October 17, 2026
What if my prospects are confused by options?
One of the defining features of my 5-page project proposal template is that I always include exactly three options for the client to choose from.
But what if your prospect just wants what they asked for and offering options merely serves to confuse them?
Confused prospects don’t buy, so in this case, offering options might seem like a bad idea.
And maybe it is.
Or maybe you’re offering the wrong KIND of options.
I’ll use an oversimplified example to try to illustrate what I mean.
Scenario 1: Bad options
Alice runs a pizza place.
Bob calls and orders a large pepperoni pizza.
Alice says...
Large pepperoni pizza? Great. You have three options:
- For $20, I’ll send you our proprietary pepperoni pizza recipe, you buy the ingredients and make it yourself.
- For $44, I’ll send you our proprietary pepperoni pizza recipe AND the ingredients, and you make it yourself.
- For $100, I’ll bring the recipe and ingredients to your house and make it with you.
Which’ll it be?
I think it’s fair to say that Bob would be confused by these options.
He probably doesn’t want to learn how to make a pizza, and almost certainly doesn’t want Alice to come over and spend an hour making a mess in his kitchen.
He just wants to eat a large pepperoni pizza!
Scenario 2: Better options
Alice runs a pizza place.
Bob calls and orders a large pepperoni pizza.
Alice says...
Large pepperoni pizza? Great. You have three options:
- We can have that ready for you to pick up in 45 minutes for $20.
- Or we can make and deliver it to you in 30 minutes for $44.
- Or we can deliver the large pepperoni pizza that just came out of the oven to you in 10 minutes for $100.
Which would you prefer?
If Bob is loaded and his kids are screaming for dinner, you better believe he’d consider dropping $100 to swipe someone else’s pie and get it in front of the banshees ASAP.
Here’s the thing...
If you run a pizza place, people are going to expect you to sell them pizza, not cooking lessons.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t offer options.
There are facets of the experience that might not be core to your offer, but are very important to the buyer nonetheless.
Yours,
—J