The inbound came in hot. Piping hot.

Someone I’d spoken to during my last job search years ago was in urgent need of a course writer and had heard I was doing that work independently.

Problem was, he was too late.

Just a mere couple of days earlier, I had made the decision to wind down the ‘writing-as-a-service’ part of my practice.

Among other reasons, I found it wasn’t scalable enough to hit my revenue goals sustainably.

With my coach as my witness (hi, Melisa!), I resolved to decline these types of inbounds and focus on my more targeted IP capture and coaching service.

On paper, the inbound was perfect for my old service — the topic was interesting, the SMEs were high-profile, and the urgency gave me rate leverage.

But alas, I stayed true to my new direction and said no.

On what I thought would be our final call, I led with my decision to pass and my rationale. He understood.

With 25 minutes left in our scheduled time, he asked the vulnerable question: “So, what should I do?”

I looked at the clock and said, “Well, we already have this time scheduled—I’m happy to stay on and answer any questions about building a course.”

This led to a rapid knowledge transfer about hiring a writer, SME interviews, IP discovery, and course structure.

Probably not as structured as I could have been in my delivery, but I was able to provide a rapid-fire of relevant insights with no preparation.

As our time drew near, he asked: “Would you be open to an advising arrangement to help us get started?”

Unintentionally, turning down a hot lead had sprouted my first advisory retainer.

My takeaways:

• You expect that staying firm on your strategic direction will serve you in the long run, but some immediate wins may surprise you
• When your expertise matches someone’s urgent need, you have the leverage to set the boundaries on how you can work together
• When in doubt, stay true to your pivot — and enlist an accountability partner to keep you honest :)

💡

-Wes