Hey. Welcome to another month. I want to welcome you to the Low Commitment Consultation module. Really, really exciting module, and I'm going to explain why it's a really exciting module for you. Consider this chart here. This is low, this is high. This is low, this is high. This might represent the results you can get, and the high results, low results. This would represent the effort or the expense. Low expense, high expense.

Now, this LCC module would definitely fit high results, low effort, low cost. So it would be right up in this quadrant up here. X marks the spot. The reason it sits way up there is for one simple reason. The LCC really, at the core of it, is really just around words. Words are very cheap and easy to dispense, but they're the right words. As you go through this module, we're going to give you some words, and you might want to adapt them for your speak and how you would say it. Obviously, if you speak a different language, you'll convert it. That's obvious, but you might have a different way of saying it than I say it, so take what you get given in this module and adapt it for yourself.

Now, one of the reasons this works so quickly and so well is most people have a flawed sales process. What I mean by that is they're effectively trying to get married on the first date to their clients. This process slows it down. I'm a man of romance, as you can imagine, so I like to slow it down in a series of small dates. Most people's sales process is a big jump straight from nothing up unto maybe design and concept drawings. Well, we need to design something before that, so just think romance. Just think romance, and you'll be on the right track with this module.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoy it. It's very, very important. It's very, very powerful, and like I said, it's probably the fastest way to get results, because all you're doing is using words. As we know, words can start wars. They can end wars. They can start relationships, and very quickly, they can end relationships, can't they? With that in mind, let's get into the Low Commitment Consultation.

Welcome to the Low Commitment Consultation, how to turn prospects into paying clients. Here's the resources that you are going to have by the end of this module. You're going to have an incoming call script. You're going to have an options review video, so one that's been done for you, one with my accent on it, if you're in Australia or New Zealand or maybe the UK, and an American one with Enoch's voice over the video. So this is something you can just take and plug immediately onto your website or send out as a link to people.

A written proposal examples. You'll be able to see exact examples of how people have worded the justification for their needs and options review. And an email sent out by Ian Robinson, who sent out one single email, and the client immediately emailed back and said, "Let's go ahead with $2,000." So these are some great tools you're going to have, but it's not enough to just have the tools. I want to give you the understanding. I want you to own this concept, and I want you to know it inside out so that when you're speaking about it, you can talk from the heart. It needs to be ingrained into your thinking.

Great comment from Gary Halbert. He's a great marketing legend. Unfortunately, he's passed away, but he said, "An uncertain prospect never buys." If you have frustrations or irritations that deals and projects are taking too long to close, and one of the reasons is often that they don't know enough about it to be able to say yes. They're too nervous. If there's only one thing I could give you, it would be the LCC, because it's probably the fastest tool, method, mindset that we can give you to get results very fast.

There's a good quote here from Cindy and Dale Morimoto. They joined up the academy on day one, and on that very day, "The day we signed up for the system, my husband had an evening meeting with a potential client. He had waited weeks to consent to a second face-to-face meeting. We tweaked the needs and options questions," so they took the incoming call script, probably, "to fit into our company, discussed them in the office, then sent Dale out for the meeting. He used the questions on the client, husband and wife, and in the end, he offered the needs and options review for them at 795. They snatched it up eagerly. Only hours after signing up for the program, we made a great catch."

This can work immediately if you have the right words. But while we're giving you the words, I also want you to feel it in your heart and know that it's the right thing to do, because I believe it is. While everyone else is going around ... Not everyone else, but a lot of other people are going around doing work for free, we're going to show you a different way.

The LCC stands for Low Commitment Consultation. It's like an easy first step. Imagine a set of stairs where there's a couple of steps missing on the stairs and how inconvenient that would be. The equivalent in the relationship world might be trying to go out and get a date with someone who you just walked up to in a bar, which is possible, but it's hard work. Probably what's harder would be a marriage proposal by walking up to a woman in a bar and trying to get ... Invite her to be married. She would probably turn around and say, "But I hardly know you. You are a very good looking guy or woman, but a few dates would be nice." That's how we act in relationships.

Often, when we get into business, we're diving straight into the business end and trying to sell them something before we've had a chance to build some small steps and some dating, some romance. So the LCC is around putting back into those your sales process a couple of steps, which adds a little romance to your sales process as opposed to diving straight in. "Here's my proposal. Do you want to work with me for the next two years?" Because it is a little bit like being married, isn't it? You are lumped with this architect for the next couple of years. What we're going to do is have a couple of smaller first dates, establish the relationship, and this whole thing is about how to do it.

Here's a little history on where this concept came from. I used to work for a software development company, called Intergen. We used to provide a lot of software systems for government departments and large business. What we started to notice after a while is we were spending a lot of time doing proposals for companies who wanted to get an idea of what certain things would cost. Sometimes we would have ... I remember one project where we had about seven people, and we worked til two or three in the morning coming up with this proposal so that we could really just put in a bid to win this very, very large contract. We were starting to get sick of this, because we were investing so much time and effort, and we weren't always winning it.

