PrePre-call
Load the room before you knock
- Know their business type, revenue band, and who keeps the books now.
- Pick your one lane hook — nonprofit, home health, or trades — so you sound like a specialist.
Prep only
Before you join
Diagnose
10–2 min
Frame & disarm
- "Not sure yet if we're even the right fit — let's find out."
- Get permission for the agenda, then box the 30 minutes out loud.
22–6 min
Situation snapshot
- Current state only: who does it now, what software, how current they are.
- Gather, don't fix. Catch the throwaway line — it's usually the real problem.
36–13 min
Surface the problem
This is the call- "What's got you even looking at this right now?"
- "And when that happens — what does that create for you?"
- Use silence. Don't rescue them when it goes quiet.
413–16 min
Cost of staying put
- Quantify it: owner hours burned, missed deductions, decisions made blind.
- "If nothing changes — where does that put you at year-end?"
- Reflect their words back, then stop talking.
516–17 min
Earn the show
Pivot- "Would it help if I showed you what we'd actually hand you each month?"
- Get the micro-yes before you show anything.
Present
617–22 min
Show the report
- The monthly report is the star — deck stays to 2–3 slides, max.
- Map every section to a problem they named.
- "You said you fly blind on margins — this is that, every month."
722–25 min
Price it live
- Run the calculator with them — the number feels derived, not quoted.
- Anchor against the cost of doing nothing, or a $50K in-house hire.
- Say the number, then stop. First to speak loses.
825–30 min
Commit & next step
- "Where do you see this fitting for you?" — let them talk first.
- Resistance is data, not objection: "What's making you pause?"
- Lock one concrete action: start date, onboarding booked, or agreement sent.
After the call
EndFollow-up
Recap in their words
- Send the report sample + their calculator number, framed in the problem they named.
NEPQ tonality
Neutral & curious — never pitchy
Ask, don't tell
Silence is leverage
Materials are proof, not the pitch