Out of the Blog, Into the Light

Silence is FR**EE

A personal note only being sent out to a select few from the desk of Catherine Franz….

My gift to you today for a more successful life. (And I’m not selling you anything.)

What if I could give you a gift that can change your life? What if it was fr*e*e? Would you ignore it because it was fr*e*e? Something that isn’t of value can’t be of value, or can it? You decide.

There is a story from the lore of Sheik Nasrudin, a character from the Sufi tradition. Sheik Nasrudin had a farm in the middle of the desert. Tired of traveling a long distance to get water every day, he asked his Higher Power to provide him with a source around his home. His Higher Power answered, “The water is there dig a well. Dig and you will have all the water you’ll ever need.” Forty years later, when Nasrudin was standing at the pearly gates, the angel asked about his well. Nasrudin exclaimed, “I was deceived. I dug one hundred wells each fifty feet deep and never found water.” With that the angel replied, “If you had dug ONE well one hundred feet deep instead of a hundred wells fifty feet deep, you would have found all the water you ever needed.” The message here is, “Don’t waste your time searching for the perfect technique. Simply choose one and go deep.”

What does this story have to do with this message? Just a little (chuckle).

Am I giving enough core attention to my buyers?

by Catherine Franz

This week on my radio show, Let’s Talk Marketing (www.letstalkmarketingshow.com) a listener, a home-based solopreneur in California, asked me this question. A few hours later I was talking with one of my clients when I said, “Have you defined what enough is?”

The two tie together. Not just in our business but in all areas of our life. Now I could get a kinky and say, “When is enough sex?” Instead, let us focus our minds on what is enough core attention to our buyers.

Now when you first read this question you may not see what the noun is. The noun is “attention.” Then if you ask, “What is enough attention?”

Great question, huh? I thought so too!

Yes, we go back to the political answer, “It all depends.” Do you hate this answer as much as I do? However, it is the truth. It does depend on whether your buyers are on the Internet, or your buyers are walk-ins in a retail business, or if you have a home-based business consulting or coaching. It depends whether you are focusing on selling a product or selling a service.

Let’s explore...

If you are a coach and selling professional development support – What is enough attention? Does this mean that while they are a client you give them enough (however, you have defined this) and then when they are not your client you drop them like a hot potato with no attention. Well, many coaches do and many consultants as well.

Here is an area where you can shine above the rest. Give past customers, past clients, some attention. Okay, this doesn’t mean that you give them free coaching time. It does mean that you continue to send these core customers/clients e-mails with tidbits of how-tos, or you can continue to give them opportunities to interact with you again, or something else. You can call them every few months to see how they are doing (not to sell them but truly know how they are doing).

You see there are multiple ways to give past client’s attention. Maybe then today, you think on this and ask some valuable questions for your business or your life. What is enough in xxx? What is enough core attention to past customers/clients? Who is a core client?

When is enough, enough? A great exploratory question, don’t you think? Enjoy!

Book Review, Chapters 1 and 2

March Book Review Summary – Chapters 1 and 2
Book: Change Your Questions Change Your Life

By Catherine Franz

Introduction

Last month, when we decided to choose a new book to review for March, Lisa had already finished reading the book, and I just finished opening the box and placing it on my already piled high yet-to-be-read bookshelf. I trusted Lisa’s wisdom when recommending this book. After reading the first two chapters, I realized she was absolutely right on.

After finishing chapter 2, it was all I could do to hold back and just read the first two chapters.

So, last week on the Let’s Talk Coaching Radio Show, Lisa and I began discussing the first two chapters of “Change Your Questions Change Your Life: 7 Powerful Tools for Life and Work” by Marilee Adams.

Chapter 1

As I mentioned on the show, the purpose of the firs chapter is to shift our thinking from seeking out only the answer but instead solve the problem by coming up with better questions.