The case of TMI: Are you scaring away your customers?

I'm still running away

Picture this..

A person interested in your services contacts you and in your effort to help them, you go all out with everything you can offer them. Newbies or veterans, it happens to the best of us and it’s a common mistake that we all make at some point.
We forget to grow big ears and talk to our prospects in their language.

  • They call and ask for fitness training and you try to sell them a nutrition plan.
  • They are asking about getting started with social media and you start throwing ROI, metrics, and management at them.
  • They need a basic website, yet you try to sell them the version with all the bells and whistles.

Sound familiar?

What happens?

Overwhelm. They run for the hills!

Remember: they are contacting you because they see you as an expert in your industry. They need guidance and help and probably have some idea about what they need but at the same time are faced with a lot of choice.

Exercise Restraint

Giving them with too much information will overwhelm them and make it harder for them to make a decision and ultimately, choose you.
I experienced this recently. After a back and forth exchange with a prospect who wanted help building his online presence, I sent a proposal. I told him everything he needed, despite him asking for the basics. What did I do wrong?

I forgot to listen completely and was already thinking of the next steps. The result? Instead of winning him over immediately, he now needed more time to process it all!

Lesson Learned

Don’t scare away your customers with Too Much Information (TMI)!!

Sometimes less is more, and remember, there’s always the opportunity to upsell later šŸ˜‰

Has this ever happened to you?

Photo Credit: VincePaul

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish

Your time is limited, so donā€™t waste it living someone elseā€™s life. Donā€™t be trapped by dogma ā€” which is living with the results of other peopleā€™s thinking. Donā€™t let the noise of othersā€™ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.ā€

I had posted this on my Facebook profile yesterday morning and was reflecting on how true it was, that too often we do what others say or what they think is right for us, without questioning or taking the time to reflect if it truly is the path we are meant to be on.

That same evening, Steve Jobs passed away at age 56.

I was saddened but at the same time not surprised since we had known that he was fighting a tough battle for many years. Ā He saw death as the biggestĀ ā€change agentā€ and motivator. In one of his talks, he says that every morning he would wake up and ask himself if he was happy with what he was doing and if there were too many days in a row when the answer was ā€œNoā€, he knew he had to make a change.

How many of us do that? Or do we just fall into the routine and think that ā€œlater will be betterā€? Later is now. Time is finite.

Rest in peace, Steve. Thank you for reminding us that life is short and cannot be taken for granted.

Hereā€™s a great tribute piece from Nilofer Merchant on HBR–
ā€œHis insane greatness was to find his own journey and to live his life this way. He didnā€™t worry about being weird; he only wanted to be himself.
Rather than figure out what we are each about, far too many of us live within the boxes others define.
..we need to recognize that our lifeā€™s goal is to find our own unique way in the world, to find the way that we move from being kiss-ass to being kick-ass.ā€

A solid reminder.