Stop giving away the whole cow

There is an old line: nobody buys the cow if the milk is free. I see owners live it every week.

They get on a call with someone who has a real problem. They care, so they start solving it. Twenty minutes later they have laid out the whole plan. The prospect says thanks, this was so helpful, and disappears.

Why it backfires

Two reasons. First, if the fix sounds easy, people do not see the value. "Easy peasy" is the fastest way to make your work feel cheap. Second, information is not worth what it used to be. Anybody can ask an AI tool for a plan. What they cannot get from a search bar is someone who finds the real problem and stays with them while they fix it.

I once paid thousands in diagnostic fees on a truck and still did not have a fix. That taught me something. Finding the problem has a price. So does what you know.

Diagnose, do not prescribe

Treat a first conversation the way a good specialist treats a first visit. You want to know everything: when it hurts, how it hurts, what makes it worse. You are not handing over a treatment plan in the waiting room.

• Ask more than you tell.
• Keep your answers short. If you serve up a long-winded answer, expect a long-winded objection back.
• Name the problem clearly. Do not solve it yet.

Let it be their idea

When someone says "I don't know" to a hard question, let them sit in it. Do not rescue them. The answer they reach on their own is worth ten you hand them, because they believe it.

This feels uncomfortable. You will want to jump in with strategy. Holding back is not being stingy. It is the difference between giving a stranger free advice they will never use and helping a client who is committed to the work.

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