A quick ‘no’ is the second best answer you can get, especially when you’re out around the houses.

A quick ‘yes’ is obviously the prize, and the worst result of all is the slow ‘no.’

A slow ‘no’ is painful - the dance will go on forever, but at the end of the night you’re going home alone.

For a while a slow ‘yes’ and a slow ‘no’ behave in much the same fashion, orbiting each other, and for a minute or two it looks as if the cards might fall your way, which is why it can get a bit frustrating if they don’t.

With a quick ‘no’, you know where you stand and what to do next. You save time and you won’t die wondering.

So I was rapt to hear from Amanda* straight out of the gate, who asked to be removed from my mailing list as my offer was of no interest.

What made me really chuffed, was that Amanda assumed I was organised enough to have a list.

Take the wins where you can.

The downside was I’d clearly made the email sound a bit list-y whereas I was trying to strike a more casual could care less attitude.

Everything’s a learning curve.

I’d offered Amanda and others, a free idea, on a page - as I’m turning my creative process into a product that I thought I might simply call the ‘one-pager.’

Only because for as long as I can remember, every time I pitched an idea, I’d always get asked if I’d written it down on one page, and I’d always lie and say that I had. Then of course I’d have to go away and write it all down on one page, so I thought I might as well get a jump on things.

Putting a story on a single page sharpens up the thinking and forces you to write a tale that sinks deep. Stories are remembered and retold, because we’re all storytellers, and it’s how we learn. Yes, with pictures too. Bullet points not so much

When were you last moved by a deck?

It’s not for everyone, because it ignores a few rules in speed to answer. Tardiness didn’t seem to be something Amanda needed to worry about.

The ‘one-pager’ is for people in a hurry who want to shake things up a bit - for those who prioritise quick results over lengthy process. But, by the same token it’s for those of you who love blank pages, and crooked paths.

Maybe, the problem was in being free there was no value. Cheap advice is easily ignored and all that. You’ll be pleased to know I’ve removed that stumbling block.

Maybe Amanda was long on ideas, and had enough to be going on with? Anything’s possible these days.

Pretty much every marketing or comms idea you see on the site, started life as a one-pager. A simple story on a single page.

More than a few were kicked off on a lot less.

Putting a price on it upfront is a stake in the ground. You can say yes, or - as in Amanda’s case - no, quicker.

But maybe the email was too much of a tease, and I should’ve cut to the chase sooner. Ok, well simply put, the one-pager works like a wheel because people see value in the thinking. More than one client has paid 3x the fixed price I’m proposing, one 5x the price. No arm twisting, no tears. All very happy campers.

A couple of others launched their own products straight off the back of the one page thinking. Another used the idea to create content for a 12 month comms plan.

It works because opportunity is rarely found by looking in the same place. There’s a reason wood gets hidden in the trees.

A one pager idea takes about four or five days of my time to craft, and would’ve taken about an hour of Amanda’s to get the ball rolling. I’m using AI to make me a rollout plan and give me a bit of a bead on pricing. We’re dangerously close I reckon.

I’ll show it to you before the others if you like.

Amanda reckons it’s not for her. Might not even be for you.

But it can’t hurt to have a quick looksie.

Especially when you can always say no.

*not the client’s real name, but then they weren’t even a real client