This mistake that keeps founders' sales muscles weak
Welcome to the Dojo!
Many new consultants worry about saying the wrong thing on a sales call.
Ironically, that fear often keeps them from gaining the one thing they actually need: experience.
On the Mat
- Let’s Train: “Just Sell”
- Ask Feras: “Should I wait until I feel confident before reaching out to potential clients?”
- Sharpen the Blade: Build a Growth Mindset That Helps You Win More Clients and Grow Faster
Let's Train
One of my core principles is simple:
Just Sell.
That doesn't mean you ignore good sales practices or negotiation techniques.
It means you don't let the pursuit of perfection stop you from having the conversation.
I recently recorded a video on negotiation strategies for consultants. My goal was to help founders protect their margins, negotiate with more confidence, and avoid giving away value too quickly.
But I also wanted to make one thing very clear.
If you're just starting your consulting business, your first priority isn't becoming an expert negotiator.
Your first priority is having conversations, talking to prospects, winning clients, and delivering outstanding work.
That's how confidence is built.
These negotiation strategies will absolutely improve your close rate over time. They'll help you structure conversations better and come across as a more seasoned consultant.
But reading about negotiation isn't the same as negotiating.
Just like reading about swimming doesn't teach you how to swim.
One of my Aikido instructors, an 8th-degree black belt, has a phrase he repeats almost every class. After watching us perform a technique properly, he'll smile and say:
"Good. Five thousand more like that."
He's not being sarcastic. He's reminding us that mastery isn't built from understanding a technique. It's built from repetition. Thousands of repetitions.
Business works the same way. You'll never negotiate your way to mastery from YouTube videos, books, or newsletters. You negotiate your way to mastery by negotiating.
Sometimes you'll win the client because you simply followed the "Just Sell" principle.
Sometimes you'll realize afterward that you could have handled the pricing conversation differently.
Maybe you discounted too quickly, forgot to clarify the scope, or maybe you missed an opportunity to trade value instead of reducing your fee.
That's not failure. That's experience. And experience is one of the few things you can't outsource.
The goal isn't to be perfect. The goal is to improve one conversation at a time.
Ask Feras Recap
The Challenge
“Should I wait until I feel confident before reaching out to potential clients?”
What I Told Them
Absolutely not. Confidence isn’t something you build before you sell; it is the byproduct of taking action. Engage in those conversations, extract lessons from every interaction, and then move to the next one.
While you shouldn’t walk into a meeting without preparation—ensure you do your homework on the prospect and their market—you must eventually stop researching and start knocking on doors.
Sharpen the Blade
Your mindset shapes every decision you make as an entrepreneur, from how you handle rejection to how you respond to setbacks.
If you missed last week's livestream, I walk through six practical shifts to help you develop a true growth mindset and build the resilience every founder needs.
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