October 22, 2019
Success story from Ethan Garofolo
Sent by Jonathan Stark on October 22nd, 2019
Long-time reader Ethan Garofolo sent in this success story about the transformative nature of The Why Conversation. I hope you find it inspirational (shared with permission, bold mine, lightly edited for clarity):
Jonathan, Long-time lurker, infrequent responder here, but I just had possibly my most amazing initial call with a potential client, and I credit The Why Conversation with that. I really don’t enjoy sales calls, kind of hate them in fact. But the why conversation isn’t a sales call. It was 100% “are we a good fit?” I was relaxed and was able to just get to know the prospect and what they’re looking for in the project. I was able to learn that a firm time commitment matters more than cost because they have marketing materials they need to make that depend on the timeline of the project I was chatting about. That’s a little detail I would not have gleaned had I done this my normal way. I felt comfortable mentioning that I’m not going to be their cheapest option, but that what I will do differently is give a price that I’ll stick to and guarantee the work. They really seemed to like that. Every aspect of this call was more comfortable and more useful to both of us because I’m not interested in taking money from someone I can’t help. Was I a bit clunky in the call? Sure, and I might not get the work. But we left with some good next steps for figuring out if we’re a good fit. I currently have a full-time job, and right before the call my stress levels were quite high, and I was telling myself how full-time employment isn’t so bad and maybe I never want to go back to consulting because I don’t have to do sales calls. What I learned today is that sales calls are not how I should be starting relationships. I certainly need good lead flow to get more practice, but this was mentally game-changing for me. There is a better way to run a services business. Thank you for the work you do! Thanks, Ethan
Yep, The Why Conversation works wonders. It’s a total mind shift that allows you to relax, to listen instead of pitch, and to land better clients at higher prices.
Yours,
—J