Last Friday, “Make it more premium” left me speechless
At 4 p.m. Friday, I was revising a client proposal in a Hangzhou café. The client wanted a mini-program and opened with, “Make it more premium.” I questioned them for ages, but still couldn’t pin down what they meant. I nearly sent the quote—then stopped myself and protected my budget from rework. This was a mistake I used to make all the time: guessing requirements out loud until my own head became a mess.
Writing isn’t homework—it helps us see the problem
These days, I don’t rush into a proposal. Instead, I write down what I heard, line by line: who is using it, in what situation, where they’re stuck, and why the problem is worth solving. Then I circle the points that genuinely need confirmation and ask the client to fill in each one. Murat Buffalo has shared a similar idea on his blog: writing reveals the parts of your thinking that haven’t taken shape, even when you thought they had. We don’t need polished prose. We just need to expose the gaps in our thinking.
Copy this today: you can start without software
Cost: ¥0—use a phone memo app or a free document. Time: spend 20 minutes on a first draft, then book a 30-minute client confirmation call. Technical barrier: none; typing is enough. First step: create a document titled “What the client really wants to solve,” then paste in the exact words from your latest three conversations. Don’t polish anything yet, and don’t jump straight to a proposal.
Here’s how I adapt it at each stage
When I was just starting, I used a four-line template for every request: client, situation, problem, outcome. Once I had one or two clients, I sent the “client’s exact words” back for line-by-line confirmation so I wouldn’t fill in the blanks myself. Now that I’m scaling, I keep a separate needs map for each client, then combine them into rules my team can understand. Writing won’t tell us whether we’re right, but it helps us uncover mistakes earlier. There’s no pressure to try now; the next time a client’s request feels vague, write for five minutes. That’s enough to begin.