Ask the client the question they didn't know they needed to ask.

technique — attributed to Jaclyn Bernstein

Clients describe what they want, a venue, an evening, and rarely think to ask whether Empire also handles the unglamorous part: getting two hundred executives from the airport to the hotel without anyone standing around confused. Bernstein asks anyway. Do you need us to pick up all your guests at the airport before and after your event, she'll say, and the answer is usually surprise that the question needed asking at all. The technique is not the offer itself. It is using the moment of surprise to reveal a gap in the client's own picture of what they were buying, then filling it before a competitor gets the chance.

For vendors who assume a client's request defines the full scope of what the client actually needs.

scope-expansion, client-service, logistics, value-discovery