Minimum engagement level

The smallest amount it takes to begin working with the firm, stated out loud and early in the conversation. It is a floor, not a quote: “engagements with us start at a level I want to make sure lines up before we go deeper.” Naming it early filters the unserious, protects your time, and keeps the expert posture intact — and in PH enterprise culture it reads as how a real player behaves, money discussed plainly in the room rather than dodged.

Source: Blair Enns, Win Without Pitching (PRACTITIONER) — proclamation nine, “we will address issues of money early.” Enns’ point: state minimum engagement levels before either side invests weeks discovering a mismatch that money would have surfaced on day one.

First used in: 2.7 · Discovery: diagnose before you prescribe