I can’t write in formulas. I just can’t.
Well, at least not this moment. Who knows, maybe I’ll get it right another time. Another time, it might really be my true authentic expression, and I’m open to that.
Allow me to explain.
The Method
You see, in the world of marketing strategies for coaches, there’s the idea that in order to “create clients”, there’s a certain method that works like magic.
It sounds compelling, and I know several people who have seen great success with it. After making a couple of attempts I realized that I just couldn’t do it.
It just felt too out of alignment, as they say.
So, here’s what I’m not doing:
Introduce You to Your Pain
I’m supposed to tell you why you’re hurting. And if you don’t have any pain that you’re aware of, well, let me just create some for you. I’ll dig deep and make you realize how, in some crucial way, you are not whole.
Offer You a Way-Out
Then, I enlighten you with the sweetest of hints. I tease you with the idea that it doesn’t have to be this way. That you could be fixed – through me, of course – and that bliss is only a few sessions away.
All of this, I’m supposed to do, to make you see that I’m the one for you.
But the Truth is…
I have no idea if I’m the right person to help you.
According to the marketing gurus, I should know all about you, my Ideal Client, by now.
I’m supposed to have researched you extensively until I know what makes you tick and exactly what you’re looking for. Everything I say is tailored to you – and that’s why it feels so good.
And hey, if it doesn’t feel so good, you’re not my ideal client!
Dear Ideal Client,
I did none of that.
I don’t know a thing about you. I didn’t write a page describing you, so I could speak straight to you.
Because, and I know this breaks the rules but can we all just be completely real here? – Because, you know yourself better than me.
It would be nothing but the greatest hubris for me to assume otherwise. You know more than me what hurts. And you know more than me if I’m someone who might be able to help you.
I won’t put you in a box, and have the 10 Easy Steps you need to achieve your goal already mapped out before I’ve even met you.
We’re both infinitely more complex than that.
Besides, I’m sure you know by now, that the magic in coaching – and yes, there definitely is magic – comes not from me solving your problem but from you getting supported and strengthened as you find your own answers.
Dear Ideal Client,
No, I don’t want to call you that.
You have a name and an identity that stretches far beyond my desire for your business.
Let me try again.
Dear Fellow Traveler,
(Can I call you that instead?)
I don’t know you yet. And you don’t know me.
I may or may not be the right person to help you get to wherever it is you’re going.
But if you do feel something from these words and you’re curious about where you could get to if we traveled together…
…then consider this a loving invitation to reach out and tell me who you are.
It would be my honor to listen.
