The Price of Entry

This is an excerpt from an awesome interview/discussion between smashLAB's Eric Karjaluoto and Blair Enns, founder of Win Without Pitching.

Eric: Every industry has its clichés. Tell me about the blunders that most creative companies unwittingly make that limit them.

Blair: Thinking that they can fake deep expertise across an impractically wide area. Thinking that they are in the service business. Thinking that they cannot let an opportunity pass them by. Thinking that they can win business by compromising their principles then somehow fixing it later. Thinking that their firm is somehow exempt from the laws of supply and demand economics. Thinking that they’re not really in it for the money.

Eric: Are there any marketing catch-phrases and terms used by designers that you’d like to see bombed to Oblivion?

Blair: I hate the word ‘branding’ as a claim of expertise. An expert is someone who has a deeper knowledge of the subject than others trading in the area. I wonder if there’s even such thing as a branding expert. There are just too many people in it and very, very few that have meaningful knowledge that others do not. A designer claiming expertise in branding is like a fish claiming expertise in swimming. It’s not expertise; it’s the price of entry.

Exactly. Some really nice insight and wisdom in this piece - continue reading here if you agree and want to learn more or here if you already know it all...

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Blair Enns, founder of the Win Without Pitching movement and a business development adviser to marketing communication agencies and Eric Karjaluoto from smashLab.