What we started to do is we said what we need to do is reinvent it. We need to take people back a step, because the fact we have to do so much analysis means people haven't done the analysis before they've even asked for a proposal. So we said, "We can either do a quote for you or we can conduct a feasibility analysis. We call this our requirements analysis, and it allows us to fully determine your requirements and assess what will be needed. This is the process. We'll do one, two, three, A, B, C, and at the end of the process, we'll be able to produce a detailed report for you, which you can give to us to produce an accurate quote or you can go to any other company in town. We'll all be quoting on exactly the same thing, which will be the right thing. It will be exactly what you need, whereas at the moment, we're making a lot of assumptions."

This was our way to get paid for what we used to go and do for free and to become their consultants before they went out to get final prices. We were providing a consulting exercise before they went out and got proposals. Most of the situations that were going out for proposals already, and we moved them back a step and said, "Really, you'd be better off to do some analysis before you went out to proposal." What we discovered was we were selling ... People were more interested in doing this thing than getting the proposal. They said, "Yeah, okay. We'll spend two, three, $4,000 if you can do this, and then we'll come up with a document that will be a complete requirements analysis, and then we'll put that out and use that as part of the tender or part of the proposal when we get prices from other IT companies."

What happened virtually every time was once we'd done the requirements analysis, they hired us. When I came into the architecture industry, I started to notice the same thing. I started to notice a whole lot of architects running around doing proposals, which took a lot of work, and then submitting a price and a proposal, which took a lot of work, and doing all this for free. And effectively sometimes, the clients were just getting all the IP rolled up and often not using it, and then taking all the different proposals and then giving it to one architect, who would take all the ideas from everyone else and produce something, which was often a copy of what you'd already submitted, which is unfair. It depends on how you look at it, but it's slightly unethical, and it's a real waste of time and effort for you. So we thought let's do something.

I'm going to give you a high level summary of how it would work for an architect. So you could say something like, "Rather than going straight to concept drawings, my suggestion is we conduct a needs and options review. Now, the needs and options review will allow you to fully understand the requirements, the constraints, timelines, and potential roadblocks of your project." So we're taking them back a step. "At the end of this process, you'll be able to get this outcome, which will allow me or any other architect the ability to give you an accurate price for the design phase so you can move ahead with confidence. The cost of this is only $750, $1,500 compared with $20,000 for a complete project drawings." So very similar to what we used to do with the IT requirements analysis.

That's a short version just to get you ahead in the game. The full version, a much longer version, is the incoming call script, which you can download. There is a video where I will go through the incoming call script. Now, you may say the incoming script is too long and all that type of stuff, but what it does, even though it's long, is it gives you the whole breakdown of the rationale and the explanation to give to someone on why they should go through and do a needs and options review or whatever it is you're going to call it. So it breaks down the full rationale.You may not use the whole script as it is. I suggest you adapt it to something for yourself, but beware of making it too short and cutting it down too much, because you'll diminish the value of it. It works really well if you use it as it is.

The incoming call script really summarizes the psychology behind the whole process of explaining it. The other thing that explains the whole process is the video that we have produced for you and you can use. If you change the name of it or you want your version of the video, there's also a script somewhere on this page where you can download the script and the slides, and you can record your own video explaining if you want to leverage the pitch. If you're one on-one, you'd use the incoming call script. If you're going to send it out an explanation of your options review as an email, then you might attach a link to a video that you can use. Either way, there's lots of different options for you.

What's the difference between free and paid? Well, the free meeting, let's go through that one first, is a chance to meet face-to-face. I've got no objection with ... I'm not saying you don't meet people for free. Sometimes you need to, because you need to establish rapport. You need to meet them face-to-face, establish rapport, see if you're a fit, and explain the process of what happens next and suggest the LCC or your needs and options review, which is a low-cost consultation, as your next step. What you don't do in this phase is start giving out advice. You don't give away IP. You say, "Look. That's what we do in the next step. We do an options review where I'll look into all that stuff in detail for you."

So what's an LCC? Here's the key points to selling the LCC, sometimes called a feasibility study, sometimes called an options review, sometimes called all sorts of different things. A couple of key points. This is how you justify them doing this step in the process. We do this step in the process because it's going to reduce your risk. In all honesty, it's going to reduce their risk. It's going to reduce yours. The more research you've done up front, the less risk it is for everybody. Given it's very cheap at the start to do a little bit of analysis. It doesn't really cost a lot in the context of the whole picture, but to make changes later on, it's very expensive. So that's one reason. Reduce risk.

