Amanda McVicker:
Hello and welcome to this week's episode of the OBM educator. I'm so excited that you're here to listen to this week's episode because we are going to be talking about disappointment, which is not always the most fun topic, but I think it's a topic that does not get talked about often and as an OBM especially, but really this can apply to any type of service provider or even just in general online business owner. It is something that you are probably going to experience at some point in your business.
And being able to take a look at the disappointment that you're having, honestly approach it from an analytical or logical point of view and then dealing with it is going to help you overcome it a lot quicker than not really knowing how to deal with it.
I definitely have personal stories to share along the way, so let's get into it.
Welcome to The OBM Educator. I'm your host, Amanda McVicker, a veteran OBM who serves six and seven-figure entrepreneurs as well as educates new OBMs with the skills and confidence they need to start and grow their own successful online business management business. Follow along as I share valuable insights, behind-the-scenes, sneak peeks, and proven strategies to help you build a better OBM business.
So when we start a business or maybe when we transition into a different part of our business, there's definitely a lot of hope that we're feeling, right? We're hopeful that the business can work out. We think that it's the next right move for us and we're excited about the opportunity to do whatever it is that we're wanting to do.
So I'm going to use OBM, becoming an OBM as the example here, but again know that this can apply to pretty much anything in starting and growing a business and disappointments are going to vary. It might depend on who you are and what your values are and what you care about in your business. But struggles that you are going to have are probably going to come around your clients. So the idea of, you know, can't find a client not getting a client after you have like a discovery call, getting fired from a client, or on the other side of that, it not working out with a client and you firing them.
All of that can lead to disappointment and disillusionment in your business. And it really can, and I'm speaking from personal experience here, it really can hold you back. I talk about a lot the OBM mindset and it definitely applies to the not feeling good enough not having confidence in yourself, but it also applies to how we approach disappointment in our business. A more seasoned business owner, a more seasoned OBM is able to brush off disappointments in their business because they know that it's just part of it, right? It's just business.
And because we have our own business. We are the business. It is a personal thing when something happens like we can't find a client or we get fired. Those are things that we end up taking personally and there's definitely nothing wrong or right about that. It's just what happens. So what I'm going to be talking about today is kind of how to approach it and how to get past it because we don't want to wallow in it.
We don't want to let it hold us back. We don't want it to be the reason that we don't move forward in our business. And so going to be going over some things that you can do when things like this happen.
So when you're first starting out as an OBM, the first thing you have to do is get clients, right? And so that first disappointment can come from not being able to find clients, not being able to find people to get on a discovery call with, not finding people who will engage with you. You can feel like you're putting so much out there and you're really not getting anything in return.
And this disappointment obviously can be really disheartening if you were excited about starting your business. If you are really needing income and you're really needing this to work, it's really disheartening and discouraging if clients aren't coming through the door.
And so what can you do in that situation? From a logistical, logical side of things, I would take a step back to really look at what is it that you are doing to put yourself out there.
I think we typically overestimate the amount of marketing that we're doing, the amount of talking about our offers, talking about our services. And if you actually took a step back to look at what have you been doing to really put yourself out there? How many connections have you been making? How much marketing Instagram?
You know, posts and stories and newsletters... How much are you actually doing? Because I think that when you lay that all out and really see it on paper, chances are you are going to realize that it's a lot less than what you were thinking. And this doesn't obviously help with the getting a client part of it, but it helps in the realizing that it's not a whole bunch of efforts wasted. It's that there's not too much effort being put out there. And you can always do more effort. And more effort is typically going to get you results.
And so if you do realize that the amount of marketing that you think you're doing really isn't all that much to begin with, that's your first step. Ramp up your marketing. Really put yourself out there.
When I was first starting as an OBM, I remember in the beginning feeling like I was talking about it so much. But when I actually took a step back and I checked the archives of my Instagram, right? You can go see what days you posted what. I saw a lot of gaps. It felt like to me that I was talking a lot, but I really wasn't. And when I looked at the personal connections that I was making with other people,
It felt like a lot, but if I looked at it on paper or in my tracker, it actually really wasn't that many connections. And so once I ramped that up and realized, okay, I need to be in Facebook groups. I need to be interacting with people more. I need to be commenting on Instagram. That is when I made the connection with my first client.
Now, if you are doing a lot of marketing and you are still not finding clients, a way that you can deal with that disappointment that is more on the mindset side of things is get down on paper, write journal, whatever. Who is it that you are wanting to work with? Who is your ideal client?
What are they going through right now? Really get clear on who this person is. Now this isn't like a manifestation thing or anything like that, but if you are taking the time to see where it is that this client is, you are going to get more excited about finally serving them, to meet them where they're at, to provide them the OBM service. When you take the time to see what their story is, imagine what does a day in their life look like? You can start getting excited of all the ways that you are going to help. And so that helps with the anticipation of getting a new client, of finding a client.
And you'll also find that by doing that, it does help how you market, how you talk. Because if you can start thinking in your ideal client's brain, then you know what it is that they are looking to hear. And so that's just a good exercise anyway to write a day in the life. What is it from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed? What is it that they're feeling, they're thinking, they're struggling with, they're happy about?
Put it all out there and really think about it and then apply it to your marketing, to your services and tailor it for that specific ideal client.
So then the next thing, disappointment, would be not getting a client. So this would be, you you have a discovery caller, a sales call with a client, a potential client, and you end up not getting it.
