2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

Conversations on the art of creative entrepreneurship, for advertising, marketing, digital, public relations, dev shops, etc.

If I Were Starting a New Firm 03/11/2026

If I Were Starting a New Firm Blair interviews David about a recent article he’s been receiving a lot of feedback on, in which he lists all of the things he would try to incorporate into a brand new creative agency, based on what he’s seen and learned from working with thousands of firms over the years. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/40395045

Decoy or Anchor? 02/25/2026

Decoy or Anchor? Blair differentiates between decoy pricing and price anchoring, which are two different techniques that are often confused for each other, and can increase your average proposal value in multi-option pricing when used appropriately. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/40222350

We Are All Closet Socialists 02/11/2026

We Are All Closet Socialists Despite the fact that many entrepreneurs hate people telling them what to do, they end up running their own agencies using a “central planning” model. Instead, David encourages entrepreneurial leaders to set clear standards, give staff more freedom, and institute kind accountability, for them and ourselves. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/40066230

Shower Your Way to Sales Success 01/28/2026

Shower Your Way to Sales Success David interviews Blair about his recent article in which he gives us methods to cope with our own natural emotional and physiological responses that can be triggered when unforeseen events unfold within sales conversations. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39896605

Why Entrepreneurs Are Unemployable 01/14/2026

Why Entrepreneurs Are Unemployable Blair interviews David about a recent article in which he argues that the very traits that make entrepreneurs successful also make it hard for them to give up being their own boss and join someone else’s company. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39722735

The Problem of Mechanistic Thinking 12/31/2025

The Problem of Mechanistic Thinking David interviews Blair about his recent article in which he explores how our businesses are not simple machines that can be tuned (or killed) with specific wrenches, but they are complex adaptive organisms that we need to understand differently. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39560400

Oppositio Singularis: The Positioner's Folly 12/17/2025

Oppositio Singularis: The Positioner's Folly David sees too many marketing agencies trying to attract new business by staking claims of specialness on things for which nobody is claiming the opposite, instead of building their positioning on uniquely defined expertise. /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39435695

Dealing With the Ghosting Problem 12/03/2025

Dealing With the Ghosting Problem Are prospects not responding to your follow-up after you submit a proposal? Blair goes through what might be causing their lack of response and then provides three tools to address the ghosting problem. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39250645

Defending the Castle When the Moats Are Drained 11/19/2025

Defending the Castle When the Moats Are Drained One characteristic of our industry is disappearing moats. After a brief overview of the fourteen moats we've lost from 1965 to today, we'll look at what turf we really have left to defend and what the future will look like if we get this right. It'll be very different, and you'd better get ahead of it. /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/39094970

The Four Priorities of Winning New Business 11/05/2025

The Four Priorities of Winning New Business What do we do in those situations where we have to pitch? Blair simplifies some important principles from his books into a sequence of four precepts we can follow when the sales process doesn’t progress like we’d hoped. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/38922335

Understanding Earnouts 10/22/2025

Understanding Earnouts If/when you sell your firm, it’ll likely be the largest transaction of your life, and so it makes sense to understand it! In this episode David gives a crash course in everything earnouts. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/38736060

Grow or Die? 10/08/2025

Grow or Die? Blair recognizes growth opportunities in every area of life and business, yet sees many people chasing metrics while unknowingly resisting genuine progress for various reasons. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/38510255

You're Cheating Clients Unless You're Repetitive 09/24/2025

You're Cheating Clients Unless You're Repetitive David recognizes that the fear of repeating ourselves in our client work is motivated by the right things: “am I delivering value?” LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/38333955

How to Get $500M to Build a Website 09/10/2025

How to Get $500M to Build a Website Blair tells the story of recreation.gov and how its performance pay deal has been nothing but wins for every party involved, with plenty of lessons for buyers and sellers of all kinds of services. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/38151765

When a Key Employee Wants Equity 08/27/2025

When a Key Employee Wants Equity David provides a framework for one of the most important conversations in a creative agency principal’s life. LINKS "" by David C. Baker for punctuation.com "" by David C. Baker for punctuation.com /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37977205

