I just got off the phone with a coaching client of mine who’s launching his own business.
He asked me: “𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨?”.
He had been overthinking this question in his head.
Is it better to email them first and call them later? Or maybe visit them? How do you start the conversation? Is cold-calling still effective? Or cold-emailing is better? And what’s the best answer if the say x? And if they say y, what do you say next?
I asked my client a rhetorical question:
– Do you genuinely want to help your clients and serve them from your heart?
– Yes, I do.
– Then, you know very well how to approach them. You don’t need me to tell you. You just approach them. You say hello and you build a relationship with them. You offer a solution to their problem. You relax. You listen to them carefully and you serve them.
People who overthink the question “How do I approach clients?” usually do so because they’re in a war with their potential clients. It’s all about persuasion theory, selling, closing, and manipulation.
People who are in service mode, ie. in peace mode, approach their clients like a dove with an olive branch (an ancient symbol of peace).
A dove with an olive branch is on a mission to serve. It’s there to make the first step and give first.
It’s vulnerable, humble.
But also strong and confident because it’s bringing peace.
And if your potential clients are not ready yet to welcome the dove in their hands, they will always remember that you were a dove with an olive branch.
And if they didn’t see straight away that you were a dove,
you can fly back to them (follow-up, or reach out later)
as many times as you want as soon as you’re bringing an olive branch (value, service).
