to expert adviser whose cost of sales is essentially zero. His insight into the hearts and minds of creatives and the culture in which we are trained and have practiced for so long comes from first hand experience. Sadly, he observes that "not everyone has the heart or stomach for revolution."

The last proclamation, "We Will Hold Our Heads High", is written with the conviction of a prophet, calling to his people at a crossroad: "On the one side, the process of design is finally being seen as the last great differentiator of business and economics; while on the other, the outputs are increasingly seen as commodities". He invites we creatives to accept our unique mission: "We didn't choose our craft; it chose us. And we were never in this for the money. Like all creative people we only seek to create, and in doing so, somehow change the world." This manifesto provides the blueprint for building a sustainable business model that creatives of every type can implement to win the work they want, gain the respect they deserve, make a profit, and have more fun.

This book has helped me tremendously, it’s change the way I look at, talk to and deal with any clients. Selling yourself, your work and your abilities is not taught in college. It seems almost taboo to talk about, at least where I’m attending. While watching a video on YouTube trying to figure out what I did wrong with dealing with a client I came across Chris Do of The Futur. He went over exactly what he read and learned most with this book. I realized that it wasn’t so much what I did wrong, but how I needed to sell, appreciate and position myself and not just be a designer, but rather be a problem solver. Without giving it another second thought I purchased this book immediately. Once I started reading couldn’t stop, I was so engaged on what he was saying. Blair Enns style is so easy to read and he doesn’t pull any punches. Right away on first page and I can’t stress this enough, but it went word for word what I was dealing with and had gone through with some clients. The more I read it was like Blair Enns knew my thoughts, questions and put it all down with ways to go about it differently. I’ve read this book a few times now I’ll keep reading it because there’s always something new that I take away from it. There’s never a moment where it’s not in my bag, I’m constantly bringing this up in different conversations with all of my professors and fellow classmates. I also tell them to watch the Money Talk series Chris Do has on the Futur YouTube channel because he lead and suggested this book to me plus he goes over a lot of other good stuff. I’ve read a good amount of other kinds of graphic design books and or what/how to be a graphic designer and none of them comes close to going over what this book does. This is not just a must read but a must have for any graphic designer or really anyone dealing with sales and business strategy.

This should be on every graphic designer's bookshelf. If you've been in the business very long, you will be nodding your head and saying "Yep, that's exactly how it is" as soon as you start reading it. In the beginning, Enns talks about how a presentation is really a performance that the client judges -- and how wrong it is to try to sell your services that way. Then he goes on to explain how to not do that and how to garner the respect that our craft is lacking. I will be reading this book over and over again because there is so much to learn from it. I've been in the business for 17 years and I shared this book with a colleague who has been around even longer, and he can't put the book down.

Blair Enns gets it, Period! I have been in the agency world in new business development for over 25 years and have read all the books - Blair wrote this book for me....and everyone that sells creative solutions. "The Win Without Pitching Manifesto" is a must read by any agency Owner, Leader or New Business Pro. Heck, it's a must read for anyone on the agency side!

Check this out, page 52 "The good news is that selling, when done properly, has nothing to do with persuading". People for the most part don't like to "sell" (and most don't), they are going to love this book.

In all the years that I have been in advertising, I have heard agency leaders say that they are no longer going to do spec work...but then they turn around and give it away. Blair in Chapter VIII tells us "We will not solve problems before we are paid". "Our thinking is our highest value product - our paying clients can rest assured that our best minds in media remain focused on solving their problems."

"The Win Without Pitching Manifesto" should be mandatory reading for anyone in the agency world that is responsible for helping grow their agencies and provide services and solutions for their clients.

Agency owners, I bet if you asked Blair, he would give you a break on cases of this book so you can give to everyone at your agency, because really - aren't we all responsible for growing business?

OK book clarifying some aspects of the sales process. So general and common sense, I'm a bit perplexed why so many people recommended it. Great title. Definitely don't judge this book by its title.

I've been reading and listening to Blair Enns for a while and consider him to be my secret weapon. I never lay down and people always prefer my direct approach combined with the deep understanding of my industry. When I tend to my current clients and act as a source of upcoming trends and general knowledge, they see my value exceeds their expectations (and expense) - and for that they deserve my best efforts. You can spend the time empowering your clients when you both know that there is a "healthy margin" dedicated to that intangible.

[[ASIN:1605440043 The Win Without Pitching Manifesto]]

I have just finished reading (for the 2nd time) Blair Enns book. It needs reading all in one sitting and then a second time where you can pour over the concepts and teachings. This book is for Owners and Senior Managers of Creative Agencies who are seeking to stand apart from their competitors. It is about positioning your agency for success and one of the key learnings in it for me was the relationship you have with your clients, we are experts in our chosen field and the client is paying for that expertise. We have a duty to help the client choose their agency wisely and to help give them confidence to trust our expertise and for us to continually invest in ourselves and our businesses to ensure we are delivering true value for our clients.

Don't read this once and don't just read it and put it away. Refer to it regularly (especially when you are about to give something away for free or too cheaply). Get your team to read it and discuss it with them. The whole agency needs confidence in order to make break through changes.

At last a book that inspires and that seeks to help our industry be more professional and make money doing it.

A very big thank you to Blair for producing such a well structured and beautifully written book - and one that can be read in a few hours!

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Every creative-industry business owner should read this. Whether your company is a design studio, brand agency, marketing consultancy, or a production firm, you will re-think the entire way you sell after reading this book.

You do not need to put countless, non-billable hours into 'proposals' and pitches. You really can sell your brand with your expertise without giving away free work.

I've already benefitted tremendously from this short book and can't wait to watch my fledgling business take off because of the principles Blair makes so obvious.

You definitely should read this book.