Win the engagement and agree the terms
26 primitives in this stage — 26 skills. Concept-stage catalogue, kept vendor-agnostic.
Prepare tailored discovery questions for the first call →
“I show up to the first call with five questions that peel back the stated ask — not because I know the answer, but because I know what I need to hear.”
Distil the real problem from the conversation account →
“The call was about the CFO. The transcript told me the real problem was the founder's inability to let go of financial control.”
Map the players, their agendas, and the real constraint →
“The CEO asked me to fix the sales team. The map showed me the board chair had already decided who was leaving — I was being hired to provide cover.”
Assess whether the client is coachable or seeking validation →
“Every time I reframed the problem, they restated the original. That's not curiosity — that's a brief to confirm what they've already decided.”
Interrogate your own pattern-fit and likely impact →
“I asked myself: have I actually solved this specific shape of problem before — not a similar-sounding one, but this one? The honest answer was no.”
Draft the genuine-interest signal that hands to scoping →
“I send this when I'm in, but I want the client to know I've actually thought about what's going on — not just that I want the work.”
Draft a graceful decline with honest reason and referral →
“The no I send when I decline should make them more likely to call me in future — not less. That requires an honest reason, not a vague 'timing' excuse.”
Engagement-model fit recommender →
“I kept getting asked to 'be on the board' when what they needed was someone in the room weekly with actual authority. The model matters more than the title.”
Authority-conflict checker →
“The fractional CMO role looked clean on paper. The conflict checker showed me I'd be sitting above a full-time head of marketing with no exit clause. That's a setup for failure.”
In-scope / out-of-scope drafter →
“The scope document I send isn't defensive paperwork — it's the first test of whether we actually agree on what I'm here to do.”
Boundary-overlap scanner →
“Two months in, I found I had the same mandate as the incoming COO. The overlap scanner would have caught it in five minutes at scoping.”
Working-cadence designer →
“The cadence isn't the diary invite — it's the architecture of how I'll actually stay informed enough to be useful between sessions.”
Success-signal articulator →
“I always define what success is NOT — because the things that get added to 'what I'm here for' after month three are always things that weren't on the original list.”
Expectation-gap surfacer →
“They expected me to 'fix the culture'. I named the gap: I can surface what's sustaining it, but only the CEO can change it. That conversation saved us both.”
Reason a defensible fee anchor for this engagement →
“I don't name a range. I name a number I can defend — and then I'm quiet.”
Anticipate objections and prepare trade-offs →
“I prepare the playbook before the call so I'm never negotiating surprised. Every concession I'm willing to make is already thought through.”
Frame a response to a live counter-proposal →
“They came back 20% lower. I didn't panic. I reasoned through what I'd trade for that — and offered the smaller scope at the same day rate.”
Draft the written terms at the right rigour →
“The right document is the one that both parties will read. A 12-page agreement for a three-month advisory destroys trust before we start.”
Check the draft for missing terms →
“I caught the missing termination clause on the self-review pass. The client's lawyer would have caught it too — but that would have cost us a week and some trust.”
Stress-read the document for ambiguity and gaps →
“I read every document I send as if I'm the person receiving it who wants to find a problem. That's cheaper than having someone else find it.”
Reason through client redlines and propose resolutions →
“Most redlines are risk management theatre from their legal team. I separate the ones that change the deal from the ones that just change the words.”
Draft the start-and-cadence confirmation message →
“The message I send right after signing is the one that says: I'm organised, I'm in, and I know exactly what happens next.”
Draft the channels-and-access request →
“A long access request list signals I'm going to be high-maintenance. This draft asks for exactly what I need and explains why each item earns its place.”
Draft the welcome note with a concrete first move →
“This isn't a 'looking forward to working with you' email. It's the first thing I say as their advisor — and it shows them exactly the kind of advisor I'll be.”
Suggest the most useful opening first-move prompt →
“The first move I propose in the welcome note tells the client what kind of advisor I am. I want it to be something that makes them think, not something that makes them fill in a form.”
Draft the ramp-up expectations orientation →
“Clients misread early listening as disengagement. This draft tells them: the quietness in week one is intentional — it's how I learn before I advise.”