This project will take 100 hours. My hourly rate is $50/hr. A 5K gig… aproximately Sounds good, right? Unless you’re in your customers’ shoes. If you’re really customer centric and are looking for customer satisfaction, this doesn’t make any sense. Couldn’t you do it in less time? We’ve been taught…

Working on a potential deal that felt interesting. I got excited and ignored the red flags. I was dealing with the decision-makers. Talking about what they wanted (in terms of deliverables) and knowing I could deliver. Calls go, meetings happen, time is invested. Now I must get that gig. We’ve…

The way to get more deals is by wanting it more. Bullshit advice. Lima. 2016. Sales meeting with an expanding mobility startup. We go into the meeting… and got into presentation mode. It’s all about pitching what we can do and the usual, vomiting blah blah blah. “We can do…

Landed a big client and “charged my worth”. I was happy — till I was not. I charged based on the what the market did. Asked around and I played the same game others were. Didn’t go too high, because I didn’t want to “lose” the gig. Didn’t go too…

Family business in the Caribbean: a hostel for flashpackers. Paying policy. If you wanted to pay with cc, you needed to pay an extra 5% because of “bank fees”. 🤷‍♂️ The closest ATM was not in town. Sweet, right? Guests got **pissed**. Approach Used a “formula” that transferred the costs as…

2017. Startup Weekend for the Travel industry. A new product for local experiences and learnings for travelers — almost at the same time as airbnb experiences, yet very niched down. Great potential. Advantage of the first mover. Very specialized. Initial feedback from beta clients, outstanding. Price point: $20/person. Launched. Crickets. …

“If I discount you, I’ll close you.” Giving your power away. Family independent business, leading their market and moving into big deals with large, established companies. Account manager: Negotiations underway. Looks good. No price objections. Value determined. Almost at the finish line… Boss of indie firm: part of the last…

A weekend trip for international exchange students. How we won the race to zero. — Lima, 2009. An international house started making a weekend trip per semester for exchange students to an oasis (Huacachina) near Lima as a way to welcome them into the country. They made it quite exclusive (as in sort of invite-only), and people had fun. BUT they were over-paying for what…

The way your communications are stated — who the language focuses on — can build rapport and trust. Or make you sound just like any other. The vast majority of comms starts with “We are blabla.” “Why us”. It’s all about me. Me vs. You Ask yourself: Is the brand’s messaging centered around…