In this post...
I share a true story that illustrates how we can save our customers and clients from the Wild, Wild West of the Internet by being authentic and real—by being Truth Tellers.
Whether you've just arrived on the Internet scene or you've been around, as I have, for 20+ years, you may someday find yourself in the same dazed state I often find myself in:
Lost and confused in the Wild, Wild West of the Internet.
It's true!
The Internet presents us with:
- An untamed frontier
- Isolated homesteads
- Small towns
- Brave men and women of diverse nationalities following the call to overspread the continent
That's just like us.
We're the brave men and women of the Internet, following the calls of our hearts, seeking to etch out homes for ourselves in an untamed, perhaps limitless, frontier.
Photo by Cayetano Gil on Unsplash
And just as the people of the original Wild, Wild West needed leaders—stand-up folks willing to point the way, lay down laws, and tell the truth—the people of the Wild, Wild West of the Internet need leaders as well.
Wayfarers. Direction pointers. Law makers. Truth Tellers.
I especially resonate with the last type—the Truth Teller.
That's what we coaches, consultants, and other experts are called to be.
We're called to be truth tellers, to speak the truth.
And that's what I love to do, as this true story illustrates.
"Thank you for ... being real about this crazy coaching Wild West world"
A client had just hired me to create email messages for her new program.
As I worked through the material, I was sorely confused.
I kept running into issue after issue.
The landing page promised one thing, but the lead magnet being delivered did not match that promise.
Certain campaign elements seemed not to fit at all—why were they there?
Add to that a general lack of clarity, and things were a mess.
Photo by Sangga Rima Roman Selia on Unsplash
Of course I had to bring this sad state of content to my client's attention—not a happy moment because she was rarin' to go.
My discoveries could only mean major delays.
Yet when I brought the issues to her attention, she was grateful, to put it mildly.
She wondered how it could be possible that dozens of people had looked at the same materials—coaches, designers, virtual assistants—yet no one, not one person except me, called these isses to light.
Were people not reading?
Were they just being "yes" men and women?
What gives?!?
After I told her the truth of my findings, my client copied me in on this email she sent to one of her coaches (edited for clarity):
Hi, after we spoke, my next conversation was with Renae, who showed up with so much magnificence and insight that we pivoted my program and now are operating on a much higher plane. I feel doubly blessed today. Thank you both for your authenticity, asking the hard questions, and being real about this crazy coaching Wild West world. I will sleep so much better tonight knowing I have two people in the world who are 'truth tellers.'
Friend, I LOVED hearing that.
And I know for a fact it's true.
Clients have been telling me this for years.
I've been doing it, unconsciously, since I was a child—questioning, seeking excellence, calling out the purveyors of shoddy products and services.
I'm a truth teller.
Someone you can turn to when you suspect something's wrong with your concepts, with your content, with your copy, but you're not sure what.
Someone you can count on to stand in for YOUR audience and readers, making sure that you're always delivering the very best content and content experiences possible.
Photo copyright Feverpitch
Everything I've shared here is true for YOU and YOUR customers and clients, too.
Your clients need you to be authentic.
They want you to ask the hard questions.
They want you to be real.
They want you to be THEIR truth teller.
And when you are ... when you show up in that way ... you'll win people's hearts and minds for life.
