Sharing

Greetings!

How do you actually get paying clients?

It's a fair question.

In the end, this is what you want, isn't it? Enough 'perfect fit' people paying you a fair price for the work you do.

It's an immense question, and so today's lesson is a heaping portion of content.

If you could wave a magic wand and, tomorrow, your schedule was packed to the brim with people who lit you up and brought out your best work without you having to do much work, wouldn't that be something?

Well... minus the word 'tomorrow', something in that ballpark is possible.

But... 'tomorrow'.

That's the problem here.

And it's how the scammers get us.

"You can achieve this result right away."

It's understandable how often we all fall for it when we're desperate.

"All this talk about getting back to basics is fine, but how do you actually get clients?!"

This question makes sense but it, fundamentally, misunderstands the architecture of things.

Over the past twenty-one years of running my business, I've seen so many people with what I call 'misdirected drive'.

They put so much energy into learning how to 'sell', or 'pitch' or do 'discovery sessions'.

But that's, literally, the last place you should focus.

It doesn't mean don't focus on it.

It means it's the flower blooming (which is the very last thing that a plant does, well, except for creating seeds).

What do we do first?

The Seven Fundamentals below.

First, you do the Deep Work.

This involves the first four elements in the pyramid above:

1. You get your ethics straight: you make sure you're always going for the truth of if it's a fit, instead of going for the sale, and proceed from a place of deep respect for the other.

2. You create space.

3. You hone your niche so that you're not trying to be everything to everybody. This takes a lot of humility.

4. You articulate your point of view and tell the truth about what you see from where you stand. This is the result of real experience and hard-won wisdom.

5. Next, you craft your business model and tend to the architecture and structure of your business (including crafting beautiful offers you're excited to share and that get a 'shut up and take my money!' response).

6. And then, you work to build relationships with key hubs who are already well connected to and respected by your people. These are people who will host your Signature Workshops, endorse you, and refer you.

7. To the extent that you've done these things, you are ready to share your work. In this part of the pyramid, with a strong foundation, your 'pitches' and 'sales conversations' will be effective.

To the extent you don't, they will be an utter and complete waste of everyone's time.

The pitch (in your Signature Workshop and the discovery sessions) works best as an extension of these things, not a replacement for them.

You might want to read that again.

Getting paying clients is not the phenomenon - it's the epiphenomenon of many things. It's not the direct result of something; it's the outgrowth of many things.

It's not something you go at directly.

It's not something you can go at directly.

Going for the sale directly is often the problem, not the solution.

Going for the sale is like entering an archery contest but staring at the trophy you want to win as you shoot instead of aiming at the bullseye.

And the bullseye is not the sale.

The bullseye is the truth.

The truth of whether or not it's a fit.

But what is the 'it' in the sentence above?

The 'it' is your business and your offerings. And you can't have a clear 'it' without doing the Deep Work of ethics, niching, and point of view. You can't have a clear 'it' without crafting your business model.

And, even if you do all of that work of the first four fundamentals, the likelihood of them saying 'yes' to you, to saying 'you are a fit for me!' is dramatically reduced if they come across you from a cold approach.

If a friend or colleague they trust tells them that you're the real deal, the chance of them saying 'yes' to your offer skyrockets.

Ah... But that Facebook ad you just saw gave you the impression that you don't need to handle those things: you can just flip some switches, master some phrases, develop a more pleasing personality, throw in some social proof, scarcity and urgency, and people will buy, and it will all work out.

And dear God. Don't we all, myself included, wish that were so.

But it's not.

It's a mirage.

It's a Chimera.

It's a lie.

Let me say the above differently: if you don't tend to the Seven Fundamentals, then the tip of the pyramid will have to expand to take over the entire thing.

But that's not a job it was built for.

That's not what it was built to do.

It overstretches the capacity of the thing so dramatically, like a balloon you blow up too large that it finally bursts.

It's not that sharing your offers at some point doesn't belong.

Of course, it does.

It's that it's not the only guest at the table.

It might be understood to be the gorgeous, wooden front door to your home. It has a role, but which would you rather have: a home without a proper door or a door without a home?

To give another analogy: The pitch is the tip of the spear. The Seven Fundamentals are the shaft of it. All of the weight and heft required to have that spear pierce its target, to give it a satisfying 'thunk' into the bullseye, come from that heavy, wooden pole that precedes that spear-point. It's what allows you to get a solid grip. It's what makes it fly straight.

When is the best time to plant a tree?

Twenty-five years ago. Trees take the time to grow that they do. You can't force it (though most of us would if we could).

Businesses take time to grow. Handling the fundamentals is preparing the soil, planting the seed, watering and weeding, and protecting the tree to give it a fighting chance.

There are no guarantees.

But it can happen faster than you might think.

Just not 'tomorrow'.

Below are four videos which I think make this point from a variety of angles.

Handle the fundamentals first.

Handle the fundamentals first.

Handle the fundamentals first.

That's all for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Stay human,

Tad

PS If you want to dive more into how to share your work, you can check out this playlist on sales and selling, my eBook The Heart of Selling, and my webinar The Conversation below (remember: you can get one-time 50% off all my products using this code - StarterKit50 - and they are all included free in the Fundamentals Membership).

PPS If this feels like your year to stop treating your business like a hobby that costs you money and turn it into a business that actually makes you money, please consider checking out my Marketing for Hippies Membership. I think you'll be glad you did.