When They Ask, “Just What Do You Do?”
When you gather with friends and family on your time off, on vacation, etc, and they say to you – for the 100th time – “What is it that you do again?” Here’s something you can say that could easily spark a further conversation – either then or down the road when the timing is right.
Some of the readers of my blog are financial professionals of some type – but not all. While the example I’m about to give will be perfect for a financial advisor, it really applies to just about any business or profession.
The Principle
Being clear and confident about where you are and where you are headed – in any area of your life – always feels best. As a life coach, I can confirm that it’s a pretty basic human need. For example, everyone wants to feel clear and confident with his or her finances. Everyone wants to feel clear and confident with his or her relationships. Face it, everyone wants to feel clear and confident in all the various aspects of their business and personal lives. The problem is, they don’t always make the time or seek the right help to gain that clarity and confidence. This creates a cycle of frustration and anxiety that can spin out of control if left unaddressed.
When you talk about helping your clients become clear and confident, you touch on both the tangible level (measurable) and feeling level (intangible and difficult to measure). When you talk about your business in terms of clarity and confidence, you are hitting on the very core elements that pique your listener’s interest in learning more about your process and, hopefully, working with you or introducing you to others.
The Execution
So what the heck does that sound like? I’m glad you asked. It could sound like this:
“Well, Fred – What we do boils down to three main things.
First, we help our clients create clarity about where they are and where they want to be in terms of their financial lives. We’ve found that, even very successful people, aren’t always clear about this important topic. In this process, we help our clients uncover the opportunities and obstacles to financial independence.
Second, based on what we learn, we help them put a plan in place – to get to where they want to go; removing the obstacles and taking advantages of the opportunities as much as possible.
Third, with this clarity and plan in place, our clients tell us they feel extreme confidence. They feel confident that they have addressed what many people never truly focus on. I can’t tell you how many times at the end of our meeting, my clients say, “We always feel much better about our future when we meet with you.”
So I guess you could say I’m in the Clarity and Confidence business.”
Of course, your words will be different. You’ll make it suit the work you do and your style of delivery. Give this a try. Practice it a few times while driving to and from appointments. Try it out with a couple of friends or family – maybe even on the way to your golf game! And then tell me how it’s working for you.
I’ve been teaching this long enough to know that you can create some great perception of value with this simple strategy.
What is working for you when it comes to how you talk about your value? Really! Tell me! I’d enjoy hearing from you. Send an email directly to me at [email protected]
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Frank Hopkins is a life coach in Baton Rouge who is certified as a Professional Coach (CPC) by the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC). Frank has helped numerous people to go through emotional change in a way that is positively transformative. You can see Frank’s other website, www.frankhopkinlifecoach.com on line as well.