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You have two separate conversations. You get two indications of interest.

“I’ve talked with my friend and I think she’s interested in your services. Here’s her number.”

“Can you put together a proposal on that and send it to me?”

Yahoo! People are interested in doing business with you.

With 20+ years as a business coach and a lot of personal experience, I can tell you that if you do the following three things that don’t even really relate to each other, you’ll save yourself a lot of heartache and a bunch of money.

I want to illustrate an important message for your business with a quick story.

We have a lot of good restaurants in our little home away from home in Mexico.  My absolute favorite is O Sole Mio, owned by my “paisan” Fabrizio.  This winter we ate there several times.

It’s our last night in Mexico and we decide to go to Café Sophia, the other Italian restaurant we like down at the marina.  We’re chatting with our waiter, as we usually do, telling him it’s our last night in Mexico.

At the end of our meal, they surprise us with a beautiful dessert with the words, “Have a safe trip!” written in chocolate … along with two shots of Limoncello.

Oh my!  So sweet.  I was touched.  And that small gesture increased my loyalty BIG time!  I feel differently about this restaurant now … and Fabrizio has some stiff competition.

So, what does that have to do with you and your business?

For many folks in business, 2024 was a tough year.  People seemed hesitant to spend money and commit to goods and services they needed and wanted.

But the calendar changes and the seasons move on.  And the start of the New Year is often filled with promise.

Everything has its season … and so does your business.

This year, I’m feeling an optimism in the world I haven’t felt in a while.  I hear it in my client’s voices.  And I’m seeing it in my number of new clients.

Since the beginning of December, I have closed 8 new clients … three new leaders from a corporate client, three new business owners from a training program I led in December, one referral, and one person who heard me speak back in July and is now ready to commit.

You is.

Sounds funny, doesn’t it?  You is.  But I’m not talking about you personally.

I’m talking about the pronoun you.

Too often, business owners fall into a trap … quite unconsciously.

To everything there is a season … and a time to every purpose under heaven.

It’s funny, we all know this bible verse from Ecclesiastes, because of a pop song.  But I’m thinking of it now in the heat of July, because it definitely relates to your business.

It’s summer … time to take some time off and have some fun, right?

Absolutely … but for how long?  That’s the question.  I see clients who really hurt themselves by really throttling back in the summer for an extended period of time.

I recently had the honor of speaking to the Greater DC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners … or NAWBO … and I came away with a heightened appreciation for a critical success factor in business.

It’s one I’d always given a lot of weight to, but hadn’t talked about much, at least not exactly in the way I want to in this newsletter.

It’s so easy to think in either/or terms … black and white.  But sometimes there are ways to get a little creative and find a way forward that splits the difference.  What am I talking about?  Something this longtime business coach has recently figured out for herself.

I often hear service-based business owners say they don’t offer prospective clients a complimentary consultation.  “I’m not going to give away my services for free!”  

I get that.

And, I’d like to give both newer professionals and seasoned professionals some perspective on this.  This applies to you whether you’re a coach or any other service-based professional who’s selling the results and benefits of your service.  (It’s not so focused on those of you who are product-based.)

Who? … What? … Why? … When? … How? … How much?  Where? …As a business coach, I ask clients these questions all the time.

Of course, the exact nature of the questions changes somewhat depending on whether someone is just starting a business or they’ve been at it a while.

Let’s break it down.

You’re a nice person who wants to help people and you’re a business owner, who needs to make a living.  You’re a businessperson who needs to make a living and a nice person who wants to help people.  I just repeated myself!  Why?  Because I’ve learned, as a business coach, a lot of how well you do with your business depends on what comes first in that sequence.

Here’s the practical takeaway, and then I’ll elaborate.