Life is unpredictable which means that people are very predictable. This fact helps me manage my business if I just accept it.
I read a lot. I listen to a lot of modern philosophy. I study people so that I can understand how to connect to them, how to help them, and how to put them at ease.
Today I had 6 appointments and 3 of them rescheduled at the last minute. One had to help a friend, the other was running behind on errands and the third was trying to finish a project so he could get paid. All apologized profusely and expressed how much they wanted to start working with me, . . .but for today, life happened to "get in the way".
My Coach told me this would happen. She told me that because of my full time job I should, "Do all of your appointments on the weekend and double book them all, because you know, half of them will cancel." I didn't believe her, and I made my calls and tentatively set my appointments spreading them out so I could wrap one and be on time to the next, and all that got me was a lot of dead field time ( I used tit to make calls and study CE but still).
Coach was right. People are predictable. You can count on them to choose the need that is right in front of them over seeking out the potential satisfaction of a future goal.
The best part is, this time was different from any other time I've had people flake. In the past, people would cancel, they would forget, they wouldn't be home when I showed up. But this was the first time that all my no shows, very pointedly and proactively reached out to me to say they needed to move things around. This was also the first time that I told people they needed to prep their paperwork and refer me to their friends if they wanted me to work with them. I gave the impression that what I was offering was 1)customized for them and 2) provided with contingencies - a special arrangement. It's like when someone tells you "they got a guy" who can provide a service you need. I just became "the guy" (really "the lady"). I made their appointment something special in their mind - a way of paying special attention to them. So when they all opted to meet an immediate need or satiate an immediate desire over planning their future and allowing me to focus on them, they knew an apology, a phone call was warranted. If you treat people special, you increase your value to them. Today I became a golden goose.
Day 6's reason my business is awesome: By edifying others and making them feel special, I increase my social capital
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