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Range of Expected Outcomes, Or Basic Preparation

Liston Witherill
Liston Witherill
1 min read

For every situation, there’s a range of likely outcomes.

You don’t have to be able to predict the future to know what they are.

For example, if you’re starting a business development program and you send emails out to potential clients, they can only say three things when asked if they’re interested in your help:

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Not sure

Everything else is a variation of one of these three. Are you ready for each potential outcome?

I’ll give another example. Let’s say you’re in a pitch meeting whereby you present a proposal to a potential client. At the end, I always prompt them to get a reading on their temperature. I’d ask something like “are you interested in moving forward?,” to which they can only respond:

  1. Yes
  2. No
  3. Not sure / not now

Do you see? The advantage of planning – and using a call to action – keeps the range of expected outcomes simple and easy to plan.

Avoid surprises, and be prepared. That’s the power of understanding the range of expected outcomes.

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