I wanted to hang up mid-sentence and never take another SEO call again.
The startup founder was explaining their "revolutionary" approach to customer acquisition for the third time. I'd stopped listening after the first minute.
Instead, I was staring at the same PowerPoint template I'd used for 200+ client presentations:
Slide 1: SEO Audit Results Slide 2: Keyword Opportunities
Slide 3: Technical Recommendations Slide 4: Timeline & Investment
The same fucking presentation. Again.
My cursor hovered over the "End Call" button.
This was late 2019. I was making €400K a year from SEO consulting. Six-month waiting list. Industry recognition.
And I was about to hang up on a client offering me €35K because I couldn't bear to give the same presentation one more time.
The Moment Everything Changed
Something inside me snapped.
Instead of clicking to slide 1, I closed my laptop.
"You know what?" I said, my heart pounding. "I have no idea if SEO is even the right approach for you."
Silence.
"But... you're the SEO expert," the founder said. "That's why we called you."
I could feel my business partner Marcus staring at me from across the room. This was supposed to be our biggest deal of the month.
"Here's what I don't know about your situation," I continued, throwing two years of "expert positioning" out the window.
"I don't understand how your customers actually find solutions. I don't know if they even use Google the way my other clients' customers do. I don't know if spending €35K on SEO is the smartest move for your business right now."
Marcus looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
The founder was quiet for what felt like forever.
Then he leaned forward on the video call.
"Finally," he said. "Someone who's honest about what they don't know."
The AHA Moment That Changed Everything
"Every other consultant came in here claiming they understood our business after a 20-minute discovery call," he continued. "You're the first one brave enough to admit you need to actually learn about us before prescribing anything."
Something shifted in my chest.
For the first time in months, I felt... curious.
Not about keywords or link-building strategies, but about this person's actual world. Their real challenges. Their customers' genuine behavior.
"What if," I heard myself saying, "instead of an SEO strategy, we spent the first month just figuring out how your best customers actually make decisions?"
The founder's eyes lit up. "That's exactly what we need."
We closed the deal that same call. €35,000. My highest fee ever.
But the money wasn't the real win.
The real win was remembering what it felt like to be excited about a client call again.
The Counter-Intuitive Truth About Expertise
That Berlin startup taught me something that changed my entire business:
Clients weren't hiring me for my expertise. They were hiring me for my curiosity.
Every other consultant they'd met projected confidence about situations they didn't understand.
I was the first one honest enough to say "I don't know... yet."
And that honesty made them trust me more than any case study or certification ever could.
What Happened Next
Over the next three months, I completely flipped my approach.
Instead of starting calls with confident presentations, I started with curious questions.
Instead of selling proven methodologies, I sold the promise to learn alongside them.
Instead of being the expert with all the answers, I became the guide with better questions.
The results:
- Close rate went from 60% to 90%
- Average deal size increased 40%
- Client satisfaction scores hit all-time highs
- I actually looked forward to Monday mornings again
But the most shocking result?
Admitting ignorance made me more money than claiming expertise ever did.
The Choice That Defines Your Future
Your success is either expanding your world or shrinking it.
Every time you pretend to know something you don't, you make your cage a little smaller.
Every client you process through your "proven system" instead of approaching with fresh eyes, you become a little more trapped by your own expertise.
The question isn't whether you're successful.
The question is: Are you still curious?
Jan
PS: If you're feeling trapped by your own expertise and ready to rediscover what made you fall in love with your work in the first place, reply with "CURIOUS" and I'll send you the exact script I used in that Berlin call. Warning: It requires the courage to admit what you don't know.
PPS: I won't answer today because it is my birthday.
