When you’re sitting on the most incredible gift in the world, hoping for someone to hire you, it can feel kinda lonely and frustrating watching potential clients pass you by, with no clear way to establish a genuine connection.
I mean, sure there are other great modalities out there. But it’s obvious (isn’t it?) that [insert your profession or modality here] is the most powerful, the most effective, the deepest and most life-changing process anyone could do… So surely, you’d want to try this, right?
Cringe! Does this sound familiar to you too? (When I first started my healing practice, over ten years ago, I was so full of the excitement and enthusiasm for my work and my modality….)
The thing is, most people are nowhere near as interested in what you do (no matter how powerful or amazing it is) as they are in what you can do for them.
There are probably plenty of folks out there who could benefit profoundly from what you offer. But they don’t know that yet.
And if you come in flags-waving and guns-blazing with your amazing thingamywhatsit, they probably never will. (And they almost definitely won’t if you just shy away from marketing altogether.)
Thankfully, there is another choice.
To Reach Your Potential Clients, You Need A Bridge
If you take the time to really witness your potential clients, to notice what they are struggling with in their life… Not just the problem you can help them solve, but all the context and problems around it – you can create a conversational bridge, which you can walk across to connect with them…
Hey, you seem busy or hurt or tired or unable to make ends meet… Can I talk with you?
Once you’ve crossed the bridge into their world, you have an opportunity to see them, hear them, meet them, and acknowledge what’s going on for them. You can empathize with their struggles and you can see where they’d really like to be.
When someone feels deeply met, it’s natural for them to become interested in the person who’s meeting them, and what they’re about. (That’s you!)
And when you really get their world, where they are and where they are going, they’ll be ready to cross the conversational bridge with you, and hear about yours.
No shouting, flag waving, or guns ablazing required.
It’s very simple. And very powerful.
How To Build A Bridge…
Building a bridge means instead of starting from where you are, starting from where your potential clients are… and it begins with listening. Here’s a few pointers to help you apply this in your business…
- Start with placing your own neediness for clients in the hands of the divine. It’s way too much for your potential clients to carry.
- Put yourself in your potential clients shoes… Think about what’s really going on in their life… What are their needs that relate to what you offer, and what is the context around it? Where does your offering really sit within that context?
- When you get clear on this, you can actually incorporate this awareness into all your conversations with, and written offerings to, potential clients. It might take some practice to really get this, but once you do, you’ll find it’s both more respectful… and more effective!
Now Over To You
Do you have an embarrassing story to share about flying the flag of your business in your potential client’s face with over-zealous, erhem, a little too much enthusiasm? (Go on, I told you mine!)
Or maybe you’ve already discovered the power of empathy, compassion and built your own unique bridge to where your potential clients are? (Tell us more in the comments below…)
Yollana Shore is one of our star heart-centered practitioners here at Heart of Business. She’s amazing at helping people find ease and flow in the nitty-gritty of building their business.
Ready to have her help you with her business? Whoa… slow down… why don’t you first see if you two click?
Check out how you can work with Yollana, and schedule a conversation with her.
p.s. Making Article Writing Easy as One-Two-Three-Four-Five
Our next course is on a topic that I know still paralyzes a lot of would-be entrepreneurs and business owners: writing content. Here’s what I want to say:
It’s not just about writing a blog post every day, because you don’t have to write a blog post every day. Please, you don’t have to.
It’s not about writing a book, because not everyone needs to write a book.
It’s not about annoying people with things they don’t want, because you absolutely don’t want to do that.
What it IS about is storytelling. Every business owner needs to be able to tell a story with passion, with clarity, with drama, and with the ability to both educate and entertain. Whether you write one article that is the big thing you do for your clients, or if you write once or twice a month or if you, yes, write every day, you need to be able to tell stories.
Let me teach you a simple, heart-centered five ingredient recipe for creating compelling story-based content that invites you to bring in your authentic voice.
