Recently I had a conversation with a woman who was a “corporate casualty” and lost her job at one of the big financial institutions. On the one hand, it was devastating. On the other, it was her ticket out of “corporate jail.”
She has spent the last year developing her coaching practice. She received coaching training and has gotten a few clients. I asked her if she was making a living. “Not really” she replied.
I asked her what her goals were and what she thought the problem was. Her answer was she didn’t really have a handle on how to make her desire to coach people a real business. She was trying to do this on her own without a coach of her own. So here’s the irony: She wants to build a coaching business but is unwilling to hire her own coach to guide her.
Our actions are a mirror for our clients. If we don’t believe in ourselves, they won’t believe in us. If we don’t invest in our own growth and development, we will attract people who won’t invest in their growth and development.
So here’s the point of this post: Do I make her feel good about herself and tell her I understand that she “doesn’t have the money right now” to work with someone like me? Or do I tell her the truth – that if we are interested we’ll do what’s convenient, but if we are committed we’ll do whatever it takes to make a business and our lives successful.
Not telling her the truth would cost more than me not gaining a client – it will cost this woman a life she really deserves.
When have you been holding back and not telling your clients the real truth? What do you think it’s costing them?
When you get really honest with yourself about this, your business will skyrocket and so will others around you.
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