TL;DR: A founder asked Mark for a guarantee on a sales call. Instead of a refund clause, Mark gave him a list of past clients to call. The real lesson: buyers asking for a guarantee aren't asking about risk, they're asking for proof. Two supporting lessons: sales culture problems don't fix themselves without direct feedback, and most no-shows are a process problem, not a prospect problem.
The Question Every Founder Asks
"What's your guarantee?"
Mark gets this on almost every sales call. Founders want to know, before they sign, that they're not about to waste six figures on another consultant who talks a big game and disappears.
Last week, a founder asked him directly. Mark gave him the real answer. The founder was not expecting it.
The Guarantee Nobody Wants to Hear
"What's your guarantee?" he asked.
"I guarantee if you don't hire me, you're going to fail." He laughed. Mark did not.
Here's the truth behind that answer. Mark doesn't know the founder's company. He doesn't know the team. He doesn't know if the last person that founder hired was actually bad at the job, or if he just never gave that person a real shot. Maybe the reason the business fails has nothing to do with who he hires next at all.
So Mark told him straight: no refund, no performance clause, no money-back promise.
What he does have is a track record. He handed over a list of past clients and told the founder to call every single one. Ask what it was actually like. Ask if Mark did what he said he'd do.
That's the guarantee. Not a clause. Proof.
Why Buyers Really Ask for a Guarantee
Most founders who ask for a guarantee aren't really asking about financial risk. They're asking a different question: "prove to me this won't fall apart the way the last thing did."
A contract clause can't answer that. It just moves the risk around on paper. Evidence answers it. A reference call where a past client says the work actually happened answers it. A case study with real numbers answers it.
The founders who figure this out fastest stop shopping for guarantees and start shopping for proof. Case studies. Reference calls. Outcomes they can go check for themselves.
The Takeaway
Next time a prospect asks for your guarantee, don't reach for a clause. Send them three people who will tell them the truth. That's the only guarantee that ever actually closed a deal.
