To close out the topic of feedback-fidelity fit, I’ll share briefly what’s going on behind the scenes of the IP Builder sprints.

In case you’re new, IP Builder is a 1:1 two-week, three-session sprint to turn your expertise into a starter set of 4 ‘intellectual headshots’...

These headshots are crisp visual assets meant to instantly telegraph your expertise your buyer, frame their thinking in a sticky way, and spark enough curiosity for a conversation.

It’s a fun process - we spend session one in full-on discovery mode talking about your domain, core problems, what you’ve been screaming about for years but never quite seem to be heard.

Through all that, we align on a hypothesis of what the 4 headshots should be by the end of session 1.

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I get to work, and send over a mockup for each a couple days later.

Then comes the real moment of truth.

What’s been happening is this:

🏆 One mockup really lands - few or no notes.

🧐 Two are…ok, but need to be discussed

🗑️ And one is a flat-out flop.

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Yup, a 25% pass rate.

And this is consistent across these IP Builder sprints so far..

…and in all my former versions of this type of service with clients.

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Now, zooming out, you may think,

“Wow, Wes is really bad at this.”

Or you might think that I’d be worried that my client is thinking,

“Wow, Wes is really bad at this.”

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But rather, this is built into the process.

I’m expecting this at this phase.

I even make it explicit that these are not even proofs, but concepts.

This isn’t to cover my ass, but instead to invite discards and discussion.

And it’s only in these “why” conversations about why something didn’t work that we get to the crux of what we want to convey.

Nuance that didn’t come out in our initial discovery.

Tonal tweaks that better represent how you think and talk about your domain.

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Had I gone away for a few days…

Pretended to be a magician that could perfectly articulate your vision in one try…

And shown you something polished and publish-ready, nudging for approval...

You’d be more apt to just say 'looks good', or at least temper your feedback.

The result? We'd put a bow on it, and those assets collect digital dust and never see the light of day.

But by carving out time for the ugly part of the process, even in a fast-paced sprint…

The thinking goes deeper, and the output gets elevated.

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As you think about the assets you’re building

Content, messaging, proposals, docs.

For marketing, sales, or client delivery.

Remember there’s a time and place for polish.

But don’t forget to savor the bath through the mud along the way.

That’s where the gold is.

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💡

-Wes

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P.S. Wanna hop in the mud together and build out your Intellectual Headshots?

I'll be opening booking for the June IP Builder Sprints next week. Join the list for first dibs. (I'll only have 3 slots in June due to some summer travel.)

I'll send you the details right away so you have time to consider before booking.

Btw...see all those orange boxes? That's the mud time. 😎