Guest Column: FEAR-LESS
FEAR-LESS
Kim Wilkerson, Wilkerson Consulting
If being “fearless” is a struggle, then it’s time to focus on your mission to fear-less.
Many consultants and coaches can easily demonstrate their value while actually doing the work, but struggle with effectively communicating that value and expertise with prospective buyers. While anticipating these conversations, many easily place themselves in the mental and emotional quagmire of preconceived fear and failure. Ironically, these very scenarios (which are artificially imagined and manufactured) seldom, if ever, happen. And, if they do happen, they are never fatal (literally or figuratively!). There is no trap door, as in the old B-reel movies, where someone pulls a lever and you disappear into the void below.
It’s good to be prepared. It’s good to know what general questions to explore with your buyer. And, it’s good to have an idea of what questions and objections you may get and how to effectively address them, all the while remembering that any objection is a sign of interest.
However, it’s totally unrealistic and unproductive to forecast and foreshadow every possible negative scenario you think might occur. In reality, those conversations don’t happen. And, being hyper-focused on what can theoretically go wrong isn’t the way to enter a productive conversation. Regardless of the outcome of the conversation, I have yet to encounter a prospect who is on a mission to embarrass or undermine me. They seek a good investment of their time, not a trip to see blood in the Coliseum.
If being fearless seems to be a huge leap to span the prospect-to-buyer chasm, then make your focus to “fear-LESS” for now. Give yourself a break from the mental anguish. Pull yourself out of the quicksand of the unrealistic and never-ending projections. Instead of preparing ad nauseam for the litany of negative “What ifs?,” begin by thoughtfully preparing yourself for success.
Gain the confidence to portray yourself in the way that you want to be perceived by the other person. Exploit your own expertise and positive experiences. Be fearless in who you are, what you do, and the value you provide.
You’ll find that moving towards a state of fearless is enjoyable, energizing, and ultimately profitable. Stop imagining the impossible and start projecting the inevitable.
© Kim Wilkerson 2015
Kim Wilkerson, CEO of Wilkerson Consulting Group, is known as a real-time, high-impact consultant and coach who creates both dramatic organizational progress and profound individual growth. She is a member of the Million Dollar Consulting® Hall of Fame. Her new book, with co-author Alan Weiss, The Language of Success: The Confidence and Ability to Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say in Business and Life, (Business Expert Press 2016), will be released this fall.
