Consults: Giving too much or not enough?
Years ago, I felt like Goldilocks in my business (minus the bears). Besides the unruly, curly blonde hair, seems like I couldn’t find a “just 
right” strategy of giving to my potential clients without giving away.
Just last night I was on a teleseminar listening to one of my previous coaches. She structures her presentations so that she brings up your problem, talks in a way where you have no doubt that she understands where you are, and then gives you a vague strategy before she makes her offer to work with her. This is what I call “Fuzzy Bunny”. It feels good and cuddly, but won’t get you across the street safely when there’s traffic.
Then, a few days ago, I was reading another blog by a prolific business writer who seemed to be advocating; give away what you’ve got. His premise was that some of your users will be so motivated by what they receive from you, they will begin to pay for it. At one time, this too was my approach…and it almost drove me out of business because I was hoping that others would find value in what I did and would eventually pay me for it. Hope is not a strategy you can bank on to pay your bills. Again, in my Goldilocks world, operating a business on just hope is too hard.
Just like me, you too will need to find your “just right” happy offer. But I can give you 3 tips that can speed your process in what you deliver and receive.
- Time: keep your complimentary consults to 40 minutes or less. More than that and you are doing at least one if not two things. First, you are trying to solve too many of the potential clients challenges at once. Second, you are overwhelming them with information and what do people do when they are overwhelmed-nothing. Which means you could actually make their situation worse.
- Put your focus on the potential client, not your process. I was in a 1 to 1 conversation with an office organizer recently. She started explaining how she put labels on files…something she’s quite passionate about, but I didn’t care!
What she could have done was; find out my pain concerning an organized office, what was holding me back on getting it organized AND what would be the best part of my office operations running smoothly. In other words; the pain, how the pain shows up and what life will be like now that the pain is no longer a problem. That’s what people want to buy, an easier life. Not labels.
- Ask for the business. Without this, you are doing all of the work for your competitor! Why? Because you are getting the client all worked up over getting things worked out and then you leave them there.
When people are in a motivated emotional state, the subconscious is looking for outside influence on the next step to take. This is why testimonials are so powerful at this point. So explain what the next step is in working with you and then ask them to take that step.
So, Goldilocks has found her “just right” process. What about you?
Dawn Ferguson
Business Hypnotist and Business Coach
P.S. Giving too much or too little is simply an effect you experience in your business. The cause is a emotional block (such as not feeling worthy or fearing rejection. There is also abandonment and invalidation.) If you’re ready to resolve this so your business can experience rapid growth, join us for our 2-day Business Intensive: Spring into Success. Not only will you receive skill set training and action plans for an increase in clients, cash and collaborations, you will also discover the subconscious blocks that have been holding you back AND learn the system to resolve them. Go here for details: https://dawnlandrum.com/spring/