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From Free Work to Paid Process

Stop giving away the work that should create commitment.

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If you’re a specialty contractor selling complex work, you already know the problem.

The client asks a few questions.
You answer.
Then you review plans.
Then you make recommendations.
Then you talk to the builder.
Then you explain options.
Then you build a price.
Then they ask for revisions.
And somehow, none of that was paid.

That’s the game we’re fixing.

The shift is simple.

If the process is simple, make it fast.
If the project is complex, make it paid.
Not every sale needs a design agreement.
Not every opportunity needs to slow down.

But when the project is complex, undefined, or will consume real planning time, you need a way to get the client committed before you start doing the heavy thinking.

That is what this workshop is about.

In three hours, you will build the first version of your paid design service.

Not theory.
Not a motivational talk.
Not another pile of ideas you never use.
You will leave with a working first version of:

  • what stays free and what becomes paid

  • which opportunities should move fast and which need a paid process

  • how to explain and price your first version

  • how to get the client committed and paid

You will leave with something you can start using on your next complex opportunity.

Why would the client pay for this?

Because complex projects need answers before they need a final price.
The builder needs information.
The architect needs information.
Other trades need information.
And the client needs to understand what they are actually buying before making a much larger decision.
Without a paid agreement, you end up providing those answers as a prospect trying to win the job.
Once the agreement is signed and paid, the relationship changes.
They are a customer.
You can help.
And everyone knows what your role is.

You make them a customer before you start doing the work that requires your professional thinking.

Once you’re in, this is how we work.

This is a working session.
You will not sit quietly and watch slides for three hours.
You will work through The Free Work Fix Trail Guide and build your first version as we go.

We will work through:

  • where you are giving away valuable thinking today

  • how to move the right opportunities into a paid process

  • what your first version should include and what to charge

  • how to explain it, handle the pushback, and get it sold

By the end, your Trail Guide becomes the working first version of your paid process.

You’ll see the language in action.

We’re also bringing in someone who is already selling paid design services in the real world.
You’ll see a live field interview and practice session.
You’ll hear how he explains the service.
How he handles the pushback.
What he says when someone just wants a price.
And what it took to make the language feel natural.
Not theory.
Real language.
Real objections.
Real practice.

You’ll also get:

  • The Free Work Fix Trail Guide

  • The Objection Playbook

  • The Question Playbook

  • The Pathfinder Decision Tool

  • The Pricing Builder

  • The Deliverables Throttle

Plus the 5-Minute Close Checklist and tools to help you decide which opportunities should move fast, become paid, or need more qualification.

This is for you if:

    You are a specialty contractor selling complex, design-dependent work.
    You are tired of giving away professional thinking before the client has committed.
    You are reviewing plans, developing scope, making recommendations, coordinating with builders and architects, or doing real planning before anyone has paid you.
    You want a cleaner way to separate the simple opportunities from the ones that need a paid design service.
    And you want something your sales team can actually explain and use.

    This is not for you if:

    You want to make every project slower and more complicated.
    That’s not what we’re doing.
    Simple projects should still move fast.
    And if you are happy giving away design, planning, revisions, and professional thinking in the hope that someone eventually hires you, keep doing what you’re doing.
    This workshop is for the companies ready to change that.

      Workshop details
      From Free Work to Paid Process

      Date: September 30
      Format: Live online workshop
      Time: 10:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM CT / 1:00 PM ET
      Investment: $499 per company
      Includes: Up to three attendees from the same company
      ESA Member Price: $249 (Ask how to the ESA member price)

      Come ready to work.
      Bring one real opportunity or a recent proposal you wish had gone differently.
      Something where you gave away too much.
      Something where the scope got messy.
      Something where you spent a pile of time pricing, planning, revising, or answering questions before the client committed.
      We’ll use the workshop to help you build a better way to handle the next one.

      If you’re in, here’s what to do:

      1. Reserve your spot.
      2. Choose who from your company should attend.
      3. Bring one real opportunity or recent proposal.
      4. Show up ready to build your first version.
      5. Leave ready to start using it.

      You do not need more free work.
      You need a better start.

      – Patrick

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      P.S. Bring the opportunity that annoys you most. The one where you look back and think, “We did a hell of a lot of work before these people ever became a customer.” That’s a good one to work on.