ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING
I truly hope this doesn’t offend anyone, but I felt the need for clarity! I had four “Strategy” sessions today with perspective new clients, and three coaching calls — all at various levels. It was a full day, and by the end it felt highly positive and motivating. Nothing makes me happier than graduating my clients, and doing their exit interviews!
My strategy sessions for the day were amazing, and I was meeting some truly brilliant people. One highly motivated woman believed we were completely aligned. Though she couldn’t afford my services at the time, after our conversation she was excited to reach back out the following month.
She was incredibly smart, and very well spoken. She had lots of amazing gifts, but needed to get in touch with her deeper purpose — or even find a better way to say it in order to redefine that deeper purpose. I am SO excited about working with her, and we both left the call motivated and happy!
The second call went fine, but ended up being somewhat skewed as far as goals and “clicking” as a team. While I did not offer this prospective client a slot in our program, I did refer him to a coach who would be more aligned with his goals. The reason I did not offer him a slot? Mainly because he and I were simply not aligned in our outlook and experience.
He was highly intelligent, willing to take action, motivated, and kind… but I had little to no expertise in his chosen field. Also, he used the “F” word about six times in the first 15 minutes! While he was willing to make a full and complete payment on the spot, I simply was not the right coach for him. I kindly explained this, and he thanked me for my referral. He followed up later with a very kind note as well.
The third call seemed to be similar to the others — at first. However, after delving into the conversation it was apparent that this was not someone I would coach at all. My coaching works especially well with high achievers who are willing to be decisive and take intelligent action. My track record on this is amazing, because I am very particular about who I offer my services and what their goals are.
Unfortunately, this prospective client came to the call with 11 excuses on what had happened in her life to keep her from achieving her goals, and wondered why she wasn’t a “household name” yet. Also, she couldn’t understand why she was not able to command her expertise within her peer group.
Being a driven and proactive problem solver, I decided that we should explore her mindset a bit. I asked her about her syntax, and she had no idea what that was. I gave her a detailed explanation, while calmly explaining the importance of her messaging and the authenticity around her purpose and intention. Attempting to steer the conversation to more positive avenues, I said, “Let’s work on it for a moment.”
Quite abruptly and interruptive, she replied, “I don’t want to — this is lame. Can you just give me a script and I can call you tomorrow?”
Needless to say, I stopped the call, and asked for us both to take a step back. I was determined to help — so I decided to be proactive. “What if I said yes?” I asked. “What are you hoping to gain from our call tomorrow?”
She said, “This is really kind of BS… that you charge so much money and you won’t give me the answers that I need to get my company off the ground! You will be sorry as I am an influencer and have a lot of money.”
I wished her well, and gave her some things to think about. I was respectful and honorable, but very firm about me not being the right person to assist her. Just 45 minutes later, she sent me a note that clearly expressed her frustration about me not inviting her into my program.
The Lesson? Attitude is EVERYTHING. You could be the highest influencer in your chosen field, but if you’re not willing to learn or carry an ethical purpose, you might as well throw in the towel! Rather than ask yourself why you’re not where you wish to be, try asking, “What can I do next that will get me there”?
