Every journey begins at the same starting point — right here, right now, with the amalgamation of our strengths, resources, and, yes, even our limitations and perceived deficits. It’s not about what we don’t have; it’s about what we do have and, more importantly, how we use it.

Shifting Your Mindset: Finding Your Ideal Client

I’ve seen many entrepreneurs struggle with the notion, “I don’t know anyone who wants to buy this,” or “I don’t want to feel pushy.” But here’s the game-changer: Your ideal clients are everywhere, and guess what? They’re actively searching for you. They’re eager to find the solution to a problem that only you hold the keys to solving.

As the age-old saying goes, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” If you’re spiraling down the rabbit hole of self-doubt, remember: you are different, and that’s your strength. You’re just as capable and resourceful as anyone else out there.

The minute you embrace this fact, the world of possibilities opens up to you! So, start engaging with your potential clients, sending them messages and establishing a connection.  And as you do so, understand this…

Every response, every bit of feedback — whether positive or not — is a valuable learning opportunity.

Embracing Feedback: The Key to Iteration

Remember, feedback is not synonymous with failure. Instead, it’s a tool for improvement, a guidepost to refine your offering until it’s nothing short of excellent.

But if YOU are sending out messages to potential customers or even current customers and not getting any type of response… it’s time to get curious. It could be as simple as a timing issue. Maybe you sent it out at a time when people weren’t paying attention (this seems to especially happen during the summer months!) and you could resend the note with a quick message like this — Hey, just wanted to make sure you saw this.

It could also mean that the tone of your communication isn’t creating the desired impression.

The Power of Perspective: A Holiday Anecdote

Let me share a personal experience that showcases HOW you message and respond to your customers or potential customers can make ALL the difference for your business.

Over this past holiday season, I was working closely with our support teams at Live Your Message. We were focusing on our brand voice, a challenging task considering the volume of emails they handle daily. Their aim was to streamline the process, efficiently responding to as many queries as possible. However, this objective contrasted sharply with the expectations of those reaching out for support, seeking a quick and personalized response.

So what I noticed and the feedback that I gave was that the messages they were sending were from the perspective of the support department, which is what they needed the customer to do in order to be able to support them. 

However, when you’re receiving that kind of message, which is their agenda versus the agenda of the person writing in, it doesn’t feel aligned, it doesn’t feel like a match. And so I’m trying to support everyone on the team to actually create what I call a customer-first tone and a customer-first set of messaging. 

So rather than writing from our perspective of what we want this person to do, we write from the perspective of responding to why they wrote in to begin with. And I want to share the message and why it kind of ruffled my feathers (then, I’ll dive into how I’d quickly rewrite it to meet customers where they’re at)…

Hi [First Name],

First, thanks for your email.

Our first response time is up to 24 hours average. However, please note that as Live Your Message was closed December 20 to 31, 2022, you may experience extended wait times for a reply from the team while we work to catch up.

If you have emailed us and have not received a reply, please accept our apologies, the team will be in touch just as soon as they can.

You can help us help you by sending all of your replies about your request in the same email thread, instead of sending a new email about each issue, because that’ll create separate tickets that may or may not be answered by the same agents.

Please also be sure to check your spam and junk folders for missed messages from our team. Lastly, don’t forget to check Facebook often for important updates about your program.

We thank you in advance for your patience. Happy new year, may it bring abundant opportunities for gratitude and celebration for you. 

So when I read this, the tone and spirit of the message was basically: stop bothering us. 

It’s instructional but also transactional. You just did something. And now we do something. And we’re in this transactional game. 

And for me, that’s a zero-sum game. It’s not relational. It’s not connection-based. And I understand where the support team is coming from — they’re getting a lot of messages, and they want to keep it under control. But this is actually compounding the issue. When people don’t feel seen or heard or understood, they’re actually going to start reaching out more.

Which is why I wanted to share this quick story… because you might be inadvertently writing from the perspective of what you want your customers or potential customers to do, how you want them to behave and how you want them to respond versus meeting them where they’re at in that particular moment.  

And I think there’s a way to not only rephrase this message but rephrase every single message you send. Because every message, every single touchpoint is a moment of transformation.

And when someone writes into your business, they’re actively engaging with you as a company. And that’s precious.

So shifting that message even just 20% to speak to that moment will make a huge difference.

I think of how just a minor shift could have made that person feel so much better about Live Your Message as a company and more inspired to continue their relationship with us. 

So we lost this opportunity of interaction. 

Make Every Single Interaction Count: Shift From Your Agenda to Theirs

So, you might be wondering: Marisa, how would you revise that message just 20% to better meet that person where they’re at? Here’s how I’d do it… 

Hi, happy holidays and thanks so much for your message. We can’t wait to get back to you and support you in however you need support. Just a few things to be aware of, we are just returning from holiday. And just like I’m hoping you had some quality time with your family, we were doing the same over here. 

So, we are so very appreciative of your patience and again, we can’t wait to get back to you and support you in however you need. (FYI – We’ve shared some super fun and relevant updates in the Facebook group… so definitely check those out if you haven’t yet :))

Happy new year, may it bring abundant opportunities for gratitude and celebration for you. 

So it’s just this subtle shift from my agenda to their agenda. It feels like a real person talking to a real person. 

However, the first message (the one our support team sent out) is so, so common. And often, it’s the difference between something that gets a response and something that doesn’t — something that creates warmth and connection and something that doesn’t. 

And I believe that every message is an opportunity to create and build that powerful connection! 

So, I want you to try something…

Go back and read the messages you’re sending out (whether that’s email, direct messages, whatever it happens to be) and ask yourself this:

Are you trying to get them to respond in the way you want them to respond and on your timeline? Or are you meeting them where they’re at? 

Because every touchpoint with a potential or existing customer is a moment of transformation. A message is not just a means to an end, it’s an opportunity to build a long-lasting and meaningful connection.

And in today’s AI-dominated world, human connection is precious!

But before you go… I wanted to invite you to my FREE Amazing Lead Magnet Challenge!

If you’ve ever struggled to create a Lead Magnet that converts hordes of “lookers” into buyers, then join us for the FREE, 5-Day Amazing Lead Magnet Challenge, happening February 5-9!

I only do this Challenge for FREE once a year so don’t miss it 🙂 Click to save your spot.