Well, it’s been quite a year this week, hasn’t it??
Things are changing quickly. You’re watching the news as it happens. Your inbox is full of emails from companies you haven’t heard from in over a decade, telling you how they’re taking steps to protect you and their products during this difficult time.
(I mean, I was wondering how my childhood dentist is handling COVID-19…)
Your feed is full of hastily written messages that somehow ring hollow:
“Now more than ever, we need to pull together.”
“The world needs __________, especially now.”
“In times of crisis, we have to _________.”
Almost as if everyone is in a rush to be the FIRST to turn this into a positive, but optimism feels manufactured, since we don’t know what’s ahead.
Also, you’re trying to run a business, and you’re unsure what that looks like right now. And so you turn to resources. And to content. (And right now there is SO. MUCH. CONTENT.)
I’m giving you permission to step away from the content other people are generating, and to start LEADING.
WE… you, and I, … WE are going to be the adults in the room. WE are going to get to work.
When we worked for other people, we could look to the leaders to answer the question: what now?
But as business owners, there is no one else to give us permission or tell us where to go. We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.
And as I mentioned on the Facebook Live I did on Friday in the Smart Gets Paid: B2B Consultants and Coaches Circle… how you show up right now, in this moment… is what will define you as a leader.
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As the adult in the room, you have to make decisions.
Do I show up? Or do I shrink back?
Do I operate from a place of courage? Or from fear?
Do I do what is necessary for my family and me? Or do I do what I think everyone else will be doing?
Because I believe firmly in transparency, I wanted to share with you some business decisions I made this week — and the reasoning behind those decisions.
I’m hoping this will help you to make smart decisions for yourself.
Decision #1: The next cohort of the PYP Accelerator is moving forward.
Last weekend, I felt like something shifted, and we suddenly saw a reality that was much more uncertain.
And in times of uncertainty, we have a tendency to go dark. To recede. But that’s the exact opposite of what we need to be doing right now.
What you need is to be visible. Because otherwise, you’ll be invisible. Let’s break that down.
Your clients are still looking for solutions. They’re still hiring. Two of my students signed major clients this week.
The massive changes in routine that clients are all making …they aren’t designed to shut down business. They’re designed so that business can continue.
But the thing is, your clients don’t make snap decisions. When they hire you, it’s after they go through an internal education process, and the vast majority of that process happens behind the scenes, where you don’t see it. They’re watching you, consuming your content, reading your posts, and learning about how you can solve the problem they have.
If you don’t show up now — if you refuse to be visible — you will be completely invisible when your clients are ready to move forward.
On the other hand, if you get visible now, then in a few months, when all of this is behind us, you will be well ahead of the curve. While others are just restarting, you’ll be signing contracts and kicking off projects.
But that only happens if you put in the work and get visible now.
The PYP Accelerator teaches you how to do exactly that, in a way that provides value, establishes your expertise, and helps your clients go through that education process with you. It is exactly what will prepare you to not only weather this time, but be in a better position when things go back to normal. We owe it to our clients to move forward with it.
We get started tomorrow, Monday, March 23rd at 2 pm ET. If you’d like to learn more about it, there’s a link at the end of this email.
Decision #2: We’re accelerating the launch of The Smart Gets Paid Podcast
Earlier this week I reached out to every past and current client, inviting them to jump on the phone if they needed to talk through anything.
And in those calls, I heard that you need practical guidance you can use right now. The Smart Gets Paid podcast is one of the best ways for me to get you that information. So we’re fast-tracking production and working to get episodes out to you. This is one way I can be of service to you.
In this podcast, you’ll be able to listen in on real coaching sessions as I help clients solve the sales challenges that they’re facing, and you’ll learn strategies you can use in your own business, with your own clients.
It’s not easy to launch a new thing, even when everything is working perfectly. There are additional challenges now, including the fact that many of us have kids and families who are now sharing our space.
But it would be disingenuous for me to tell YOU to show up and be visible and not to live that value myself.
I also had to remind myself that I have a team of people who rely on me for income. I need to keep paying them, and in order to do that, I need to continue producing valuable content and serving my audience. So I’m showing up in all the ways I can because I have a responsibility to you, my family, and my team.
Decision #3: We’re adding additional resources to our programs while making them more accessible.
If you’re a Pack Your Pipeline graduate, you already know that you can join the PYP Accelerator again at no charge – this is a benefit of joining PYP. (If you’re a PYP grad and want to join this class, email team@smartgetspaid.com and we’ll send you the details).
For this Accelerator, we’re adding a special bonus Painkiller Workshop, where we’ll turn your messaging from vitamin (nice to have, but easy to delay buying)… into a painkiller (the thing that solves your clients’ acute pains and is a must-have).
We’ve also extended our payment plans to a full 8 months to make it easier for you to balance your many financial obligations.
Additionally, in the B2B Coaches and Consultants Circle Facebook group, we’re running additional free trainings. Last week, we talked about the very specific, practical things you can do right now to move your business forward and this week we talked about what to do with the clients who are already in your pipeline, given everything that’s going on.
Please know that I am thinking about you and your business and what you need all the time. You are top of mind for me right, and if you need anything, I encourage you to reach out. Even if you just hit reply to tell me you’re okay, I’d be grateful to hear from you.
Stay healthy — and wash your hands!
xo,
Leah
