Hi Reader,

We like to think we know exactly why our clients hire us.

We usually tell ourselves it is because of our high-level strategy, our unique insights, or the final creative asset. Whatever we deem the most important. Or, if you are like me, whatever you worked hardest on.

And we lean hard into those things in our marketing and sales process.

But what if you are wrong?

When you actually interview your best clients, you will likely find a disconnect between what you think makes you effective and what they actually value.

I've had to learn this lesson myself over and over.

I don't usually lead with "process" in my marketing. Process sounds dry. It sounds corporate. It is not the shiny hook that people usually look for on LinkedIn.

But when I talk to my own clients, they don't just talk about the strategy or video quality.

A common thread through just about all of my own client discovery is process. The relief of having a system.

Telesha Bowen (Techstars) put it perfectly during one of our recent sessions. She noted that if our production process ran through a messy email inbox with the rest of her daily communication, things would get lost. Having one dedicated place to communicate and track a project makes the process easy and predictable. The value is not just the final product; it is the organized process that keeps the project on track.

The reality? Strategy without a process is just a collection of good intentions that eventually gets buried under the day-to-day chaos of business.

Here is a quick way to test this in your own business today:

Look back at the last two or three friction points you experienced with a client.

Were they arguing with your core strategy? Or were they stressed out by a communication breakdown, a messy email chain, or a lack of visibility into what was happening next? Something else?

Nine times out of ten, projects don't go sideways because the high-level strategy failed. That is the exciting part, the part that you both dig into eyes wide open, expectations set out. Things fall apart when the execution is chaotic. An unspoken expectation isn't met. They are paying for the destination, but they will fire you over the journey.

And the inverse is true too. The happy surprises, exceeded expectations, and small wins are often where your value is felt (even if you don't know it).

If you want to gain absolute clarity on what your clients actually value, join me for the first step in our client discovery system: The Extraordinary Client Workshop this Wednesday.

This isn't a theoretical lecture or a passive webinar. It is a live look inside the exact framework that kicks off the process noted above. We are digging deep into your client list to show you how to isolate the exact clients you need to talk to to pull out these valuable insights.

Because we are doing real work on the call, the room is strictly capped.

As of right now, we have exactly 2 seats left for this Wednesday at 1:00 PM ET.

It is a camera-on, pen-and-paper working session. There is no recording, so if you cannot make it live, please leave the seat for someone who can.

Reply to this email to get signed up.

- Neil