I’m getting ready to re-start my Mastermind Intensive this September. I’m interviewing each of the eight women entrepreneurs who will be joining me monthly for the next year. I’m inviting the members who’ve participated before to recall each expert we had address the group to help me understand what worked best.
More than a few mentioned one expert’s excellent content, but commented on the lack of follow-through. Even months later, that missing link stayed in their memories.
It’s the little things. The things that aren’t mentioned that have us make choices. And whoever says, “The reason I’m not hiring you (again) is….” They offer lots of reasons, but rarely is the real truth uttered.
How often have you heard someone say, “I was unimpressed with your business card.” Or, “There were too many typos in your handout, so I’m going to pass.”
You may register that what you see and what you get don’t reflect the business owner’s professional investment in their image or reputation. But your executive decision maker acts on that noticing and is too polite to mention it.
The better news here is that our reasons for hiring or using another’s services can be strictly personal. You asked about my grandson, or you remembered that I don’t eat tomatoes. Anything you say or do after that has a halo around it. And anything less-than-fabulous you said before may be erased. It’s a complex balance.
All I’m really saying is, you may not know the real reason for either decision.
Your blog made me think….why don’t we follow through. I can think of a dozen reasons we might give such as ‘I forgot’ or ‘the email got lost in my draft folder;’ all the victim excuses. We all truly intend to follow through. So why don’t we. Maybe we are afraid of the responses. In your example the expert gave an excellent presentation, so why be afraid of follow up? Because the feedback might have criticism or in other ways spoil the excellent presentation. What do you think?
@Stirling Design Associates
Great question. This person had offered a discounted rate for a program, but the details never arrived. It was a lack of follow through, which I don’t think was based on anything emotional. I prefer under-promise and over-deliver. This was the opposite. An expectation was set, then not met.