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Overconfidence.  Can it be a problem?  Sure.  Think of a time when you were really confident about some outcome and things didn’t work out the way you’d expected.  You come away disappointed and chastened.  It’s just part of the human experience.  BUT … as a business coach, overconfidence isn’t a problem I see all that often.

It’s the end of the year.  It’s the natural time to reflect on what you did and didn’t do this year … what worked and didn’t work.  You don’t need a business coach to tell you that.

But it’s the holiday season.  Who has the time for a deep dive? 

So, let’s cut to the chase and focus on one simple question.

A good coach is trained to ask questions … not necessarily to impart their own “wisdom.”  So, here goes.   I want to ask you two questions with my business coach hat on.

In pondering the answers to these questions myself, it’s opened up HUGE things for me … things I haven’t seen before …  new possibilities for my future.  That’s why I’m presenting them to you here.

And, trust me, this isn’t just another visioning exercise.  I’ve done a ton of visioning in 20 years of coaching.  This is different.

Here’s a scenario I see all too often as a business coach …

The “service professional” … whether that’s a coach, consultant, or wellness practitioner … does a complimentary consultation with a prospective client.  They’re excited.  They feel as if the session went really well and the prospect got solid value.

I ask them where things stand and I hear these fateful words …

As a business coach who focuses primarily on marketing, I help service providers create a positive impression of themselves and what they can provide for folks as they reach out to people in their target markets. 

But it’s important to understand that when you “reach out and touch” folks in your target market, those touches can be superficial and fleeting or they can be more profoundly affecting and enduring. 

There are lots of ways to create a positive impression, but only some create a lasting impression.  Others create a flash in the pan that vanishes like a wispy cloud on a windy day … like a social media post or an email blast.

Nothing wrong with those.  They just don’t typically resonate beyond the moment.  Why is that important? 

Well, first of all, there’s the depth of the connection.  But there’s more.  What if you get the chance to introduce yourself to folks in your target market and they either don’t need you at the moment or they aren’t quite ready to move forward at that time for whatever reason? 

If the impression you create isn’t strong and lasting, they aren’t gonna remember you when they do need you and are ready.

So, guess which encounters create more deeply affecting, longer lasting impressions? 

There it is again.  That word.  It makes my skin crawl.  As both a business coach and just as a regular person, I literally flinch when I hear it.

What’s more, it speaks volumes about the mindset of the person speaking it.

This is a tale of two providers.  One got the business.  The other didn’t.  And you won’t need a business coach to tell you why.

We went away for 10 days at the end of June and had to board our new puppy overnight, as the timeshare property we go to doesn’t allow dogs.

As new “parents,” we were understandably concerned about his having to be away from us for the first time and how he’d fare.  So, I had a lot of questions for the potential service providers.

After much research, I contacted four businesses.  Two never returned my calls.  Hmmm.  Makes ya wonder what’s goin’ on there.

With the two I reached, the experiences on the phone couldn’t have been more different.

Because I’m a life coach and business coach who’s been practicing for 20 years and I’ve learned a few things, people sometimes make the mistake of assuming I have it all together.  Uh … no.  I struggle with the very same things everybody does.

And there’s a very personal challenge I’ve been dealing with for over two years I want to share with you, because I’ve discovered some amazing life lessons as a result that could be helpful for you.

We’ve all had challenges with the pandemic … some health-related … others personal or financial.  We’ve all heard stories of people feeling isolated, experiencing rifts in their families, etc.  And I’m sad to say my family has been impacted by “philosophical” differences.

Bottom line?  I haven’t seen my family in over two years. 

Sometimes business coaching leads us to focus on some very simple things.  So simple, in fact, that we might forget sometimes just how important they really are … like going the extra mile to make sure you’re treating people really well. 

Who would those “people” be?  Anyone you interact with … your clients, customers, employees, independent contractors, vendors, alliance partners … in other words, your “stakeholders.”

Case in point …

“They tell us not to give away too much.  Honey, you just gave away the farm.”  That’s a verbatim quote from a woman who’d just heard my talk on marketing to a group in Minnesota a few years back.  Guilty as charged!   As a business coach, I was doing exactly what many business experts warned them NOT to do.