The 7-Step Pain Hook

Rhetorical move that turns interest into urgency — ET PSA example

Version 1 · June 29, 2026 salespitch

Content

# The 7-Step Pain Hook

_Parent: Pitch Playbooks_

The rhetorical move that turned the ET pitch from "interesting idea" into "we need this now."

## How it works

Walk the prospect through every manual step of one workflow they're doing today. Don't generalize. Be brutally specific. Count the boxes.

## The ET version — PSA invoice loop

Today, one PSA invoice takes **seven manual steps**:

1. **Email arrives** — Lab sends the invoice. Someone has to notice and open it.
2. **Download PDF** — Pull the attachment off the email manually.
3. **Rename & file it** — Rename by convention. Drag to the right project folder.
4. **Open both programs** — Invoice on one screen. Excel tracker on the other.
5. **Type it in** — Key invoice fields into Excel by hand. Hope nothing gets transposed.
6. **Watch the balance** — Manually check whether charges have hit the billing threshold.
7. **Build the pay app** — Compile all the lines and assemble the client invoice. Then repeat.

## The dollar math (always end with this)

> 30 hours a week × $75/hr loaded × 52 weeks = **$117,000 a year** in labor on this one workflow — and that's a conservative number. Every one of those steps is something a machine can do.

## Why this works

- Each step is concrete, so it can't be argued with
- The labor calculation makes the pain a real number, not a feeling
- "Every step is something a machine can do" plants the solution without selling

## How to use it for a new prospect

Before the call, ask them to walk you through ONE workflow that drives them crazy. Take notes step-by-step. Mirror it back to them in this format on the next call.

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_Last updated: 2026-05-24_

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