Service — The Plan Of Action
What makes the plan of action different from a free consultation
The plan of action is paid work with a written output; a free consultation is a sales call with a proposal at the end. That is the whole difference and it decides everything else.
7 min read · Reviewed by both partners
A free session is priced at zero because its purpose is to sell you something. That is not dishonest, it is just what it is for.
The plan of action costs $1,500 because the output is the product: a written route naming what gets built, in what order, at what price.
Step by step
Who the session is for
A free consultation serves the seller’s pipeline. A paid engagement serves the buyer’s decision. The agendas differ accordingly.
What you leave with
A written route naming what gets built, in what order, at what price — yours, in writing, whether or not anything else is purchased.
Who is in the room
Both founding partners. Free consultations are usually staffed by whoever is available and incentivised to close.
What happens if the answer is no
A paid engagement can conclude that you should not buy anything else. A free one structurally cannot.
What it costs to find out
$1,500. Against the cost of a wrong twelve-month commitment, that is the cheap end of the decision.
Common mistakes
Collecting free consultations
Four sales calls produce four proposals and no diagnosis. It feels like research and produces nothing usable.
Assuming paid means better
It means the incentive is aligned. Ask what the written output is; if there is not one, price is not the issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the plan of action different from a free consultation?
A free session is priced at zero because its purpose is to sell you something. That is not dishonest, it is just what it is for.
What’s the practical next step with Growth-Scaling after reading this?
It sits under The Plan Of Action in the Growth Scaling Method. The next step for an owner is the $1,500 Assessment, which reads your own numbers against everything described above.
What is the investment?
The one-time Foundation runs $4,500. Whether a monthly program follows, and at what level above the $5,000 floor, is a decision the Plan of Action makes with the numbers in hand.
Do partners stay involved after the sale?
They are the only people involved. There is no handoff, because there is nobody to hand it to.
References
- www.ftc.gov — primary source
- www.dol.gov — primary source
- www.irs.gov — primary source
Buy the diagnosis, not the pitch
The plan of action is $1,500 and the document is yours either way.
Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm. It is not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical and does not provide medical, legal, financial, or contracting services; all industry content on this site is marketing and growth guidance for owners in those fields. Figures describing past engagements refer to specific businesses under specific conditions and are not a prediction of any future result. No outcome is promised.
Written by Steven Lockhart, reviewed by David Mitroff, Ph.D. Figures and regulatory details reflect the cited public sources; requirements vary by state and situation. Growth-Scaling is a marketing and business-scaling firm, not a licensed practitioner in any client vertical.