How one question opened up a while new revenue channel

A few weeks ago, I was on a call with a prospect who—on paper—wasn’t a fit for Paperboy.

He was a wealth manager, not our typical client profile.

But as I mentioned in a previous email, I do my best to approach every conversation with curiosity.

So I asked one of my go-to questions:

“How are you currently spending money on marketing?”

I love this question because it reveals two things:

1. Are they willing to spend to grow?
2. If so, could that budget be reallocated to something that drives better results?

The Reveal

Turns out, he was currently investing in leads.

In fact, he was investing a TON.

He told me he was spending a hefty fee every month with a lead generation company that sources cold leads—basically sending over lists of names, phone numbers, and addresses.

Okay, not a shocker in and of itself.

The shocker was how much he was spending. It was like 4–5x the cost per lead compared to what we typically get for our clients.

These leads weren’t nurtured.

They weren’t qualified.

They were just… names on a spreadsheet.

But in his industry, this was normal.

Almost every service provider in his niche uses the same model.

I had no idea.

The lightbulb moment

At first, I assumed this call wouldn’t lead to anything.

He wasn’t our usual customer.

But by staying curious—and asking the right questions—I realized two things:

• Our service could likely blow his current results out of the water
• There are hundreds of others in his industry spending big money on these low-quality leads

In other words, I think we just uncovered an entirely new market and audience for our core services.

What started as a “dead end” conversation turned into a massive new opportunity for us.

A completely new channel.

One I never would have found if I wasn’t listening.

The lesson

Most business owners only listen for buying signals—signs that a prospect is ready to say yes.

But if you only listen for yeses, you might miss the bigger opportunities.

Sometimes the most valuable thing you can do on a call is:

• Stay curious
• Ask open-ended questions
• Dig into how they operate, what they’re spending, and what’s frustrating them

If ya do that even semi-decently, behind those answers, you’ll often find:

• New problems you can solve
• New niches you can serve
• Entirely new revenue streams

That one question—“How are you currently spending your money on marketing?”—turned a random call into a breakthrough.

Stay curious.

The opportunities are out there.

But only if you’re listening.

— Shane