Workshop: Changing the Compensation Dialogue
How to have the right conversation about agency compensation
Workshop presented by Ignition’s Tim Williams
When a procurement professional walks into a pricing negotiation with an agency, they’re very well-armed. Representing the agency is an executive trained in client service, often accompanied by someone from finance. But a background in marketing and accounting is hardly the same thing as deep expertise price negotiation strategies.
Pitting these professional buyers against amateur sellers creates a serious mismatch. Agency executives are skilled in their craft of marketing communications, but they are woefully unprepared to craft progressive pricing strategies and present them effectively to professional buyers.
To make this unfair fight even worse, agency professionals put themselves in the submissive position of defending their costs instead of selling their value. Instead of playing to win, they are playing not to lose. The agencies that understand they are in the business of selling solutions to business problems, not filling production orders, have devoted the brainpower and firepower to making pricing (not costing) a core competency.
This critically important topic covers the following key concepts:
How to meet the tactics of predictable professional buyers with the proven practices of professional sellers.
How to employ the principles of pricing psychology when dealing with client buyers, including always offering options.
How to keep client buyers focused on value instead of cost, thereby negotiating something both parties want to maximize
How to provide better responses to questions about pricing in RFPs and develop effective pricing proposals for new business opportunities.
How and why agencies should politely disrupt the buying process by challenging the client's focus on cost and showing why it's in their best interest to buy outputs and outcomes instead of inputs.
It’s time to level the playing field when it comes to dealing with professional buyers. If we’ll just step up to the plate, and we’ll get better and better with practice.
This workshop is presented as an online event, which includes live Q&A. Participants receive access to all online content and are provided with a handout summary. For details and pricing, please contact us.
Who should attend?
Every professional who deals with the question "How much will this cost?" from a client, or who has direct or indirect responsibility for determining pricing will benefit from the content of this workshop.
About the presenter
Tim Williams is founder of Ignition Consulting Group, a leading U.S.-based consultancy devoted to helping agencies and other professional firms create and capture more value. Tim is a noted author, international speaker, and presenter for major associations, networks, and business conferences worldwide. He is author of two books on business strategy and has authored numerous articles in leading marketing and business publications. Tim writes the popular blog “Propulsion” and was selected by LinkedIn as a global LinkedIn Influencers in the area of marketing. As a consultant to agencies, law firms, accounting firms and other professional services, Tim has worked with hundreds of firms ranging from mid-size independents to multinational networks in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Before forming Ignition, Tim worked at global agencies in New York and elsewhere, and more recently served as president of several successful mid-sized firms in the United States.