When I started my consulting and coaching practice nine years ago, I set up my website with a blog section. I did it because I thought that was what credible coaches were supposed to do. Write articles. Share ideas. Build authority.

There was one problem. I could not bring myself to write the first post.

I was not sure if I would be any good at writing. I was not sure if I would enjoy it. I kept waiting for the perfect idea and the perfect draft. That approach kept me stuck for more than a year.

At one point, I even asked my webmaster to hide the blog link in the navigation bar because it sat there empty. The truth was simple. I was trying to avoid the feeling of not being good enough.
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Most professionals do the same thing. They wait for confidence that never comes.

Most professionals treat pricing conversations like a test they’re about to fail.

Here’s what changes when you stop defending and start asking.

A bankruptcy lawyer once faced a client with a budget of $250,000, well below what the engagement would normally cost. He had two choices: push for full scope or walk away.

Instead, he got curious.

He asked what outcomes mattered most, helped the client prioritize, and designed a hybrid solution that fit the budget.
He didn’t make as much on that first project, but he earned something far more valuable: trust. The client came back with multiple matters worth ten times the initial fee.
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When you bring curiosity and transparency into pricing, the conversation stops being a negotiation and starts becoming the foundation of a partnership.

Most professionals make a deal with themselves in Q4: I'll get back to business development when things slow down.

Except they rarely do. When BD pauses during busy periods, the silence shows up a few months later as what I call the "lumpy practice" — great when you're buried, suddenly quiet when projects end.

Years ago, when I was leading business development for Deloitte's forensic practice on the West Coast, I asked a colleague who ran our global investigations practice if he still made time for BD during his busiest stretches. He didn't hesitate.
"Absolutely. That's when I have the most to talk about, and I'm coming from confidence, not need."
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That stuck with me. The best time to engage isn't when you have space on your calendar. It's when you have momentum. You're active, sharp, and full of stories that make connection easy.