Pivot Your Practice To Flourish in The Future — Authenticity Check: Are You Delivering What You Promise or Just Pretending To?
Authenticity is a buzzword that you may get sick of hearing yet it’s a really strong concept wrapped into one single word.
That one word describes the level of honesty and truthfulness associated with a brand or a business. And of any business your coaching or therapeutic one has to be authentic, honest, truthful and feel safe to people who may become clients.
If you are truly authentic, your true personality will shine through your marketing materials and methods; your business practices will match your core values and mission statement. Authentic coaches and therapists deliver what they promise and really commit to doing their half of the agreement between themselves and their clients.
So, how does one become authentic? As a solopreneur coach, it really shouldn’t be hard to let your unique personality shine through. When you show your true colours, you will naturally attract a tribe of clients and past clients who relate to you and who want to hear what you have to say. At a business level that means they will be ready to purchase your products. People who are new on your database because they have expressed an interest in some free offering you have made need to get to know more of you and like what you represent and then they too will become loyal customers (provided you deliver what you promise).
Let’s check your authenticity levels:
1. Do you prefer to be honest or to spin a story to avoid unpleasantness? No one likes to find themselves in the centre of a muddle or a communication foul up, or on the receiving end of a tongue-lashing from an irate client but your level of honesty will greatly dictate how clients react. If you’re honest about a mistake, clients will likely understand whereas if you start spinning a story and seem to distance yourself from the problem, they may see you as uncaring and only out to make money. In the case of a supportive, developmental or therapeutic relationship mistakes can assume very large proportions because they are even more distressing to a client. So an authentic, genuine, empathic and respectful response from you is essential. So are you ready and prepared for that? Let your integrity shine through hat shine through.
2. Do you truly care about your clients or are you more focused right now on making some money? Be honest. These are tough times. My guess is that for many of us both are true. We genuinely care about the client and we also want to have some of their money coming in. That’s OK. You are giving value and clients will pay for that. Clients are smart; they will sense any inconsistencies and will call you out on bad experiences related to your service. My experience as a client as well as a therapist is that the service itself is usually very dedicated and warm but the admin back up and management of invoices, accounts and digital communication can be shambolic! Be honest — could that be you?
Caring about your clients means you will make their process with you as easy as possible in addition to creating products and service packages that solve their problems. This adds a human (aka authentic) touch to their experience which can lead them to becoming loyal customers. Think about it — how do you do this?
3. Have you identified your core values and mission statement? Both of these items are important cornerstones to your coaching and therapeutic business. Who do you want to help and how do you plan to do that? What core values are most important to you? How will you express those core values to your clients? Incorporating these values into your communications (and into how you make these communications) will attract your tribe to you and will contribute to the heartfelt experience I mentioned above.
In the end, authenticity involves being your true self, not developing a persona that you think your ideal clients want to see. You’re not an actor taking on different roles nor are you a politician spinning stories to gain votes. You’re a coach or therapist developing a business to serve your needs and your clients’. It has to be based on truthfulness and genuineness. The quickest way to do that is by letting your true self shine through everything. What do you stand for, what do you stand against, what is your mission…. Let us all know.
Rejuvenate Your Mind and Your Business with My Latest Workshop, Mindset Reset
If you’re in a funk with your business and wondering why you’re working so hard and being unduly upset by some of your clients; it’s time for a Mindset Reset. This is my newest 4-lesson home study workshop where we will take action to ditch everything and everyone that brings you down; count your blessings every day; learn to love the real you and let him or her shine; and give your business a makeover so you can fall in love with it all over again. Each lesson contains an Action Plan to help you implement a better way everyday. There is a waiting list at the moment so join me using the link below and you will be the first to know when I run this.
This is a series for coaches and therapists who are passionate about their work and their clients but struggling to find a way to make things work post-Covid as clients melt away and money becomes an issue for most people.
This is a time when most of us are scared. Nothing is known or predictable and many of us are dithering about what to do. Trouble is that scare can derail your business success with your practice. Therapists and coaches who are successful are people who have learned to do two things. One is be flexible enough to pivot their business to what will work now — and the other is to break through enough of the fear barriers to get productive again.
Need More Happiness, Freedom and Success? Join My Free Webinars…
If you want quick and easy steps to setting yourself up for a safe and happy future doing the work you love, join me for my free webinars. I usually give at least 5 tips for moving forward and implementing in ways that will move you forward in all of my webinars. Each is about a certain angle on the issue. They, on their own will have an immediate effect on your mood and your outlook on life with your business. Get off the hamster wheel and take some time for yourself with my webinars, learn and act, learn and act — that’s the way to start flourishing. Join my list and be the first to know when I’m live online. https://forms.aweber.com/form/76/1704509576.htm
“Just imagine if the next 5 years is like the last 5 years? How are you keeping yourself financially secure, happy and living your life of purpose by helping other people succeed?”
Elizabeth specializes in helping you Get Your Coaching or Therapy Practice Back On Track. Sign up for her highly-acclaimed free challenges and webinars to find out how to Pivot that Practice to FutureProof Yourself.
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