Maybe you're talking with someone a lot and you're really excited about the potential that they could be your client. And then they let you know that they just hired someone else. That is a deep disappointment. And the first time that that happens, it really does cut deep. Because you can feel like you're having a great connection with someone and then knowing that they hired someone else, you know.
We always want to be happy for other people, for someone else getting the client, happy for them, but it is really disappointing. And so how do you deal with that disappointment?
This is when something like affirmations would really help. Journaling, all of that. So this is gonna like really help with your working on your mindset. An affirmation that I really love is what is for me will not pass me. And so the idea of that is whatever client is meant for me, will be my client. And any client who chooses to go a different direction, chooses a different service provider, they are not the client for me. the mindset shift in that is that you can be grateful. And I know that sounds hard, but you can be grateful.
When a client says no because that was not the client for you. I know it can be hard when it feels like they're the perfect client. It seems like you guys got along really well. But what is for you will not pass you a client after a sales call discovery I would really encourage you to journal on it.
Write affirmations to yourself in the mindset that that client was not for me. I wish them best on their journey, but I know that I have a better client out there for me.
And this kind of goes into the next thing, that if you start working with a client that maybe you saw red flags in the sales call but ended up ignoring them, you might find that you have a client that it is not working out with and that you do not want to continue with.
So then you have the disappointment of it not working out with a client.
You have to figure out what it is that you're going to be doing. Are you going to stay with that client? Are you going to let that client go? Are you going pass it on to a team member?
But there is disappointment that comes with things not working out. And this type of disappointment really makes you think you did something wrong, that your judgment was not good that you chose a client that was not the right fit.
And that's a really hard disappointment to get over.
I remember in my business about a year in, was not having good luck with clients. was starting, I was in a massive period of growth. I started with a bunch of new clients in the span of a few months and it just was not working out with any of them.
And I had to make the difficult decision to let them go, know, some of them even just after the month trial that we were on. And some of them, you know, after four months or nine them go and dealing with the disappointment afterwards. There really was a point, I remember thinking like, I'm just not good at this. I'm not good at figuring out who my client should be. And that's really hard.
And so when you're figuring out how to deal with that type of disappointment, this one also can benefit from some affirmations and some journaling. You see a pattern here.
But you can write affirmations that are like, learned from all of my decisions. It's not that every decision is right, but you learn from all of them.
Every client that does not work out is a learning opportunity, is a growth opportunity for you to know who it is that you do want to work with. For every client that it didn't work out for me, I now had a new list that told me who is it that I do want to work with.
Now a practical thing that you can do is from that list, it right down. What is it that did not work? Was it personality? Was it the type of business? What was it that made you realize that this was not the client for you? And when you have that list,
Make that your no-go list, right? Add to it as you work with people, as you see things in the online space. What is it that is a no-go? That when you see it in a sales call, when you see it in a potential lead, that you're like, this actually really is not the right fit for me. And that can help you make better decisions going forward.
And then on the flip side of that, the last one, the last disappointment I'm going to talk about is the getting fired. And I saved this one for last because it really can be gut wrenching. I personally have been fired once from a client
And while it definitely was the best decision for both of us, eventually they might have become a client that I would have let go anyway, but at the moment when it happened, I felt like the biggest failure.
And I think that this one can be really hard to come back from, especially if you have current clients, right? Because it's like you get fired or let go, but you still have to show up for other clients. And it can be really hard. It's kind of like how if you make a mistake, sometimes it gets compounded because your mindset is off.
And so if you end up getting fired from a client, this is a really great opportunity to, you guessed it, journal on it, and really write down everything that it is that you're feeling. Maybe you want to write out what it is that led up to this point. Remember, everything is a learning opportunity. You could have been fired for, you know, the business owner was going through a transition and didn't make sense to keep you anymore. You could have been fired for making a big mistake or making multiple mistakes.
You could have been fired like with me. was just the services that I was providing were not really what she was thinking. And so there was confusion on both sides. There's always something that you can take from it to learn for next time.
And so the big takeaway from all of these things is don't let it hold you back. Easier said than done, 100%. But find a way, whether it's through journaling, affirmations, talking out loud, know, word vomiting to someone in the industry.
Find a way to get it all out and move beyond it. Because when you are wallowing in it, when you are moping around in the disappointment, it's going to be compounded.
And for some of these things, they might compound on each other, right? I can't find a client, I'm disappointed about that, so I'm not putting myself out there anymore to find a client.
I didn't get the client from that sales call, so I'm not even going to do sales calls anymore. I got fired because I made a big mistake and now I'm making other mistakes in my other clients' businesses. So you want to be able to move beyond it so that you can get to the other side and use everything as knowledge as you're working through your business.
We all want a business that is perfect. We want a business that does well, that has a bunch of clients, that never has any problem at all, and that is just not realistic. We're going to have disappointments at every level from beginning to end. And so learning how to overcome that disappointment is going to go a long way in helping the longevity of your business and helping you not get burnt out.
I hope this episode was helpful for you. I would love it if you would leave a review, share it with someone who you think needs to hear this message.
And I will talk with you guys next week. Bye.
Thanks for joining me for this episode of The OBM Educator. I hope what you heard today is helpful for you in your OBM journey. If you loved today's episode I would so appreciate you sharing it and leaving a review on your favorite podcast platform. Want to be a guest on The OBM Educator? Fill out the form in the show notes and I'll be in touch. Join us next time on The OBM Educator.