Do the work for your customer
Don't expect people to read your mind. Make it obvious.
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You've probably lost opportunities because you assumed others could see what was obvious to you. I have too.
People have a tendency to overcomplicate things. We overthink, we try to read between lines that aren't there, and we hope that others can read our minds rather than just asking for what we want.
It often surprises people how much of a “hack” it can be to just say what you mean and ask for what you want.
Never hope people will fill in the blanks.
The problem with assumptions
Assumptions are the death of any kind of deal. I see this most acutely in sales, recruiting, and fundraising.
Never assume the other side sees your company or product as clearly as you do. You must make your point so blatantly obvious that the other side cannot help but see what you see.
The excuse of “they just don’t get it” is a weak one. It’s your job to make sure they “get it.”
Doing the work: Boom Supersonic
I was reminded again of this lesson while listening to Blake Scholl, founder & CEO of Boom Supersonic, talk about selling airplanes.
Selling a $200+ million aircraft that exists only on paper represents perhaps the ultimate "big ask" in business. The complexity, risk, and investment required make this an extreme test case for the principle of "making it obvious."
Blake said of the sales process:
We said, ‘let’s do all the work that we would expect an airline to do in evaluating the product before we ever call them.’ I had a spreadsheet model of the airplane technically and I had a spreadsheet model of the airplane economics and market sizing.
And so we would show up to an airline and we’d say, let’s just show you the math here. This is what an airplane can do and if you make this fare assumption, this is how that sits relative to the market. This is how many people we think will fly on it. These are the routes where it would make sense. This is how you would schedule the airplane. This is how many round trips you can do. This is why you can fill those. Here are the departure times, arrival times, and how it fits into your banking strcutre.
We just kind of did all the work. And, because of that they’re like, ‘oh, it kind of makes sense’
This approach by Blake and his team demonstrates the principle at its highest level.
They eliminated the cognitive burden for the customer
They translated technical specs into real business outcomes
They answered questions before they could be asked
They shifted from "imagine if" to "here's exactly how"
Even if you're not selling supersonic aircraft, this level of preparation applies to any situation where you're asking someone to take a leap with you. The scale may differ, but the principle remains: remove every obstacle between your audience and their "yes."
The value of doing the work upfront
Going through the exercise that Blake lays out is also a way to sharpen your own thinking.
If you “do the math” yourself, rather than assuming your customer will, you may come to realize that the “math” doesn’t really pan out. It’s better you discover this on your own than have to figure it out after being turned down by many customers, investors, or potential hires.
Once you do the work, you’re also armed with the potential areas of pushback you could face. You’ve pre-screened all the best arguments.
In summary
Next time you’re pitching someone remember to never assume.
Ask yourself, “what does my counterparty need to get this over the line?” Then, literally do that for them. Fill in the blanks.
In sales, this might be calculating ROI for the customer. In fundraising, it could be sizing a market or proactively creating FAQs that cover common questions around competition or defensibility.
Make it so obvious that they can’t help but say “yes.”
At that point, you know you’ve left it all on the field. That’s all you can ask.