There Are No Clients Here

If I could name one SINGULAR mistake or assumption that costs business owners FAR MORE than any other, it would be assuming,

There are no clients here.

They look at their lists and they say, “There are no clients here.”
They look around their geographical area, and they say, “There are no clients here.”
They look around the events they’re attending, and they say, “There are no clients here.”

Please know that I’ve said ALL of these… and with complete conviction that it was the undisputed truth.  The only evidence I needed was in my own bank account. Certainly, no one could argue:  There are NO clients here.  Some variations of this include, “I just need a bigger list.”  OR  “I’ve exhausted my list.”  OR  (my personal favorite) “No one on my list buys.  They’re just here for the free stuff.”

Quick note: there will always be the FREEbie clients on your list.  We all have them.  One on my list comes to mind. You know her kind.  Shows up with GUSTO for every free offer, but goes eerily silent when you invite her to actually work with you.  lol….  But, assuming there are NO clients here?

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

You see, assuming there are NO clients here speaks FAR MORE CONVINCINGLY about YOU than about them.

I know this — now.

Imagine a farmer looking out at a field.  He sees dirt.  No corn.  No sprouts.  Just dirt, as far as the eye can see. But he’d NEVER say, there’s no corn here.  He’d  EITHER plant seeds or nurture the seeds hidden just beneath the surface.  But, he’d never say, “There’s no corn here.”

How FOOLISH would that seem, after all…. for a farmer to go from farm to farm looking to harvest corn he neither planted nor nurtured. At each field, he’d exclaim “There’s no corn here.” and move on.  WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS FARMER’S CHANCES OF BEING A SUCCESSFUL FARMER?

His chances — we’d all agree — would be zip.  Yet, this scenario is what is happening when we look around our own business and exclaim, “There are no clients here.”  This is the same principle at work when we are having our own “There are no clients here.” pity party. As a side note, what farmer would DARE wait to harvest crops he just stumbled upon?  Similarly, what business owner would DARE expect clients to show up, credit card in hand, without a bit of cultivation?

The book I have pictured above is titled, There Are No Children Here, and it’s a great read.  It details the life of children in an inner city neighborhood in Chicago.  It exclaims that there are NO children here, because this neighborhood leaves no space for nurturing and developing children.  Instead, it throws them into an adult world almost immediately.  There’s no PROTECTED SPACE for these children to develop within.

CLIENTS, like children and corn, develop ONLY when they are given the time and space to be protected, developed, nurtured.  My firm recommendation is that you make your site, your blog, your store front THIS PLACE for them.

Because clients are CREATED.  Not found.  Clients DEVELOP far more often than they just ARRIVE.  Today, I want to ask you a tough question:  Are there REALLY no clients? Or are you passing by so quickly — with such an entitled approach — that you, like the farmer,  only recognize clients who

1) know they need what you have and
2) are ready and able to invest now.

If you know I’m speaking to YOU, please don’t take offense.  I’ve been there. I’ve said ALL of this to my own coach.   But, my business took a huge leap in the right direction when I saw the seeds of future clients in my list — and nurtured them…. rather than seeing a barren field of dirt and moving on to the next distant field.

The acres of diamonds are in YOUR backyard.  But, you gotta start digging! =)

Tomorrow, we’ll go over THREE REASONS your list isn’t buying from you.