Someone I love very much sometimes asks for help with training challenges that need untangling in his business. I start asking a lot of questions. He asks: Can’t you just solve it? And - Why do I have to to be involved? Other clients might be thinking the same thing but aren’t as comfortable confronting me.
Here’s why:
- Your small business is your baby. Nobody experiences the challenges the way you do. Nobody feels the pain as acutely as you do. If I guess instead of learning from you, my suggestions might make no sense for your situation. I will have wasted effort and you’ll have wasted money.
- You have to be willing to invest some time with me up front, so I can know what’s bothering you most, and whether my first ideas resonate before I dive deeper.
In addition to saving you money, this investment saves you time and stress in the long run.
- Time: I will teach someone else how to do something you do yourself now. I will take writing off your plate.
- Stress: I will provide resources for your people to do things by themselves without having to ask you. I will help organize your thoughts and content into presentations and lessons so onboarding a new staff member or customer is a consistent process.
If you become MY client I promise you a friendly partnership experience as long as you can spare a little time for me to identify your challenges with precision.
Photo crediti in part: Pexels - Matheus Bertelli
Why Training from the Vendor Isn't enough
Management is introducing a new system for doing an important task in your small business. Expected impact - cheaper, faster, easier. There is resistance. People had just gotten the hang of the old way. They’re afraid they’ll make mistakes. And what’s in it for them? The vendor from the new system comes for “training”, which looks like showing every single feature including the ones only 2 people might use. People look disengaged and can’t wait to go back to their desks and secretly do it the old way.
I partner with Management and Subject Matter Experts to identify which features of the new system can make each person’s job better. I design and deliver customized, individualized training and stick with each person until they feel confident, brave, their questions answered. The result? They actually adopt the new system that Leadership just invested in and may even be excited about it!
PowerPoint Content Makeover TIP
If you want your audience to excitedly ENGAGE with your program, your slides should use words that INVITE THEM IN.
In a recent client presentation,
I changed this:
· Some of the many resources & guides we offer to further support our clients (accompanied by a bulleted list)
To this:
· Resources and Tools for Your Coaching Journey (accompanied by photos of those tools)
Small, subtle changes, but now, an audience member can imagine themselves ENGAGING with those tools, instead of reading a bulleted list and wondering: How do you support ME?
Updating your website content doesn't have to be a wrecking ball experience.
It doesn’t mean you’ll have to start over from the beginning.
I screenshot small sections of your website and review them one at a time.
- Is the content necessary?
- If so, does it belong here or should it be on a different page?
- Can I make it more concise?
My feedback, draft rewrites, and suggestions for that small section go underneath.
Sometimes I’ll say a section is good as is!
Paced. Not overwhelming.
Want to refresh your content?
Have you ever thought, "It'll be faster if I just do it myself"?
When you're the only one who can operate an area of your business, whether it's a technical process or using an industry software, that creates a big liability.
What if you’re out sick? Or on vacation?
I work with clients to translate the knowledge in their heads into clear, design-forward documentation that makes sense for the task that has to get done.
I’ll help you go on vacation knowing work can continue without you.