Are you wasting your expert calls?

There is a rookie mistake almost everyone makes when they first start booking 1:1 expert sessions.

They spend their money asking for Information.

• “What is the best email marketing tool?”
• “What is the salary range for a Senior PM?”
• “What are the steps to register an LLC?”

This is a tragedy. You are paying $200+ an hour for answers that you could have found on Google in 45 seconds. You are using a Ferrari to go to the grocery store.

The true ROI of an expert session doesn’t come from accessing their Database (what they know); it comes from accessing their Processor (how they think).

If you want to stop wasting money and start unlocking breakthrough growth, you need to shift your questions from seeking Tactics to seeking Mental Models.

The Hierarchy of Advice

To understand where the value lies, we have to look at the pyramid of knowledge:

1. Data: Raw numbers (e.g., conversion rates). Value: Free.
2. Information: Contextualized data (e.g., “Industry benchmarks for conversion”). Value: Cheap.
3. Knowledge: How to apply information (e.g., “How to improve conversion”). Value: Moderate.
4. Intuition (Wisdom): Pattern recognition built on years of failure. Value: Priceless.

Most people ask Level 1 or Level 2 questions. You need to push the conversation to Level 4.

The “Scenario Simulation”

Another way to extract Intuition is to run a simulation. Experts have a “gut feeling” developed over thousands of hours. You want to tap into that gut feeling.

Try asking this:

“I’m going to describe a scenario. I want you to tell me the first three red flags that pop into your head, even if they seem irrational.”

Then, describe your launch plan.

Because you gave them permission to be “irrational,” they will bypass their analytical brain and give you their intuitive reaction.

• “The timeline feels too tight.”
• “That customer acquisition cost sounds optimistic.”
• “You’re relying too much on one channel.”

This is the gold. This is the “spidey sense” that takes a decade to earn, and you just bought it for the price of a Zoom call.

The goal is to Upgrade Your OS

When you hang up the phone, the measure of success isn’t just “Did I solve my immediate problem?”

It should be: “Did I upgrade my internal Operating System?”

If you ask the right questions, you aren’t just getting advice on a specific situation. You are downloading a small piece of that expert’s brain. You are learning to see the world the way they see it.

Next time you book a session, do your homework on the “Facts” beforehand. Bring the expert the “hard stuff”—the judgment calls, the gray areas, and the unknown unknowns. That is where the money is.