Stop Selling, Start Serving
In 2022 I had this desire to join a men's group that went deep on topics that were important in life. I attempted to find somewhere to join and really struggled to find exactly what I was looking for, so I decided to build it myself.
But I had a problem...I didn't know how.
Fortunately for me, I had been introduced to a woman named Lauren Widrick who had started something similar, but it was predominantly for women. We spent 90 minutes together and Lauren asked me really great questions, simplified the strategy and most importantly, held me to a date to host the first session.
Because of those 90 minutes, High Achievers was born.
Fast forward to earlier this year, I was listening to Lauren's podcast and she mentioned having a challenge figuring out where to take her business and asked for help. I offered to repay the debt with a twist, we record the conversation to help serve others in a similar spot.
You can watch our full conversation here
During our conversation, Lauren declared that what she really wants is to run a conference. We got extremely clear on what success would look like, the type of business she actually wanted, and the pros and cons of the different options. By the end she had a clear vision for what the Activate Conference will be come October.
Then she shared the #1 challenge almost every entrepreneur I have ever worked with has in some form:
They don't want to be "salesy."
The first 2 years of my business were on the side which was fortunate because I had a full-time job supporting us because if I hadn't, the business would've died very quickly. I hated the uncomfortableness and thus avoided the single most important thing that any business needs to actually be a business, sales/revenue creation.
It was uncomfortable, I felt like I was being transactional and as someone who led nonprofits and thinks much more about transformation and service, it really didn't jive. Thus, since I didn’t need to be uncomfortable, I made the choice most of us make, not to be uncomfortable.
Then one day I had an eye-opening realization, if I believe, for the right person, what I offer has incredible value, am I really selling or am I serving?
I looked at my current and past clients and thought about the results they've gotten, what if I hadn't offered to help? In some cases, businesses wouldn't have grown as much as they have. In others, maybe they wouldn't have been able to disconnect from work. In extreme cases, maybe their marriages would've failed.
That is when I became extremely clear with myself, if I truly believe in my value for the person I am reaching out to, then it is in service for me to reach out and allow them to make an informed decision about whether what I am offering is valuable to them or not.
Anything else would be selfish.
If you are one of the many people I talk to who have some apprehension toward outreach or sales but love serving and helping, I'd encourage you to answer these 3 questions:
Which 3 clients have I helped the most, and what is likely to have happened if I hadn't offered to help them?
Who am I already connected to who is having the same challenge those 3 people had and is literally wishing someone could magically help them solve this problem?
What is one specific way I can consistently connect with and serve more people who have this problem?
I can tell you from my own experience that the response on the other side is almost always positive. I actually can't think of one person who has ever gotten upset that I reached out and offered to help them. Naturally, I don't do this to people as the first thing I say to them and I don’t offer to everyone, but when I do it's almost always a yes, no thanks, or no response, and my life goes on.
For me, the conversation I had with Lauren is exactly how I love to serve people. I work best with successful people who know they want something different or more, but aren't completely clear on what the next version of themselves, their life, or their business looks like.
They want to achieve at an extremely high level personally and professionally. They want great relationships, great health, great friends, hobbies, freedom, and work that actually fits the life they want.
So, in the spirit of taking my own advice, I'm going to do something I haven’t done in this newsletter and make sure you know the 3 ways I can serve:
High Achievers — $99/month
A community for founders that starts with a 90-day cohort to define and start building the next version of your life and business alongside other founders. The next cohort starts September 8th, with opportunities for ongoing mastermind support afterward.
The Next Version — $500
A private 90-minute intensive to step back, get clear on what you actually want next, what's standing in the way, and the specific actions to move forward.
1:1 Coaching — Starting at $1,000/month
Private ongoing coaching where we go deep across the 8 most important areas of your life and the 8 most important areas of your business.
The whole point of this newsletter is that if you genuinely believe you can help someone, you owe it to them to offer. So this is me taking my own advice and I encourage you to do the same with those you can serve.
If you're successful but know there is another version of your life or business you want to build, I believe I can help you get there. I don't know which of the 3 options above is right for you, and I'm not going to try to convince you that you need any of them.
Reply to this email and tell me what you're working through, if I think I can help, I'll tell you how. If I don't, I'll tell you that too and likely refer you to someone who can.
I know for me, my family, my business, and the 28 others in High Achievers, I sure am glad Lauren made the offer to help me.