Resistance to business coaching
Updated: Apr 7, 2021
Today I had a call with a lead which didn't end well.
As part of my onboarding process for larger retainers and work, the first step is the discovery call. During this call, it gives both parties an opportunity to get that initial impression we all make of others. I get to understand your business and propose ways that I can assist you in your journey.
It gives you (the lead or prospect) the opportunity to decide whether you feel I'd be someone that could bring value to your company, or if I'm not for you.
It's essential to get off on the right foot
I'm not being footist here! It's just a saying.
For many of my services, we will be in regular contact for several weeks, months and hopefully, even years.
It's important that I feel you are someone I can bring value to.
It's important that you feel I can bring that value.
If there's doubt on either side, I will simply not onboard you any further.
Set in your ways
My call today was with a businesswoman who had only recently launched her business and was desperately low on funds due to redundancy.
I immediately empathised with her situation as I found myself in the exact position for a year of running my photography business.
The call began really well but deteriorated the longer it went on.
As I listened to her speak about her business and current situation I would, as I always do, give my own experience, or some guidance on an issue she was facing. Very quickly I realised that she was very resistant to any recommendations I was making.
These objections continued for the remainder of the call until the prospect said, "This isn't useful, I think we can end the call."
So I wished her every success with her business and wished her well and hung up.
Well, that means you're pretty crap Elton?!
That may well be the case. You'd have to arrange a discovery call to make up your own mind 😊
The reality was that I had already made the decision that this wasn't a client I could help.
Not because I didn't genuinely believe I could provide her with a lot of knowledge, personal experience and skills, I absolutely knew I could help her!
I couldn't help her because she was stuck in her ways.
Every suggestion I made, which in my opinion is very sound advice was met with increasing frustration.
I'm not your friend
Whilst I'm a very friendly person, all my reviews online will confirm this, and I'm confident that once we clear the discovery call and choose to work together, that we will get on like a house on fire (that's a pretty awful saying isn't it 🤔)
But first and foremost, my job is to make your business more successful.
That is what my clients are paying me for. I'm not being paid to be a 'yes man' or someone who isn't going to challenge you, likely on a regular basis.
You called me
This lady called me from what I can only describe as desperation. She needed to earn money as soon as possible or wouldn't be able to pay the rent in a few months!
As a consequence of this stress, her head is everywhere.
She was planning subscriptions and courses but didn't have much of an email list (sign up to mine here btw) or much of an audience on social media. She had two separate service offerings. She had two ideal client profiles.
In short, her stress meant that she felt she had to just be doing SOMETHING in an effort to earn the money needed to keep the wolves from the door.
And I get it! I've been there!
But that is exactly my service offering. I'm a business mentor and trainer. It is my business to make help you succeed in yours!
So when you call me, be open-minded, not defensive.
Ask yourself, "Would I be calling him if my current way of business was working?"
If it's not working, change.
Again, if you have taken the time to arrange a call with me because you are struggling with your business, then you have to be at the point where you realise what you are currently doing in your business isn't working for you.
Therefore you have to be open-minded if you are going to make changes in your business. If you don't change, things will stay exactly as they are. It really is as simple as that.
I'm all too familiar with having resistance to certain aspects of running your own business.
For ages, I truly resisted the idea of 'niching'. Over the past 40 years, I've photographed everything and anything. But I was constantly being told I needed to niche. And it was a difficult thing to wrap my head around. But I realised trying to market commercial photography, wedding photography, newborn photography etc just wasn't providing the results I needed my business to provide.
It simply wasn't working.
Get in touch if you're ready to streamline your efforts
If you're in the planning stages of your business and have never run a business before, then I can assist you to have clear goals to work on to ensure you are focused on the immediately important activities and putting the foundations in place as you plan your business out. This includes assisting with your business plan, your marketing strategy, designing and building of a website, training on social media and business tools we identify you will need to run your business and general IT and business support and mentoring.
Alternatively, if you already have a business and are experiencing growth, and need someone to assist to free up your time to focus on your income-earning activities then I can assist with social media management, social media images etc.
Give me a call, or use the contact form below and we can set up a discovery call to see if we are compatible and how I can bring value to you and your business.
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