|
 Silence.
I had just laid out the results of the feasibility study and run through the three year cash flow projections. It was a great business idea, and the client was both skilled and motivated, so I was enthusiastic about the promise of success. Why wasn't the client bubbling over with anticipation too?
Finally, she said, "Wow. It's all so much."
She couldn't take it all in. I realized I needed to slow down and give her only the information she could absorb, waiting until she was ready for more.
Starting a business is an adventure. Part of what makes it exciting is the ovewhelming number of decisions to make and new things to learn. Business coaching has to begin before the feasibility study is complete. Encouraging the customer to think about the nuts and bolts of their project by bringing up hard questions will help them focus on the requirements for a successful business.
This approach is more time-consuming, but it eases the customer into the self-employment pool. Later coaching sessions can cover time-managment, development of a marketing strategy and timetable, accounting, and cost-control--all issues that may have been addressed in the business plan. I learned that it is not helpful to throw all of this at the customer in one conversation.
"You've done more work on my business than I have!" she said. It's always good to hear the client knows we're in their corner, but at Reveal Information we don't want to get ahead of our clients. Working closely with each client, I'm there to be sure they make their way along the path to business independence right from the start. |
|
|
<< Back |
Add New Comment |
