Lesson 3 · 20 min
This is where the sale is won or lost. What comes after (proposal, price, signature) only tidies up what was agreed in this conversation. You will tell apart questions that fill time from questions that open up the problem, turn pain into a number, and get to the fire when the client has only shown the smoke.
Start the lesson
Goal: lead the diagnostic conversation in 5 milestones, find the fire behind the smoke and leave with the pain as a number stated by the client.
It fits on one page. It's not meant to be read aloud: it's so you don't leave without what you need.
You leave with a diagnosis when you can explain the client's problem in three sentences, have a number the client gave you, and know what happens if they do nothing.
The doctor's office, the root question, the math and the fire.
No one leaves the doctor's office with a prescription without the doctor asking anything, and no one finds that strange. Use this image when the client wants to skip the investigation and go straight to the quote.
A proposal made in the dark comes out too expensive or too cheap. Questions first lead to a proposal for the real problem.
Surface: "What's the budget?", "How many people are on the team?", "Do you already use any tools?".
Root: "How much is it costing you not to solve this today?", "Who else feels this bottleneck?", "Why did it become a priority now?", "If nothing changes in six months, what happens?".
"How often does this happen?" → "Each time, what gets lost?" → "And what is that usually worth?" → "So it's costing close to X per month, is that about right?".
Without direct money, use time, but translate it into consequences: people are generous with themselves when counting hours.
"The team is slow to respond" is the smoke. Three chained questions (why is it slow? where does the information come from? who checks it?) get you to the fire: duplicate records at the source.
Answering the literal request delivers a bandage where surgery was needed.
Three reasons, and the objections that arrive in disguise.
They don't know: they believe the symptom is the problem; questions fix that. They already have a favorite: they're checking what another vendor said.
They've been burned: they paid for something similar that didn't work. Here only transparency opens the door.
So I can propose the right thing and not waste your money, I need to understand this point better. What could you tell me?
"We already tried something similar and it didn't work" → "What exactly didn't work? I want to make sure I don't repeat the same mistake".
"I'll check with the team" → "Who else needs to be in this conversation for it to move forward?". An objection raised early is information; one held until the end becomes "I'll think about it".
A simulated conversation for practice (fictional character). Choose the answer you would give; the comment appears right after.
Choose your answer. The feedback appears right after, and the conversation continues based on your choice.
The office script and the generator for your diagnostic script.
"I can send it, yes. But without understanding what's going on over there, one of two things will happen: either I underestimate the work — and then there are no resources left to deliver what I promised properly — or I protect myself and quote a price above what you would need to pay. Neither one serves you. Give me 20 minutes of questions and I'll send you a number that makes sense for your case. Can we do <day> at <time>?"
Build my diagnostic conversation script, in US English, on one page. CONTEXT - I sell: <e.g.: AI diagnostic and 90-day mentorship with managers> - My typical client: <e.g.: clinics with 10 to 50 employees> - The problem I usually solve: <one sentence> REQUIRED STRUCTURE (5 milestones) 1. Opening (2 min) — 3 sentence options to open without sounding scripted. 2. Situation — 5 questions about how the process works today. 3. Root — 4 uncomfortable questions: cost of not acting, who else is affected, why now, what happens in 6 months without change. 4. Number — the sequence of 4 questions that takes you from "we lose time" to a value per month. 5. Close of the meeting — how to recap and how to propose the next step with two dates. RULES - No technical jargon: write the way the business owner speaks. - Each question on one line, ready to be said out loud. - At the end, list the 3 most likely mistakes I will make with this script.
Practice in the simulation and leave with your script.
Have the conversation with the owner of the trucking company. If you don't reach the top score, read the comments along the way and start over.
Done when: the scoreboard shows the maximum possible points and you can tell which question took you from smoke to fire.
Run the script generator with your service and your typical client. Read milestone 4 out loud while pretending to be an evasive client.
Done when: the script has the 5 milestones on one page and the sequence for milestone 4 ends in a number (quantity, frequency or value).
4 questions. The explanation appears after your attempt.
Question 1 of 4
Which of these is a root question?
Question 2 of 4
The client says "we lose time on this." What is the next step to get to the number?
Question 3 of 4
"We already tried something similar and it didn't work." How do you respond?
Question 4 of 4
When did you leave the conversation with a diagnosis, and not just a pleasant chat?
Pick an answer. The explanation appears after you try.