A Better than Reference or Testimonial Approach to Demonstrate What We Can Do Together

Maybe due to my military background, I am more of a doer than a talker, so instead of doing presentations and dog and pony shows, you receive a sample of my work, during which we work together on real issues, in real time for real people, so you have a real first-hand experience of what it feels like working with together.

Look, just like pudding, advisory services must be tasted first too. Using the old Chinese proverb, my motto is that the more you sweat in training the less you bleed in war. Meaning that I stretch clients to the breaking point because I care.

Does this sound harsh? I may. My contention is that the strongest oak in the forest is not the one that is protected from vicious storms and hidden from the cruel heat of the sun. It is the one that stands in the open where it must struggle for daily survival against all elements of Mother Nature. And as it grows, it becomes stronger, more resilient, paying less and less attention to nature's forces, but standing there with its beauty, grace and magnificence.

Or, let me give you a little Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, in "The Third Man": "In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed, and produced Michelangelo, da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock."

The questions is this: Are you out there to make another cuckoo clock, or have you set out to stir up some sensationally serious shit in your industry by doing something truly amazing, something that nobody has ever seen and done before? What are you working on to amaze the whole bloody universe?

I know mine is a tough approach, but since this tough - toil, sweat and tears - approach works for the ultimate professional service firm, the military, it sure works for non-military folks too who are serious about achieving something worth standing for. I believe I'm kind and caring to clients but also demanding and challenging.

But does this hard-arse approach always work? The method works but not for everyone. Look, does every recruit become a US Marine? Does everyone graduate from Harvard? No. But the "firm" is not going to soften its "approach" to accommodate less than the best.

Since this approach doesn't work for everyone, it is only fair to offer a test drive. If you don't like the experience, we end it, but if you like it, we carry on. I want to make certain we both know exactly what it feels like working together before staring an actual project.

If you like the experience and receive value that justifies your investment, then we formalise the engagement and get moving. If not, we just wave good-bye to each other and go about our businesses as though nothing had happened.

Just as most buyers, you too may find the "Selling by Doing" approach to be more beneficial and revealing to you, than the traditional "Selling by Telling". Besides, I do it this way to attract clients of specific character traits: Players. Just see the differences for yourself:

Creating mutual trust and respect is more than presenting credentials and bragging about past gigs I have assisted other clients you don't know on projects that are irrelevant to you. So, I offer this sample to taste what we can create together. That is right. It is not about what I do for you, but what we do together through a mutually beneficial collaboration.

Through this sample you can also experience the other components of trust. They include but not limited to reliability (Can we both do what we say we can? Can we trust each other that s/he does what s/he says s/he will do?), intimacy (Is this collaboration mutually a rewarding and meaningful experience?), orientation (Are we both focused on the same issues?) and tough love (Can we both face the facts without sugar coating and your ego's getting in the way?)

Also, I want to make sure I am interested working with you. I want to work on sexy, exciting stuff with people I truly care about, so there must be chemistry between us. That is, there must be a relationship both at the head and the heart level.

If interested, fill in this Sample Session Preparation Sheet (Word for Windows document), and email it to me.