Author: angelos

How to Approach Clients for your Business

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).

dove with olive branch

Read More

Achieving a goal should be like a bubble rising up to the surface

GOALS – Working towards a goal should feel like a bubble coming up to the surface.

Slowly. Steadily. Effortlessly. Gracefully.

You can’t achieve a goal if your whole identity is invested in a future expectation of yourself. Forcing the bubble to go up faster will only break the bubble and sabotage your entire mission.

When you are unattached, you know in the core of your being that you are sufficient without any changes, additions, or deletions. You allow the object of your desire to come to you without any force, pressure, or control. Unattachment means that it is acceptable for the goal to manifest, and it is equally okay for the bubble to split into hundreds of little bubbles before reaching the surface. Unattachment means that you’re living in the present while working towards your goal.

You can be free, sufficient and fulfilled without the manifestation of the goal. And it’s then when the goal manifests. It’s a paradox, isn’t it? The paradox of wanting something too much and not wanting it simultaneously. And it’s the role of a coach to make sure you’re always at the right spot of wanting it and not wanting it enough.

Do you have a big goal you want to achieve?

Let’s work together and see the bubble reach the surface.

Angelos

water bubbles rising up

Read More

We choose to suffer.

WE CHOOSE TO SUFFER.

In each and every moment, what you’re experiencing in the realm of your emotions and mind, and the effects–to a latter degree–within the body are there because you, from your infinite freedom, have simply selected that experience to focus your attention on so you can see what the effects are.

Nothing that you experience is caused by anything outside of you.

You experience only the effects of your own choice.

From The Way of Mastery, a book suggested by my mentor and Ultimate Coach Steve Hardison.

calm woman

Read More

On suffering and … the Power of Deep Listening.

** This is a fascinating story by Elsie Spittle, a great coach and spiritual teacher **

A client of mine was really suffering on behalf of her sister who was suffering on behalf of her son who was going through a contentious divorce. The mother of the son was struggling because of the pain her son was going through and shared this pain with her sister who took on the suffering.

I said to my client that there are many people who are going through the same suffering. I’ve gone through the same pain with my son and his contentious divorce but that suffering didn’t serve me well. That suffering doesn’t serve humanity well! I generalised to show that we’re all the same and suffering doesn’t serve us well. There is another way to find answers and help things resolve!

So, while my client was sharing her struggles with me, I asked her: “Is your suffering serving you well?”

And she paused.

And I listened to the pause.

There was so much in the pause.

In the past, I probably would have overwritten the pause and carried on teaching and sharing my understanding about why suffering doesn’t serve us well.

But for some reason, at that moment, I heard the pause. I saw the value in that pause. I saw that pause was her wisdom. And after the pause, she said: “No. I don’t get any relief from my suffering…”.

And she paused again.

Only then we were able to explore that pause and see what it meant and have a soul-to-soul conversation.

That pause, that soul-to-soul connection softened her beliefs without me saying to her: “Look, you have this belief and that belief, and we need to look at them…” It wasn’t that kind of education! It was more the soul-to-soul education based on listening…

Sometimes listening may not even have words!

Words get in the way…

sad woman

PS: I was going to share my interpretation of this story, my takeaways, the way I see it! I don’t have to. I shouldn’t do it. I must not do it. I’ll pause and let you think for yourself. Angelos.

Read More

There is still a beautiful garden in front of you… can you see it?

silence-garden

I just finished a 3-hour coaching call with my client, a brilliant individual who has really high standards for herself!

She was so frustrated today because she thinks she’s not good enough, she’s not doing enough, and not well enough, and not confident enough and not enough, and enough enough!!!

I was having such a hard time trying to slow her down and convince her that her “not enough” was actually “so much”!

At one moment I interrupted her and said:

– I’ve got such a beautiful garden in front of me. Can you hear the wind? Can you hear the leaves? Can you hear the cicadas?

– Yes… I can… I’ve got a beautiful garden in front of me too! Let me switch on my camera!

And then silence… And more silence… <3

Read More

Coaching is inherently disruptive

lovingdisruption1

Coaching is inherently disruptive.

It deconstructs your “realities”.

A form of loving disruption though ❤️⚡… because if a coach doesn’t care about you, if you can’t feel their care, you’re not gonna let them f*** with the stories you tell yourself in the way that this requires them to.

A coach isn’t trying to disrupt your realities on purpose!

It’s just disruptive to see that everything you thought was true… isn’t. It’s disruptive to see that your experience is not … the reality.

Read More

Head down for one year!

headdownforayear1

What if you worked on your dream every day for one year without lifting your head up to see if it’s working?

But how do I know I’m doing the right thing? Well, you know what the right thing is. You have a tremendously powerful intuition as to what the good and meaningful work is. And just because you don’t lift your head up every day to see a miracle, a miracle happens when you save that energy that otherwise would go wasted on expectation!

Expectation is friction!

Expectation is interruption!

Expectation is frustration!

Think about it. Imagine. Visualise it. One year creating. No looking up.

Every day being a win no matter what! Just you and your meaningful work. No expectation. What can you see? How does it feel?

Kindness and smiles,

Angelos

Read More

Learning myths and the reality

LEARNING MYTHS and … the reality!

I’m currently reading Kelly Palmer‘s new book Expertise Economy. Pay attention, please!

MYTH 1 – People use only 10% of their brains.
REALITY 1 – You use almost the entire capacity of your brain.

MYTH 2 – People are either right-brain thinkers or left-brain thinkers.
REALITY 2 – The left and right parts of the brain do not function completely separately and learning has nothing to do with the hemispheres of your brain.

MYTH 3 – People have an optimal channel, visual, auditory, etc. through which they learn.
REALITY 3 – People use as many channels to learn as they can access. Learning becomes more effective when all the senses are combined into the learning experience.

MYTH 4 – There are certain windows of learning and when these windows have closed, there is no chance of them being reopened again.
REALITY 4 – People can learn new things at any age! The neuroplasticity of our brain allows us to learn new things and build new skills all throughout our lives.

BOOK here – https://amzn.to/2JrP4sQ

the expertise economy

Read More

Gaslight

Gaslight – attempt to make (someone) believe that he or she is going insane (as by subjecting that person to a series of experiences that have no rational explanation).

Have you been gaslighted at work?

Someone constantly questioning your abilities to do your work, to lead your team, to communicate, to perform the simplest tasks like writing an email… to the point that you start questioning yourself and going insane?

Awesome podcast by Rashim Mogha on spotting whether you are being gaslighted and what to do to about it.

Read More