- Halo & Hustle
- Posts
- Don't figure it out
Don't figure it out
Stop getting nerd sniped by business problems
Halo & Hustle
July 01, 2024
I know that I’ve said you should fall in love with solving problems.
That said, don’t solve problems just for the sake of solving them. There are enough new problems to solve that if you can find someone who has already solved your problem, it’s better to just ask them.
Here’s how Herbert Simon approached it:
On the receipt of an inquiry, I pick up the phone and call the person, among my acquaintances, whose field of expertness is as close as possible to the target (it need not be very close at all). I ask my respondent, not for the answer to the question, but for the name of the person in his or her circle of acquaintance who is closest to being an expert on the topic. I repeat the process until I have the information I want. It will be a rare occasion when more than three or four calls are required.
Define Your Problem Well
You’ve got to define your problem extremely well. For instance, we needed appointments with marketing directors or above at companies 1,000 people or above, who were interested in whiteboard videos. We need to get 1,700 appointments per year from an audience of 30,000 people, which means we need a lead efficiency of 1 lead for 17 people. We need to spend around $450 per meeting, including all our internal labor. I.e. we can afford to spend $6,000 per customer and it normally takes 10 opportunities to get one sale, and 1.3 meetings with people who meet the criteria above to get one opportunity.
Given this problem, an expert can compare it to his or her experience.
Avoid People Who Can Figure Out Your Problem. Find People Who Have Solved It Before.
Look for someone who has solved a similar problem previously. There are tons of smart consultants who will come up with plausible ideas. The problem is, most of those ideas won’t work. Save your time and your money. Hire someone who has already done it in a very similar situation.
The Solution That Worked For Them Won’t Exactly Work For You
Each problem is its own maze. By finding someone who has solved their maze, you’ll get clues as to the best way to solve yours, but it’s not the exact maze, so won’t work exactly. But it’s a good starting point!