The other reason is better design. We can review all the different options they have. If we diagnose exactly what it is they're after, you're going to end up with a better design. Nothing worse than we start putting nails and concrete in, and then you decide there were better options. Let's work out all the best options up front.

Third key point is you are more likely to complete your project on time and on budget. If we've done the evaluation, we've found out what the risks are. We've mitigated them. We've found out what all the options are. We've chosen the best one. Then that gives us our best chance of coming in on time and on budget. That is the biggest risk you have, Mr. Client, Mrs. Client, is being over time and over budget on a project. So if we spend a little bit of money, $1,500 up front, it's like an insurance policy.

What you should do is you should watch the video that I've produced. It's probably got Enoch's voice over it, but watch that. Listen to that. Understand it inside out. Go through the incoming call script several times, and all these concepts are explained in detail. This is the summary.

The other thing, the other benefit of doing a needs and options review is establishing a working relationship with them. Those are some of the key things. Now, a warning. Why you must charge for your expertise in the needs and options phase or the LCC phase. When I say must, it's strong. I'm going to give you ... If you charge nothing for your options review, what it shows to the client is you don't respect your time. You're prepared to do it for nothing, therefore your time must be worth nothing. Your IP has no value. It only seems ... If you're charging for design but none of the up front analysis and research and putting together proposals and ideas and all that, it seems like your knowledge that you have gained in your eight years of study and your 10 years of being in practice has no value. The only bit is when you start drawing things. Well, that's not true. You know that's not true.

The other thing is clients are being trained to expect that anything outside design is free. Your time is free unless you're creating design. That's wrong, and you're reducing yourself to a commodity. Those are reasons I don't think you should ... By all means have a free meeting, an initial meeting, but remember that that meeting is just a meet and greet. It's a chance for you to explain the next steps for them, a chance to get a better rapport, find out if you fit, and find out if they want to go into doing an LCC, some sort of options review.

If I haven't hit you over the head, here's 16 reasons why an LCC is important. Here are the 16 reasons to LCC. Reason number one. An uncertain prospect never buys. What makes them uncertain is taking such a big step. If we can offer them a small step, it's easier for them to say yes. We can explain exactly what's in that small step, because it is only a small step.

Reason number two, prescription before diagnosis is malpractice. Imagine a surgeon coming up to you. You go into a surgeon's office, and he pulls out a knife and says, "We can do it right here." You say, "Don't you want to check me out? Don't you want to ask about my symptoms?" "Not really. We'll open you up, and we'll just see what's in there." You wouldn't want that. You'd want to sit there and say, "Aren't you going to ask me a whole lot of questions and get me to fill out some forms and tap on my chest a few times before you start cutting?" That's what you want. You want that full diagnosis first. It's the same when you're an architect or any professional. That diagnosis phase is massively important for building up confidence and credibility for your client. Not only that, but doing a good job.

Reason number three. An existing client is five to 20 times more likely to hire you again. Get this. As soon as someone becomes a client, even if they only pay you a dollar for something, they have gone from being a prospect to a client. The whole psychology shifts. You can treat them differently. They can treat you differently. But what the stats say on the research is once they've bought one thing ... And it doesn't matter the dollar value of it. Once they've bought one thing from you, they are five to 20 times more likely to hire you again for something. So that's another reason for coming up with a small step to offer that we can sell them, which is an easy thing to offer them, and actually has value. We know that we cut everybody else off. They're now our client, and the next step is a lot easier.

Reason number four. Price is only a problem when value is a mystery. One thing we're doing in this whole module is teaching you how to explain the value of this LCC step. The value of doing a proper evaluation. The value of doing a proper diagnosis. Not from your point of view ... It is good from your point of view ... but from the client's point of view. So the incoming call script, the videos you're given, this whole thing is about explaining the value. And remember, the value is around reducing their risk, increasing the outcome, giving them a better quality design, and making sure the project comes on time and on budget. Those are the three key things around the value. If you can explain that using anything we've got here, value shouldn't be a mystery.

Reason number five. Sales people jump into solutions. Just like a doctor wouldn't jump and try and carve you open, one way to spot a sales person is they get to the solution too quickly, and they start trying to say, "You need it." So slow it down, take time to do the diagnosis. Even tell them that if we won't ... There's a good phrase in the incoming call script. "We don't rush people through to the design phase like other companies do. We will not do that, because it only causes cost overruns and problems later on. We will only work with companies who are prepared to do the process properly, and we want to do the analysis up front." Reason number five.

Reason number six. Big architecture firms charge for initial consultations. If those guys can get away with it, why can't you? When I say get away with it, I mean they're doing it right. If people will pay the big firms, why won't they pay you? Now, one of the biggest reasons that you are, some people, some architects are worried about charging a fee is they feel inferior to the big companies. Forget it. You're a boutique operation. You can charge for your initial consultation. You don't need to play the small guy. Just because you're a small company doesn't mean you have to be small-minded and small thinking when it comes to how you operate.

