I am new to this experience so my best advice did not come from this experience. I am going to share the best advice I have received and maybe it will help someone else.
"Be curious. Ask lots of questions. Invite potential customers/clients to work with you. "
The idea is to make your customer/client feel important. To establish that new relationship, you need to ask lots of questions to see how you can best serve your client. What do you have that your client may or may not know they need? How can you best serve your potential client? Instead of selling and focusing on your bottom line, invite the customer/client to become a part of your success. Allow your customers/clients to feel as if they are serving you by allowing you to help them. Be approachable.
Be curious. I know what I can do. I know what I can deliver. I know what I can make possible. When I meet a new friend (client), I know nothing of them. I open my awareness and my experience to them. When I open my mind and I listen, I can find out what the issue or problem is that they are seeking help to solve. Some issues are easy....for me. I have already healed this in my life. For the client who is in front of me, their issue is a challenge that is as big as Mount Everest. They can't see around it, they can't see over it, and they have no idea how to go through it. That is where I come in! By being curious and recalling all of my tools, my life experience, and my ability to be curious about THEIR PROBLEM and how it is affecting THEM, I can better help them. Remain curious. You don't know what you don't know. What you think you know, may have changed. What was your truth, may no longer be your truth. Be curious my friends.
Ask Lots of Questions. Questions are a way to find out what you don't know. When you go into any conversation believing you know everything there is and there is nothing to learn, you are at a disadvantage. You have just closed off yourself from learning more about yourself and your perspective friend or customer. Questions, even if you know the answers, will help you create rapport and help you learn more about what you don't know. What was your truth yesterday, life could have changed for you since then. As I sit with my newfound friend/customer I ask lots of questions to get to the core of what their issue, problem, challenge, or project is. I like to call problems projects because projects are more fun to work with. Problems raise anxiety and helplessness. I empower my clients/customers by using very specific words in my questions. There are many ways to ask "How are you doing?" From my tone, and my body language, to the expression on my face, all these combined (even when on the phone or Zoom) make a difference. If my shoulders are up and I look uptight, my questions will not be well received and my client/customer will withhold valuable information I need to further help and be of service to them. My questions need to be delivered in such a way that I hold rapport and compassion for the person before me. By being curious and asking really good questions, I can help my client understand and accept that I can help them see solutions to their projects. Customers and clients come to professionals to help them create change in their lives. We are purchasing a product to make our lives easier. As a professional, I need to have a game plan to help my clients feel comfortable about their choices in creating change in order to solve their projects creatively. By asking questions, lots of really good thought-out, thought-provoking questions, I can do that! Always ask questions, even if you THINK you know the answers.
Invite the customer/client to work with you. Everyone LOVES to be included and to be invited to something bigger than them. After asking lots of curious questions and I have received all the information I need and feel the project my potential client is working with is aligned with me and my skill set, I then create an invitation for us to work together. If their project is not what I want to work with or beyond my expertise, I invite them to meet someone I know who can help them better. It is all about invitations and introductions.
I invite my clients/customers to want to solve or creatively look at their project from a new angle. I explain to them what I heard them say by looking over all my notes from the questions I asked. I tell the story they told me in their words so they can understand what I am understanding. I ask if I missed anything and if I got it all. Then, I offer them a possible solution. I offer them to see their project from a solution mindset. I use the words "What if..." and "Could you..." We begin to discuss how I can be of service to them and invite them to work with me so they can create a solution. The invitation is not a sell or a hard sale. It is a discussion. If they can't at this moment, we discuss how we could make it possible for them. 95% we collaborate to create a solution to their project. the 5% of the time that it just doesn't work...the client/customer simply does NOT want to solve their project at this time. There is more freedom in having a problem and complaining than there is in solving their issue. I don't want to work with the individuals because they don't want change and I am in the CHANGE YOUR LIFE business. The funny thing about change is it is the only constant. Change is happening either with your consent or not. No decision is still a decision.
So my new friends, invite your customers to include you in solving their projects. Watch how they light up that you are willing to share your service and show up for them so they can walk through their Mount Everest with ease and class.
I hope this advice helps carry you great success and blessings through 2024! Cheers!
Dr Jen Casper, Spiritual Counselor
"May you always be blessed."
Brodheadsville, PA
