March 9, 2022
Straps vs Staples
Quick question for you:
Should I use nylon straps or a staple gun?
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What... you don’t have an answer?
Of course you don’t have an answer!
I haven’t given you enough information.
The only reasonable reply to a question like “Should I use nylon straps or a staple gun?” is:
“For what?”
Here’s the thing...
Clients love researching tips and tricks and tools and tactics that they think might solve their problems.
They will often bring their findings to you and ask “Which is better?” or “Which should I use?”
But it always depends. Everything has pros and cons.
If you don’t know what your client’s objective is (i.e., what problem they want to solve), then you cannot possibly give a helpful answer.
To use the straps/staples example again...
Even if you know absolutely everything about BOTH nylon straps AND staple guns, you can’t make a beneficial recommendation without first asking:
“What are you trying to accomplish?”
If their answer is “I want to transport a mattress on the top of my car,” then you’re probably not going to recommend the staple gun.
If their answer is “I want to hang flyers all over town to promote my band’s next gig,” then you’re probably not going to recommend nylon straps.
Why does this matter?
This matters if you love staple guns and think nylon straps are stupid.
When a client comes to you because they have (perhaps wrongly) concluded that your favorite tool is the solution to their problem, you shouldn’t accept the work until you’re confident that their self-diagnosis is valid.
I don’t care how much you love staple guns or WebFlow or Rails or Node or Design Sprints or Chromolithography or Blockchain or {insert your favorite tool here}, it is NOT ALWAYS the right tool for the job.
Don’t believe me?
Try stapling a mattress to the roof of your car.
Yours,
—J
P.S. Do you struggle to uncover your client’s underlying objectives in sales calls? Do you jump straight to solutions? Do you blindly pitch your services with butterflies in your stomach?
Learn how to properly conduct a sales call in The Pricing Seminar.
Registration is open now for the 9th session of TPS. Lessons start this coming Monday.
I hope to see you inside!