Example: Someone comes to me with a broken bracelet, because they know I make jewelry. I fix it at no charge, maybe even re-string it or re-size it. Someone else needs a few, simple photos of an event or needs head shots. I give them one short, free session. I’m new to my industry and only starting out, so I give a little bit away, but ONLY a little bit. If I can’t afford to lose the value of the item or service in question, I don’t offer it.

Making the recommendation: I have no problem with this, because as you said, people are coming to me–someone who knows something they do not or knows how to do something they do not–because they need help. They are putting their trust in me, giving me permission to take control of the situation (I’m not someone who manipulates people.) I figure they will listen to what I have to say, and then they will make the best decision for themselves. I’m not interested in parting people from their money. Money is nice, but I’m mostly interested in doing my art and helping or enriching the lives of others through it.

On speaking my Truth: That’s a really hard one. I really try to keep my personal life out of my business, but I think that my values DO come through in how I present myself, how I conduct myself, and the subject matter with which I choose to work.

Blessings.
Jennifer Moore
JenniferLynn Productions, LLC
Jennifer Moore´s last blog ..Writing: Book Recommendation.

As a couple of people suggested on the Tent, the “partner” model may be what I’m talking about. I’m gonna have to turn that over for a while.
Mark W. “Extra Crispy” Schumann´s last blog ..Why pair programming is kind of cool

@Sonia- I know, there are so many ways we can get caught thinking we’re being “nice” to clients that actually puts more of a burden on them. Argle argle.

@Samantha- It’s such a conundrum, because your clients aren’t you. Proof can mean many different things, mainly it’s about showing up with what their heart is needing. If you’re unwilling to show up with what their heart is needing, they may not show up at all.

My teacher says that while miracles and other signs of outward results are distractions from the goal, they are good things to help bring people onto the path in the first place. They can get more hard core later.

Except my teacher doesn’t say “hard core.”

@Mark- Hmmm… you’ve got me thinking… It’s a good thing to think through. How can you frame what you’re offering so that it doesn’t look like what they already do- it’s the ‘extra’ thing that they need? Related, but more/different? Because you’re right, “Your software project sucks? Here’s more of what’s already not working” is not a very compelling offer, is it…

Hmmm…

I think you may have hit upon something that makes my business significantly different from that of many other HoBbits. I help people with things that they are the experts in. It is a “patients as partners” kind of business.

I’m marketing surgery to surgeons. Huh. More to think about.
Mark W. “Extra Crispy” Schumann´s last blog ..Programming with Access? Know this about JOIN.

Maybe most people are looking for proof. Personally, I don’t look for so-called ‘proof’ much when it comes to making choices and decisions. I prefer to go by my instincts and inner gut feelings. And I always prefer to learn from my own mistakes, instead of what someone else has recommended or advised me to do, so that’s a win-win formula for me, right?

I get irritated when people start quoting write-ups and recommendations on this piece of technology, or this gadget, or this service or that. Because I’m pretty sure that the criteria for the review aren’t going to match my own interests and requirements. I’ll put it down to experience, but I’m not judging things based on Mr Average-Joe Blogg’s requirements, so why would I assume that his idea of proof is gonna match mine?

So I tend to lack a lot of patience when other people are scooting round for proof and reviews before they make a choice about buying a product or a service. If I get a good feel about a service provider, I’m going to trust them. It doesn’t often happen that I bowl in with complete 100% trust straight away, but I’m usually more than half-way willing to give it, and at the same time weighing up the costs of the loss if I’m just a little bit wrong. I’m not normally wrong. Sometimes there’s a small cost, or disappointment. But the fact that I had allowed for that initially usually satisfies any regrets I might have otherwise felt.

You see, the idea of proof seems strongly connected, to me, to the implausible notion of guarantees. And most people are way too invested in the need for a guarantee before they’re willing to leap, or buy or explore something new. We know there are no absolute guarantees in life. You can’t buy a lifetime warranty on experience. There’s no value to be placed on that. And all this time that people spend hedging around for proof that they’re going to get exactly what they think they’re signing up for, is just time spent waiting in line, instead of time really lived and savoured.

The times when I haven’t quite got what I thought I was getting from a purchase or service-provider? Well, I often learned something else altogether entirely. I just keep chalking it up to experience. And my writer’s brain collects all these things as stories anyway ~ my point being, there’s always, always value to it. There’s never a loss. You can’t play at life and come out a loser. So why the need for proof of that?

In my own line of business (as a spiritual teacher and healer), it’s something that I made a definite decision on some time ago. I can’t offer much proof of the service I provide. Not the sort that most people are looking for. If I sense that a potential client doesn’t feel completely comfortable and trusting about engaging with me, I turn them away. If they’re focused on seeing some kind of quick and visible outward proof of what they have recieved, they’re probably going to be disappointed anyway.

Sorry for rambling. It’s been a delight and you’ve really helped me clarify my thoughts on this, so thank you hugely.
Bright Blessings ~

The way I look at it is, If I’m going to help people, it’s probably not a good idea to add to their overwhelm by giving them a lot of complex decisions to make. Particularly when they don’t have the tools yet to make those decisions. I’ve gradually become more comfortable with saying, “This is the way I think works best. Other people have different ideas, but these are the ones I find most effective.”
Sonia Simone´s last blog ..What Makes Marketing Hard?

I tend to be direct. (It’s just a thing with me. In DiSC profiling, I’m a ‘results-oriented high-D’. I’m not big on wasting time. And having to read between the lines and all, well…..)

Some people like that. But a whole lot of people don’t. It’s not that I’m not compassionate or heart-centered or any of those things. I just have a tendency to be direct.

But because I’m aware that people sometimes take it as ‘manipulative or salesy or pushy’, I find myself often holding back. (Until I don’t. ha)

So I actually appreciate today that you’re saying, “Go ahead. Make the recommendation.” It’s something I needed to hear today.

Thanks!
All the best!
deb
Deb Owen´s last blog ..to find opportunity, you have to know where to look