Many professionals put enormous energy into winning a new client. And then they wing what comes next. The first 90 days of a client relationship set the foundation for everything that follows. I want to share the framework I use, because I think it is genuinely one of the most overlooked areas in the helping industry. Before the first working meeting, send a welcome pack. A personalised welcome letter, your working agreement in plain English, a short questionnaire about goals, and clear next steps. It signals professionalism before you have even sat down together. At the first meeting, cover what I call the soft contract alongside the hard one. The hard contract is what you are doing. The soft contract is how you are going to do it. How will you communicate? What does success look like? What might get in the way? Break the 90 days into 30-day segments with shared objectives. Document every win. And build trust deliberately, through consistent action, not passively through good intentions. I made the mistake early in my career of assuming trust would build naturally. It does not. It is built deliberately. The 90-day review is not an ending. It is a beginning. I am curious how structured your first 90 days currently are. Tell me which fits best: a) I have a clear onboarding process and it works well b) I do some of this but it is not consistent across every client c) I mostly wing it after the contract is signed and I know it costs me d) I am just starting out and I want to build this in from the beginning Drop your letter below.

Many Consultants, Coaches and Business Professionals I speak to are brilliant at what they do. But when I ask them what makes them different, they say the same things. Quality. Service. Experience. And I understand why. Those words feel safe. They feel true. The problem is, everyone says them. So they land on your ideal clients and just... wash over. What I have found works far better is what I call a Signature Snapshot. One short, true story. Three parts: the situation your client was in, how you helped them, and the result they got. When you have it, you stop explaining and start demonstrating. Prospects do not need persuading. They simply recognise the proof of what you have already done for people like them. And here is the part I find most exciting. One story contains five to ten pieces of content. Posts, videos, articles, even a book chapter. You are not starting from scratch. You are mining what you already know. I am curious where you are with this right now. Tell me which fits best: a) I have strong client stories but I have never turned them into content b) I struggle to put what I do into words at all c) I already use stories but I want to make them work harder d) This is new to me and I want to know where to start Drop your letter below.

Many professionals walk into a client call ready to present. That is the mistake. Before you say a single word about what you do, try this in your next client call. Ask, don't pitch. Think about the four things your prospect needs to arrive at before they will ever say yes. They need to recognise they have a problem. They need to see that a solution exists. They need to believe you can provide that solution. They need to trust you enough to act. Your job is not to tell them any of that. Your job is to ask the questions that lead them to say it themselves. Because people don't argue with their own data. Write down the answers you need them to give. Then work backwards to the questions that get you there. Try it once. See what changes. I am curious where you are with this right now. Tell me which fits best: a) I know I pitch too soon and want to fix it b) I struggle to know which questions to ask c) I find it hard to hold back when I know I can help d) I already do this and want to sharpen my question bank Drop your letter below.

Quick question for you. Have you ever offered something for free and wondered if you'd made a mistake? Maybe a free consultation. A checklist. A webinar. A taster session. And then thought... are people just taking the freebie and running? Here's what I've found over 30 years of working with coaches, consultants, speakers, trainers and accountants. The problem usually isn't that you gave too much away. It's that the free offer wasn't aligned closely enough with the paid work that followed. Get that alignment right and free becomes one of the most powerful client-attraction tools you have. I've written about this in detail in this week's blog, including a simple three-step framework you can apply straight away. Here's the blog if you want to read it: https://www.peterthomson.com/blog/why-free-isn-t-cheap-the-real-power-of-giving-first But I'd love to hear from you first. When it comes to free offers, which of these feels most like you right now? A) I don't offer anything free and I'm not sure I should B) I offer something free but it doesn't seem to convert C) I've got the free-to-paid flow working well D) I haven't really thought about it Drop your answer in the comments.

This parable has been bothering me for some time, as the moral is great, yet the practicality doesn't seem to fit well. So I would welcome your thoughts on this, especially @Peter Thomson as you will no doubt have some thoughts I would more than welcome. Here is the parable: The story is commonly known as "The Parable of the Mexican Fisherman" (or "The Fisherman and the Businessman"). It tells of a wealthy American investment banker on vacation who encounters a content Mexican fisherman who has caught a few large fish early in the day. When the banker asks why he doesn’t fish longer and catch more, the fisherman replies that he has enough to meet his family’s needs. He spends the rest of his day playing with his children, napping with his wife, and enjoying time with friends in the village. The banker then outlines an ambitious plan: fish more, buy a bigger boat, expand into a fleet, and eventually sell the business to retire as a rich man. When the fisherman asks what life would be like after retirement, the banker describes a peaceful life—sleeping late, fishing, playing with family, and relaxing in a coastal village. The fisherman, puzzled, replies: “But isn’t that what I’m doing now?” Moral of the Story The parable highlights the irony of sacrificing life for work in pursuit of a happiness that may already be within reach. It challenges the assumption that more wealth, status, or productivity leads to greater fulfilment, suggesting instead that true happiness often lies in simplicity, presence, and contentment with what one already has. It’s often used in discussions about work-life balance, financial independence, and redefining success. You may have heard various versions of this, like living in New York, etc., yet the essence of the story is the same. Before I say how I see this, I welcome other thoughts.