What I Can Do For You

I’ve written and deleted a version of this post three times this morning. My coach handed me the challenge of talking about the kinds of results I can deliver for my clients and I simply can’t seem to do it.

It’s not that I don’t deliver results. My clients tell me all the time how their businesses are different because of the work we’ve done together. And they will tell you, too – just scroll to the bottom of the Irresistible Presence site and you can read what they have to say.

But ask me directly what results I deliver and I balk, stammer and can’t make virtual eye contact.

In thinking about the many reasons for this extreme discomfort, I’ve come up with two thoughts:

1) I REALLY don’t want to sound like I think I’m all that and a bag of chips. There are enough of those people in this world we inhabit.

2) I’ve never seen myself as an Expert with a capital “E”. I’m just somebody who works really hard, listens to some really awesome people who are willing to give me really awesome advice and shares what I’ve learned about business strategy with my clients.

It also makes me feel like I’m gonna throw up to talk about myself in this way, which is a sure sign that I have to “damn the torpedoes” and do it anyway.

So here it goes – ACK! (And here’s the thing you need to know: I’ve done and am currently doing all of these things with real live people. This is not some unproven fantasy list.)

1) I can help you figure out the intersection of 1) Your passion 2) Your skills 3) A Market Demand.

2) I can help you articulate what you do in a way that adds serious cashflow to your business.

3) I can help you get more comfortable in your own skin and share who you really are in a way that attracts business like a magnet.

4) I can help you narrow your focus to only the things that you are truly passionate about and let go of distractions that get in your way.

5) I can help you set firm business boundaries so that you only say yes to the things that will move your business in the direction you want it to go.

6) I can flat tell you when you are on the wrong track. In the most loving of ways of course.

7) I can show you how to stop the internal and external struggle with what you offer, who you offer it to, and how you communicate all that.
I can show you how to get relatively comfortable in your own skin and the powerful platform that real-ness is.

9) I can help you build a cold, hard business strategy around your passion that will actually bring you clients and money.

10) I can give you the tools for rising above all the noise in the loud, crowded marketplace out there so that your message, your “it” gets heard by your right people.

Whew! I held my breathe as typed all ten of those things. I’m sure my coach is going to tell me I left out a bunch of stuff but if I don’t press publish on this version of this post, I may delete and stare at a blank screen all stinkin’ day!

So I don’t feel quite so queasy about all this, in the comments I invite you to share one, two or ten thing that you do for your clients.

Oh – and if you want me to help you with any or all of these things in a very high-touch, you are the star environment, I invite you to seriously consider attending Creating Irresistible Presence in September.

Digg Digg

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 26th, 2010 at 12:12 pm and is filed under Uncommon Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