Reason number seven. Being paid allows you to do a proper job without getting angry. So you can go to those site visits. You can go and talk with the client. You can go and ask them questions and sit around and come up with ideas and ways to overcome some of the problems and do some of the research without getting annoyed, because you're being paid for it. It's a good feeling.

Reason number eight. Your advice is valuable and gained from many years of experience. Just because it might be easy for you and you can come up with answers to problems very quickly doesn't mean those answers aren't incredibly valuable and doesn't mean you're not bringing a whole lot of your experience in IP to the table to be able to answer those so quickly. As the quote goes, "It's not the hours I bring to the table. It's the value I bring to those hours."

Reason number nine. The law of reciprocity is flawed when giving away your IP. Now, there is a law that if you give something away, you will get something back. Unfortunately, when it comes to IP, you're giving away far more than they're giving you back if you're not charging for your IP and your experience and your knowledge. There's another problem. Once you've given away your expert advice prior to design, the genie is out of the bottle. The cat's out of the bag, and you can't put it back in. Once you've told them how to get around certain problems and what they can do and what they can't do and feasibility of certain things, you've given it away. You've given away your trump cards, and now you're left holding nothing. They don't need you until it's design time again. Maybe they think they don't need you. So don't give away your IP. Don't let the genie out of the bottle. Don't let the cat out of the bag.

Reason number 10. It helps other building professionals win projects. If you have a builder who likes to wheel you in to a client to help them win the project and help you win the project, and they want you to do it for free, you're possibly getting a little bit sick of this. So explain to the builder that even if the builder encourages the client to hire you for a small project, tell the builder that you're five to 20 times more likely to then continue with the project. If you end up getting the project as the architect, you'll make sure they end up getting the project as the builder. So move away from the free.

Reason number 11 you should do an LCC is you save or make your developer clients money through proper research. Here's what you can say. "Well, Mr. Developer, you can save $750 on my research but potentially miss out on $75,000 because your free architect only found you the third best option. If I take a little time to do this properly, I can find you the best option where we can maximize your return on investment." Something like that, words to that effect.

Reason number 12. It qualifies and trains prospects. The more someone pays, the more they respect your authority, and often, then will complain less. People don't value what they get for free. I had a landscape architecture friend. He came to me and said ... We were talking about marketing, and I was talking about landscaping, and he said, "I'll tell you what. Why don't we do a barter? Why don't we trade?" So he did some plans for my house for the landscaping, which were great, and I did a marketing campaign for him. I gave him a marketing campaign, and he gave me the landscaping plans. I brought the landscaping plans home one day and said, "Oh, I got these done." She said, "How much did they cost?" My wife. I said, "I got it done for free." She looked at them and said, "Oh, yeah, they're quite nice, but I don't like this and I don't like that." That was the end of it. It was a real low key look at his plans that he'd done.

I saw the landscaper a month later and said, "How'd you go with your marketing plan?" He said, "I didn't do it." If he'd paid me $1,500, he would have done it. If I'd paid him $1,500, we would have done something. The fact is we both got the services for free. Meet easy come, easy go. If we didn't go through and do anything, it didn't really matter. It didn't cost us anything.

Reason number 13. Get paid for what you used to do for free. Just imagine you're able to sell two LCCs per month for 10 months. Of course, you're on holiday for another two months. Let's say that's two times 10 is 20. 20 LCCs throughout the year at $750. That's an extra $15,000 in your pocket, and you haven't even done an extra project. You're just doing research analysis. I don't know. It seems like reason number 13 seems like a good one to me. Any one of these reasons is enough.

Reason number 14. It forces you to explain your value. You know you have value, and I know you have value, but you don't explain it very well. Going back to that previous case, prices are only an issue when value is a mystery. This really forces you to get your head around what is it, what value do you provide people before they actually get to drawings, and there's a lot. You can save people money or make people money by your ideas and your thoughts and your ways of getting around problems.

Reason number 15. Having a unique process, having a unique service makes you different. You can be the only person in your area offering a needs and options review. Now you're incomparable, and you've got a differentiation.

Reason number 16, finally. Either client follows your process for buying or you end up following their process for not buying. Now, listen. When the process goes well for you, who takes control? I'm going to put it to you that normally, a project will go much better when you are in charge and running it through. When you end up following the client's process, you end up wandering all over the place. There is no process. It's just chaos. It's just random thoughts and ideas and we'll do this and do that. It's chaos. You need to take control. You are the expert in this area. You need to grab them by the hand, show them what the process is, and if they follow that process, then it's all going to work out well. If they decide not to, then you've got to question whether you want to be involved.

In the next video, I'm going to get through into the mindset that's required to run a great LCC.