Why I don’t “go for the sell!” Aligning with your customer.
A funny thing just happened. I was on a call with a potential client. She had found me through an event I was recently part of so it wasn’t a “cold” call. It was, in fact, “a warm lead” as they say!
She shared a bit of her story and asked me about my story. It was a lovely conversation and I enjoyed learning about her. I also appreciated that she asked me how I came to do what I do. It was fun and easy.
Based on the little bit of information I had, I shared with her some resources I thought might support her in her current endeavor. In all, I told her about three different programs - one of which was mine.
At the end of our brief time together, she noted that I hadn’t invited her to join my program. Hmmm… had I not?
What I immediately realized was that because I believe so much in resonance (which I wrote about last week and you can read about on my blog), because I want my clients to be internally motivated to work with me, and because the success of a coaching engagement is entirely reliant on the client’s commitment to transformation - I don’t “go for the sell!”
Ultimately, I may have been too subtle today, but we ended up having a very candid and open conversation that left this potential client with a much clearer sense of how I operate.
The entire experience also brought me back to the importance of knowing your customer in a values-aligned way. When I build business model canvases with my clients, we spend hours examining how their values match the client they are wanting to support through their service or product. But beyond the typical psychographics / demographics / customer profile stuff, we also make sure that the person who needs the product/service is in some way aligned (to whatever degree necessary, depending on the type of business) with my client.
In my coaching, my clients are usually coming to me at a time of uncertainty. Rather than being the external voice telling them what they should do, I want to guide them to their internal wisdom, their internal discernment. If they decide to work with me, it’ll be more of the same. This approach allows me to be aligned with my customer and my values from the start. Wins, all around!
How do your values show up when you think of the people you serve (employers, employees, clients, students, constituents, etc.)? Or, have never thought about it? Honestly, I don’t think I thought about it much until a few years ago! Send me a message - I’d love to hear your story!