http://www.accuconference.com Maranda Gibson
Good for you! Like I said on Twitter, I think the average person is too scared to say anything good about themselves so we don’t. I think it’s hard to do that, because we’ve always been taught not to be “full of ourselves”. There’s a big difference between that and being confident. What a fine line we tow. Here’s the first thing that comes to mind with me and what I can do for my clients:
I can offer someone who truly takes their job to heart. Someone who is passionate about working for you and helping you succeed, because when you do, I do too.
http://www.accuconference.com Maranda Gibson
Good for you! Like I said on Twitter, I think the average person is too scared to say anything good about themselves so we don’t. I think it’s hard to do that, because we’ve always been taught not to be “full of ourselves”. There’s a big difference between that and being confident. What a fine line we tow. Here’s the first thing that comes to mind with me and what I can do for my clients:
I can offer someone who truly takes their job to heart. Someone who is passionate about working for you and helping you succeed, because when you do, I do too.
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
Okay… so I do feel like throwing up a bit – but not as much as I thought I might! First – I can say that I am personally benefiting from at least five of your “I can dos” – probably more. And that’s before I get to Atlanta! Which has me feeling SO excited and just a little bit scared about CIP.
Second – I so appreciate your honesty at the beginning about having a hard time speaking the results you deliver for people. Not because you don’t deliver them… but because you have a hard time seeing and speaking them. As a matter of fact, you asked me to do what your coach asked you to do about my special “project” coming up this Fall. And I FROZE last Friday when I sat down to do it. For some of the same reasons you shared and for some that are unique to me. Yet another reason I’m coming to CIP#.
As for what I offer others: (here comes the throw up part for me)
1. I can help you become debt-free and develop a relationship with money that’s empowering and prosperous
2. I can help you stop being afraid of money and actually learn to love money – managing it, thinking about it, talking about it, learning about it
3. I can help you grow – PERIOD – and especially emotionally, spiritually, financially.
4. I can help you discover, accept, embrace and express who you are more fully and freely – because YOU (and God/Higher Power) is the real source of abundance in your life.
5. I can help you find new ways of thinking about things and looking at things that create new possibilities, action steps and more prosperous results – with your money, in your direct selling biz, in your overall life
I’m now pushing “POST”.
http://www.accessabundance.com/ Teresa Romain
Okay… so I do feel like throwing up a bit – but not as much as I thought I might! First – I can say that I am personally benefiting from at least five of your “I can dos” – probably more. And that’s before I get to Atlanta! Which has me feeling SO excited and just a little bit scared about CIP.
Second – I so appreciate your honesty at the beginning about having a hard time speaking the results you deliver for people. Not because you don’t deliver them… but because you have a hard time seeing and speaking them. As a matter of fact, you asked me to do what your coach asked you to do about my special “project” coming up this Fall. And I FROZE last Friday when I sat down to do it. For some of the same reasons you shared and for some that are unique to me. Yet another reason I’m coming to CIP#.
As for what I offer others: (here comes the throw up part for me)
1. I can help you become debt-free and develop a relationship with money that’s empowering and prosperous
2. I can help you stop being afraid of money and actually learn to love money – managing it, thinking about it, talking about it, learning about it
3. I can help you grow – PERIOD – and especially emotionally, spiritually, financially.
4. I can help you discover, accept, embrace and express who you are more fully and freely – because YOU (and God/Higher Power) is the real source of abundance in your life.
5. I can help you find new ways of thinking about things and looking at things that create new possibilities, action steps and more prosperous results – with your money, in your direct selling biz, in your overall life