SpamHack Your Way to Growth! 08/13/2025

SpamHack Your Way to Growth! Instead of railing against AI-generated spam, Blair decides to "get in on the action" with his brand new SpamHack AI Growth System™️ in this spoof episode. /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37783955

What I Learned From Teaching Motorcycle Racing 07/30/2025

What I Learned From Teaching Motorcycle Racing David recognizes more than a few parallels between his passion for motorcycle racing and the work being done in creative and marketing agencies. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37607065

A DIY New Business System 07/16/2025

A DIY New Business System Instead of just relying on the talent of individual sales people, Blair recommends creative agencies identify and invest in six elements as a part of their organization’s long-term sales system. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37392670

Dealing With Today's Employee 07/02/2025

Dealing With Today's Employee David finds the courage to address a topic he’s been putting off for awhile, as he is seeing more agency principals struggling to maintain both healthy and productive work environments by leading the ongoing process of resolving tensions within their teams. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37256555

There Is No Credential Meeting 06/18/2025

There Is No Credential Meeting Instead of beginning the relationship with a prospective client by presenting a deck on why your agency is so amazing and why you should be invited to pitch, Blair encourages us to have the “Probative Conversation” from his Four Conversations sales model. LINKS book by Blair Enns /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/37055560

The Waterfall of Differentiation 06/04/2025

The Waterfall of Differentiation When it comes to positioning, David is still seeing creative firms failing to answer three essential questions in the proper sequence: category, specialization, and then secondary differentiators (or qualifying characteristics). /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/36836410

Always Be Anchoring 05/21/2025

Always Be Anchoring Blair sees high price anchors everywhere—from buying a suit to ordering a burger. So what factors should creative firms keep in mind as they use anchoring in selling their service options? And when is the best time to present the anchor option within the sales conversation? Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/36656615

What to Ask, Sign, and Share With a Potential Buyer 05/07/2025

What to Ask, Sign, and Share With a Potential Buyer Following up on the recent episode on whether you should be considering that offer to sell your firm, David provides four questions to get answered, two documents to sign, and a short list of materials that can help you take the lead in early conversations with a buyer. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/36459415

The Power of a Metaphor 04/23/2025

The Power of a Metaphor The more unexpected the metaphor, the more information it carries. Blair has four less-obvious metaphors to give you access to entire playbooks in just four words when selling your expertise. LINKS /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/36276560

Should You Entertain That Acquisition Offer? 04/09/2025

Should You Entertain That Acquisition Offer? Ignoring any unexpected offers to buy your business that might come your way is not in your best interest. But neither is dating all opportunities in desperation. David has four things principals should consider, whether or not you are actively looking to sell your firm. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/36061605

When Your Clients Talk to Each Other 03/26/2025

When Your Clients Talk to Each Other Your clients are far more likely to talk to each other when you have vertical positioning. Blair has observed both good and bad things arising from this. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/35856000

Facing an Existential Crisis? 03/12/2025

Facing an Existential Crisis? As we are hearing about more firms that are closing during these challenging times, David offers some guidance to help cut through the confusion when our worst fears in our business become reality. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/35652065

Who Should Set Prices? 02/26/2025

Who Should Set Prices? As Blair continues to encourage expert practice owners to price the client and not the service, he and David discuss the pros and cons of four levels of pricing authority they should be thinking about within their firm, instead of just assuming pricing responsibility automatically defaults to a specific role or job title. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/35429495

10 Reasons a Buyer Might Want Your Firm 02/12/2025

10 Reasons a Buyer Might Want Your Firm David thinks principals should build their firms as if they were going to sell it while Blair’s advice is to run it as if you’ll never sell it. Being aware of options as your firm matures can give you the leverage you might need in negotiations. Links /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/35262960

To Standardize or Customize 01/29/2025

To Standardize or Customize Through the process of writing his latest book, Blair's thinking has evolved on whether or not firms should resist the urge to productize their services as they work to creatively meet the unique needs of each client. /episode/index/show/2bobs/id/35061465

2Bobs—with David C. Baker and Blair Enns

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