The Best-Pond Rule
Apply the same skill where customers value its outcome most
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Hormozi and Bartlett describe market selection as a multiplier on an existing skill. The process starts by defining the result the skill produces, then comparing customer groups by how much that result is worth to them. Hormozi illustrates this with conversion optimisation: the same 20 percent improvement creates far more money for a business earning $100 million than for one earning $1 million. Bartlett similarly describes applying storytelling and marketing around large public listings rather than a local gym. The rule is to fish in the pond where a credible outcome has the greatest value, not simply to work harder in the first available market. Hormozi also notes that providers may need to level up gradually. The examples do not establish that larger clients are always easier or that identical work carries identical delivery risk.
Origin
Extracted from The Diary of a CEO
Core principles
- 01The same work can create radically different value in different markets
- 02Customers with a larger economic upside can rationally pay more
- 03Market knowledge can matter as much as technical skill
- 04Value should be assessed from the customer's outcome
How to run it
- 1
Define the outcome
State what your skill changes for a customer and how that change can be measured. Avoid describing only the activity you perform.
Pro tip Translate the result into revenue, cost, risk, time, or another customer-valued measure.
- 2
Map possible ponds
List customer types, industries, and moments where the outcome matters. Include differences in scale, urgency, and available budget.
Pro tip Look for narrow windows where the cost of failure or value of success is unusually high.
- 3
Estimate created value
Calculate how much a realistic improvement could be worth to each customer group. Use conservative assumptions and distinguish potential value from guaranteed value.
Pro tip Model a range rather than one optimistic number.
Watch out A large customer does not automatically attribute all resulting value to your work.
- 4
Check fit and access
Confirm that you can solve the larger customer's version of the problem and can reach a buyer. Identify extra proof, compliance, or delivery requirements.
Pro tip Interview buyers before repositioning the whole business.
Watch out Do not call the work identical if the risk or required expertise changes materially.
- 5
Move up with evidence
Use successful delivery to approach progressively more valuable customers and price in relation to the value credibly created. Keep updating the target market as evidence improves.
Pro tip Turn each result into a relevant case study.
In the wild
Hormozi compares a 20 percent conversion improvement for a $1 million business with the same percentage improvement for a $100 million business. Under his illustrative assumptions, the larger business receives much more economic value from similar optimisation work.
→ The service can support a much higher fee when the buyer's credible upside is larger.
Bartlett says he looked for a market where storytelling and social-media skills were scarce and highly valuable. He applied them to companies approaching public listings and reports receiving equity worth roughly £7 million to £8 million at listing for one engagement.
→ The same broad skill set was attached to a higher-value business event, according to the host's account.
Common mistakes
Assuming every market values the skill equally
The customer's economic outcome, not the provider's effort alone, shapes willingness to pay.
Jumping markets without proof
Larger buyers may require evidence and capabilities that smaller engagements did not test.
Is it for you?
Best for
Service providers and specialists who can create a similar improvement for customers of very different scale or urgency.
Not ideal for
People without credible delivery evidence or cases where serving a larger buyer requires materially different expertise and risk controls.
From the transcript
“find the people who value what you have the most”
“same work more zeros”
From the episode
The Man That Makes Millionaires: How To Turn $1,000 Into $100 Million!: Alex Hormozi