I’m now pushing “POST”.
Anonymous
I’m not going to write my ALL THAT AND A BAG stuff right now because I will start crying. And I just put a load of mascara on. Seeing you soon. xo
Anonymous
I’m not going to write my ALL THAT AND A BAG stuff right now because I will start crying. And I just put a load of mascara on. Seeing you soon. xo
Pingback: Anonymous
Amy Oscar
Oh, Sarah – you are all of that and more. I’ve barely met you and I’ve already been: Supported, Cheered for, Smiled at (a lot), treated respectfully; I’ve also been seen – really seen – as a valuable, credible person who is doing the best she can to be her best self. And that alone is a unique and valuable (and marketable) gift of yours. I can’t wait to meet you – for all of those reasons and this one: I love being in the presence of people who are reaching for more, attempting (and often succeeding) to live out of authenticity, organizing their own lives around principle, purpose and passion, and doing all of this in the context of family, friendship and participation in the “real” world community. Bravo for posting this! (It doesn’t sound braggy at all.)
Amy Oscar
Oh, Sarah – you are all of that and more. I’ve barely met you and I’ve already been: Supported, Cheered for, Smiled at (a lot), treated respectfully; I’ve also been seen – really seen – as a valuable, credible person who is doing the best she can to be her best self. And that alone is a unique and valuable (and marketable) gift of yours. I can’t wait to meet you – for all of those reasons and this one: I love being in the presence of people who are reaching for more, attempting (and often succeeding) to live out of authenticity, organizing their own lives around principle, purpose and passion, and doing all of this in the context of family, friendship and participation in the “real” world community. Bravo for posting this! (It doesn’t sound braggy at all.)
Anonymous
Brava, Sarah! May I add your intuitive ability to sense where your client is at on a given day and use that as a jumping point for the work that needs to be done and digging deeper until it is done (at least to where it’s manageable)? I am fortunate to know first hand how much you help people — not just the business aspect — the client the person as well. Your ability to honestly assess and gently guide is a gift. The tribe is a wonderful support network — so many people here have come into my life to nudge me forward or lend an ear or advice. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for you … and there is still lots more work to do, including attending CIP, which without a doubt will be transformational. The uniqueness of this event along with the points you list above (and beyond) are what truly set you apart from others.
Anonymous
Brava, Sarah! May I add your intuitive ability to sense where your client is at on a given day and use that as a jumping point for the work that needs to be done and digging deeper until it is done (at least to where it’s manageable)? I am fortunate to know first hand how much you help people — not just the business aspect — the client the person as well. Your ability to honestly assess and gently guide is a gift. The tribe is a wonderful support network — so many people here have come into my life to nudge me forward or lend an ear or advice. I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for you … and there is still lots more work to do, including attending CIP, which without a doubt will be transformational. The uniqueness of this event along with the points you list above (and beyond) are what truly set you apart from others.
http://www.care2.com/causes/trailblazers/ Sue Anne Reed
Someone at the #140 Conference in San Francisco had a brilliant line, and I need to look at my notes to remember who it was. But, basically he said it was time in the social media world that we stopped trying to be “gurus” and “experts” and instead focused on being professionals.
I think the same is true for you. Do people think that you’re a guru or an expert, absolutely. But, there’s a negative connotation with those words in some people’s minds because so many of the people out there calling themselves “gurus” and “experts” are complete douchebags, and you are definitely not a douchebag. Call yourself a professional and go with that.
And, I wish I could attend your conference in September, but I’m already committed to going to Blogworld, and I’m relatively new at this job. Plus, if I go anywhere that requires me flying in a plane (I’m driving to Blogworld) before I go visit my sister and her in family in Tennessee, she may never talk to me again.
http://www.sueannereed.com Sue Anne Reed
Someone at the #140 Conference in San Francisco had a brilliant line, and I need to look at my notes to remember who it was. But, basically he said it was time in the social media world that we stopped trying to be “gurus” and “experts” and instead focused on being professionals.
I think the same is true for you. Do people think that you’re a guru or an expert, absolutely. But, there’s a negative connotation with those words in some people’s minds because so many of the people out there calling themselves “gurus” and “experts” are complete douchebags, and you are definitely not a douchebag. Call yourself a professional and go with that.
And, I wish I could attend your conference in September, but I’m already committed to going to Blogworld, and I’m relatively new at this job. Plus, if I go anywhere that requires me flying in a plane (I’m driving to Blogworld) before I go visit my sister and her in family in Tennessee, she may never talk to me again.
http://thoughtlead.com Steve Haase
Way to go, Sarah. You’re awesome for putting your stake in the ground like that, and I’m sure lots more people will benefit from working with you because you just did it.
And thanks for the invitation for us to do the same.
So, what do I do for clients?
1. I take their products or services, turn them over at least a jillion times, read what people are hungry for as it relates to such products, and write about them in a way that makes my clients more money (i.e. I write copy).
2. I poke around the socialmediaverse to find the most interesting people and conversations for my clients to dive into. I coach them on how to dive in without upsetting the pool. And I teach them how to turn all that splashing around into business growth (i.e. social media consulting).
Thanks again for the great post, Sarah.
Steve
http://thoughtlead.com Steve Haase
Way to go, Sarah. You’re awesome for putting your stake in the ground like that, and I’m sure lots more people will benefit from working with you because you just did it.
And thanks for the invitation for us to do the same.
So, what do I do for clients?
1. I take their products or services, turn them over at least a jillion times, read what people are hungry for as it relates to such products, and write about them in a way that makes my clients more money (i.e. I write copy).
2. I poke around the socialmediaverse to find the most interesting people and conversations for my clients to dive into. I coach them on how to dive in without upsetting the pool. And I teach them how to turn all that splashing around into business growth (i.e. social media consulting).
Thanks again for the great post, Sarah.
Steve
http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich
You know what I love about this post? Everything you say you do for clients you can’t do for yourself! That whole shoemaker’s children don’t have shoes phenomenon. So I challenge you…take the first three items on your list and tell us the answers to them…for YOUR business.
http://spinsucks.com Gini Dietrich
You know what I love about this post? Everything you say you do for clients you can’t do for yourself! That whole shoemaker’s children don’t have shoes phenomenon. So I challenge you…take the first three items on your list and tell us the answers to them…for YOUR business.

Escaping Mediocrity