Lesson 2 · 17 min
Nobody wakes up wanting an agent, an automation or an audit. People want to stop losing customers and get out from under their email. Whoever sells AI in 2030 sells that outcome, and sells it with a clear identity: someone who says what they know, what they don't know and when to call a specialist.
Start the lesson
Goal: write who you help, the result you deliver, what you don't do and when you call a specialist, in a ten-second sentence.
Five pieces, one sentence at the end. Click each one.
Your ability to charge depends far more on how much people trust you than on how complex what you deliver is.
The same meeting starts with opposite trust balances.
Either you go to the customer (prospecting), or they come to you (content, referral).
If you were the one who reached out, the first goal is to earn the right to ask questions. If they came to you, it's to quickly understand what they've already decided they want.
Write at the top of your notes: "I went" or "they came."
Someone looking for a doctor doesn't ask for proof: they describe the symptom and follow the prescription. People who find you through your content start from that position.
If you are the one making the call, there is default distrust, and it is healthy. Spend the first minutes showing concrete work, not credentials. If someone referred you, mention the referral early.
Prospecting is a faucet: turn it off and it stops. Content is compound interest: it takes months to pay off, and then it keeps paying.
At the start, about 80% prospecting and 20% content. Every job you deliver becomes a published topic, and the balance tips over time.
It's common for your first posts to bring in no clients at all. Betting only on them, without a routine, leads to quitting before the curve turns.
Your client's inbox is full. You stand out by being specific to one type of company, not by being cheaper.
Defining a profile feels like turning down money. It is, and that is exactly why it works: the profile decides where your hours go.
Run them in order: the profile first, then the sentence. You write the boundary statement by hand.
Act as a sales strategist. I want you to write my ideal customer profile. The service I deliver: <diagnose / review / advise on an ongoing basis / teach + the result> Industries where I have worked or that I know well: <2 to 4> Region where I can serve clients: <city, state or country> Amount I need to charge to make it worthwhile: <amount> Deliver: 1. Three candidate profiles, each with industry, company size, revenue range, who makes the buying decision and the main pain point. 2. For each profile, the cutoff test: why smaller companies don't have the budget and why larger companies hide who makes the decision. 3. Recommend ONE profile and justify it in 3 lines. 4. Five questions I can ask in a conversation to confirm whether the company in front of me fits this profile. Don't invent market numbers: where data is missing, write "to check".
You are a copywriter specialized in positioning. Write my introduction sentence in the format: "I help WHO achieve RESULT without PAIN." My ideal customer profile: <paste the profile> The service I deliver: <diagnosis, review, ongoing advisory, teaching> The result in money or time: <what the client gains or stops losing> The most common fear of this client: <switching systems, laying people off, being held hostage> Rules: - Forbidden to use "artificial intelligence", "solution" and "innovative". - Maximum of 20 words. - Language the company owner would use, not technical language. Deliver 3 versions and say which one an owner would repeat to their partner.
WHAT I DO I help <who> achieve <result> without <pain>. WHAT I DON'T DO (and I say it without apologizing) - <e.g., I don't give legal opinions> - <e.g., I don't do penetration testing or incident response> - <e.g., I don't touch the IT system without IT in the room> WHEN I CALL A SPECIALIST - If <situation> comes up, I refer a <type of professional> and I help manage the handoff. SENTENCE TO SAY OUT LOUD "I don't do that. When it comes up, I refer you to who does and I keep taking care of the part that is mine."
Both come out of this lesson and come back in every other one.
Run the profile prompt with your real details and choose one profile. Write the five confirmation questions in the same file.
Done when: the chosen profile has a company size or revenue range, the job title of the decision-maker and the 5 questions; "companies that want to innovate" does not appear.
Run the sentence prompt, choose one version and complete the boundary template with at least two "I don't do" items and one "I call a specialist" case. Read everything out loud.
Done when: the sentence has up to 20 words, you can say it from memory without explaining afterward, and the boundary statement names at least 2 things you don't do.
4 questions. The explanation appears after your attempt.
Question 1 of 4
Which of these introductions sells best?
Question 2 of 4
The client asks for an opinion on whether their use of data is within the law. You are not a lawyer. What does the trusted advisor do?
Question 3 of 4
You are just starting out, with no clients and nothing published. Which split of effort makes sense?
Question 4 of 4
Why does defining an ideal customer profile with a cutoff work?
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you try.