Actual Responses I've Sent to Clients
Last week, I had two opportunities with different clients to share a bit about my philosophy and what I feel is my role as a coach...
One was to talk about patience.
The other was to talk about guarantees.
Here, I'm including the responses for you to read, because when I read them aloud to my husband before I clicked "send", he said, "You should post both of those. They're messages more than your two clients need to hear."
My Email Response 1: When a client wants to see big results fast. I mean, don't we all?
Hey {AWESOME CLIENT},
I wanted to send you this episode of Gary Vee's podcast in response to your last email about monetization. Now, please keep in mind that I've been hesitant for years to jump on the Gary Vee/Tony Robbins bandwagon, so I listened to this reluctantly, but then realized there were incredibly valuable elements that were perfect to share with you now...
First, lemme say that I hear you. I hear you've invested a lot and that you want to see a return on your investment of time, energy, intention, and money!
Now, it's time for a little reality check and a tiny bit of tough love, because I'd be doing you a disservice as a coach if I didn't offer this info...
Social media makes it seem like fortunes are super quick to have and attain. What those business owners aren't telling you is how much they invested or how long it took to get there — in my one year of launching this iteration of my business, I've spent over $20K on coaches and business programs alone, not to mention my operational costs, so I know it hurts to "bleed money."
What you're doing now is building your dreams to life. And, given that I don't know your personal financial situation, here's what I can speak to and that this podcast episode also speaks to:
You've gotta make a decision if this truly is your passion. If it is, you've gotta commit to both the hustle and the surrender.
Right now, you get to decide if this is a hobby you want to monetize or if this is a bigger vision of you truly taking a stand to bring back art in all its amazing glory for the greater public and the greater good, as you've told me.
If it's the former, then it's going to be easy to get knocked off course when results don't seem to materialize in the ways you want them or as quickly as you do.
If it's the latter, then you have to have a long-view, rather than a short one, because every entrepreneur (even in this podcast) will share how they failed and kept at it until they got it right.
You'll make offers people won't respond to. You'll put things out there and hear crickets. And then you'll find your flow, serendipity and magic start to appear in greater volume, and then you're off and running.
You have a platform right now. We're building you a bigger one. We're getting you opportunities for relationship-building, because the best success isn't necessarily continually attracting more and more people, but in optimizing the audience you have. Smaller investments with your existing audience bring bigger ones. People are more likely to buy from you, if they've bought from you before, which is why the small online course or another "tripwire" to start with.
The more exposure we get you on interviews, YouTube tutorials and press (which mostly involve your time and energy rather than getting paid), the better the platform we build for you speaking your truth about what you love and why you love it, and then more amazing opportunities come, like getting PAID to speak and teach, getting PAID as an influencer, getting PAID to share your skills and knowledge.
There are big audiences you haven't yet tapped into, and if you already knew how everything was going to turn out without leaps of faith, your dream isn't big enough.
Listen to this podcast, especially the part about the business you have now and the one you're building. Hear what they say about how they structured their businesses, especially at the 30-min mark, and what it took, with everything from real gratitude to visualization to being the tortoise with patience over being the hare.
Let me know what you think. I hope this is helpful and know that I'm championing your BIGGEST dreams and the visions you may not even have stepped into yet, but that which I hear your soul is calling for.
I'm always here with an open heart, willing conversation, and accepting mind.
Big love (in tiny and big portions),
Judy
My Email Response 2: When a client asks about what kind of guarantees I can offer.
Aloha {AWESOME CLIENT},
Thanks so much for reaching out for clarity!
First, I want to say that I genuinely appreciate the questions you're asking — they're elevating my integrity in growing my business, and I'm beyond grateful for that.
Now, here's what I'd like to say to your question about what kind of return I tell my clients they can expect...
You're right that there isn't something as cut and dry in that I can guarantee you'll get featured in various publications within a certain timeframe. In fact, I make it a point in my business to not guarantee anything that involves factors beyond my control, which in a partnership such as yours, range from editorial timelines and various media requirements, all the way to client participation. To do so would jeopardize the foundation of my business, because there's no way I can control all of those moving parts.
What I can indeed guarantee is that I commit to my clients' success wholeheartedly. I put more than 100% of my effort, and the results my clients experience – from personal growth to professional outcomes – are stellar. I personally went from being out of the publishing, marketing, and PR world for two years to be with my daughter and when I came back into the work force, I began to earn six figures from marketing & branding consulting within three months, as well as offered a full-time position from one of my marketing clients in ATX.
What I can also tell you are experiences my past and present clients have had:
- My client, Kara, got a personal response from Arianna Huffington after I shared with her my pitch templates.
- My client, Silke, got onto a podcast interview after I taught her how to pitch, as well as got her articles published in elephant journal after my edits. She also received a personal response from editors at The Washington Post, as well as a response from Arianna Huffington to become a relationship expert contributor in Thrive Global.
- My client, Cheryl, earns almost half a million dollars annually as a healthcare consultant and used my branding suggestions to book herself an interview on EOFire.
- My client, Karleigh, took my strategic suggestions to reframe her business offerings and is now attracting new clients for her coaching practice.
- A client from six years ago recently sent me a video text message to say that working together was one of the best times of her life and she thinks of me often, for the profound healing effect it had on her life — she was able to navigate her anxiety and panic so much that she could become a mother.
- My latest client, Kate, called two of my existing clients to hear their honest feedback, after which she immediately signed up.
These clients invested in me and are seeing phenomenal results they're all willing to share testimonials on.
Most importantly, all my clients can expect real integrity and absolute honesty — if I don't know something, I'll tell you, and even more so, I'll do my damnedest to figure it out, because I'm a perpetual learner and I thrive on being as capable as I can possibly be.
While I'm absolutely championing your success, I also wholeheartedly believe that every agreement I enter into should be done so with the fullest of confidence. I hope I've answered your questions and look forward to your decision. Any offers I make with special customized pricing expire within a 7-day timeframe to ensure that both parties have the clarity and energetic freedom to move forward either way.
You're welcome to take as much time to reflect, because I'm definitely open to working together so long as I have the bandwidth!
Mahalo,
Judy