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18 Responses
Its always good to be reminded that as much as we might love what we have to offer, from someone else’s point of view its not about US, its about them! By the way, I must have been an English teacher in a former life, for I couldn’t help but notice the misuse of ‘You’re’ in the article title. Just to be pedantic, ‘Your’ is what you need in this case! Pedantry aside, I always look forward to new posts; it reminds of the beautiful truth I already know but find it too easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of life.
Thanks for your message…I found myself wanting to proof read too! Yollana I appreciate your self-disclosing about the enthusiasm gone astray as I have owned many shares of that in many different ways through my life……up until NOW that is! Taking it to heart and finding that bridging empathy coming forward in each time I write about my new business and services. Appreciating the learning and growing with all these wise voices that are aligned through the heart. Yummy!
Debra, yes – yummy indeed! I also feel blessed to be part of this Heart of Business community – many of our clients and friends here are our greatest teachers!
David, Thanks for the heads-up on our typo (I believe it’s fixed now?) – and yes, it’s amazing how powerful it can be to go back to basics in business and marketing. The most simple principles are often the ones we could learn over and over again… and again… and still benefit!
The most restful way I’ve learned to be with my practice is to put new incoming clients in the hands of the Divine. I feel like I’ve had a contract with the Divine since I started almost 20 years ago: You bring me the people to work with and I’ll drop into my heart and work with them.
There was a period of a couple years where I went off course and had a couple of clients that were a fit in terms of their externals but horrible fits in every other way. It threw me into a year of dreadful disorientation where I had to re-vector myself and find my way back to my heart. I saw where I had gone off course and turned back to the Divine.
@Deirdre – I appreciate you sharing your story. That “year of dreadful disorientation” sounds like it could have been a time of deep learning too?
I’m curious now about what you learned… how you went of course, and how you got back on track…
Thanks for this, I’m currently struggling with this issue at the moment.
And it has just occurred to me that my difficulty with witnessing the people I want to help may be due to my difficulty witnessing myself… or some part of myself, perhaps an old version of me who is hurting and who would need what I can offer now.
Thank you, Heart of Business for existing!
What a beautiful insight, Mary!
In my own experience, so much of the “work” of stewarding a heart-centred business is inner work …Like helping my heart be witnessed so I can witness others. As I said, a beautiful – and powerful – insight.
I got off track for a while, doing the impersonal marketing, Madison Ave. style. I had the problem of doubting myself after some disasters with clients. I lost the intimacy in my struggle to regain my composure. I finally hunkered down and found my divine niche and now it’s so easy to walk across that bridge and listen and talk.
Nice one, Nancy! 🙂
I’ll tell you what I need: tips for having faith when I am running low on money and still working my butt off.
Hey Cynthia…
Ouch. I hear ya.
Sounds like that could be our next article….
In the meantime, though, here’s a couple of resources that might help:
1. Remembrance
Ack, Where’s my heart? audio : http://heartofbusiness.com/the-core/
The Remembrance Challenge : http://heartofbusiness.com/training-programs/thechallenge/
A Solution to Overwhelm : http://heartofbusiness.com/2004/a-solution-to-overwhelm/
2. Clients
How to get clients quickly and easily when you’re in a tight spot : http://soulbusiness.com.au/quick-clients-honestly/
Love Yollana
Nice. Thank you. xo
wow amazing….. thanks alot. you are so great !!!
Yollana, reading this post reminds me of how I used to write my home page copy years ago. It was all about me and how wonderful I am (big mistake). These days I make it about the struggles and lack of education my clients encounter. Thanks for the reminder. Suzanne
Nice one, Suzanne! Thanks for sharing 🙂
yes,, all the above content is very helpful..and give great ideas.
Hey Yollana Shore!
Firstly, I would like to say that I really adored your blog’s name. *Thumb Up*
You are really an awesome writer and I agree to each point which you wrote in this article. There is a way of dealing with everything and If we dealt everything efficiently success will be our! Yes, we should be careful about our client’s need. This should be our aim.