Latest / Callum Walker | Figuring It Out / Episode 49 - Here's What To Do When A Client Tells You They're Leaving

Transcript

Episode 49 - Here's What To Do When A Client Tells You They're Leaving · Callum Walker | Figuring It Out

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: If fear is the only thing stopping us from achieving our dreams and we only fear what we don't understand, then the antidote to fear is knowledge. All we have to do is find out who
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: has the knowledge that we need to conquer our fears and achieve our entrepreneurial dreams. My name is Callum Walker, and welcome to the podcast that will help you figure it out and conquer this lonely entrepreneurial journey. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the podcast. Today, I have got a brand new microphone. I've got a brand new microphone.
• 0:38
  I've got this fluffy thing here, which is supposed to be some form of wind defense or something. But the main reason why I've got my new microphone is so I can improve the quality of the audio while I'm driving. But also as an efficiency perspective, what I normally do is with all of my episodes is when the audio isn't particularly great because I'm either on a walk and you can hear my keys jangling around, or I'm driving and you can just hear all of the, you know, the stuff that's going on in the car. I then go and like use an AI tool to go and enhance it. But that probably takes about ten minutes.
• 1:18
  Now that might not sound a lot, but if I'm doing 10 episodes, that's a hundred minutes. That is ninety minutes. And that is ninety minutes that I would rather be doing something else. Not that I don't want to speak to you lovely people because actually that is exactly what I would love to do more of. That is a 100 episodes, more podcast episodes that you guys could have.
• 1:40
  But anyway, today, something's pissed me off. Really really pissed me off. Know, what I'm going to kinda share with you is, you know, a tool and a tactic to make sure that when things do piss you off in your business, which they will. Whether it's a client, whether it is a prospective client, or whether it's something else. Whether it's the tax man, for example, call you up and just feeding you a pack of lies.
• 2:11
  This is a tool and a tactic that you have at your disposal and a mindset that you can adopt at your disposal to make sure that when something doesn't piss you off, when something pisses you off, it doesn't spiral because that's the real kind of problem. You know, I learned this from my brother. I'm sure he got it from somewhere else, but but he he always said, like, remember, Cal, it's not a bad day. It was just a bad moment. Not a bad day, just a bad moment.
• 2:40
  But the problem is that we can make that bad moment into a bad day by lingering on it, by holding on to it. So yeah. So long story short, I'm not gonna get crazy into what happened but someone has let me down immensely. Let me down immensely. And off the back of that then that has stopped me from being able to do something that I was really looking forward to do and move forward with things.
• 3:06
  Now in a past life, I would have really really kind of taken that to heart. It stung but then I'd have carried it on and it would have gone into a bad day. Does this make sense? So, you know, if I look at like previous examples of things like this, you know, when you have a client who leaves you, naturally your first instinct is, you know, maybe an element of rejection but also an element of panic of like, that's money I'm not getting in next month. That's probably the biggest example that I can kinda use.
• 3:39
  Whether it's like, you know, you run a sales call for example, and someone's like, yeah yeah yeah yeah. I'm in I'm in I'm in. And then they hit you with the let me think about it and all of this bollocks and they go, yeah, really appreciate your time but I'm not gonna do it. Like those those used to be like, and still are pretty frustrating when that happens. But just remember, and this is something that I learned from Mo Gowda around happiness.
• 4:02
  There's a great book called Soul for Happy. I definitely would recommend it. It was really around like happiness, feeling happy and content, etcetera. And basically, he was saying that we are only unhappy when our reality does not meet our expectations. So I'm gonna say that again.
• 4:24
  We are unhappy when our reality does not meet our expectations. So when you're expecting something to happen but that specific thing doesn't happen the way that you expected it to go, that's when we get unhappy. So why am I kind of telling you that now? Well again, like you know, let's say a client drops off. You're not expecting to receive that text message or what it's normally a text message.
• 4:51
  They never do it over a call. But receive that text message for example saying that I'm gonna leave you. You know, that you don't expect when that person is on a sales call and they're like, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. I'm in. You're then not expecting them to then go let me think about it.
• 5:08
  So the problem is that the thing that you don't expect to happen when that happens, that's what rocks you. So by understanding that, that's how we can ensure that it doesn't snowball because remember it's just a bad moment, it's not a bad day. So when I got it was a text message actually today. When of course Yeah. When I got that text message of that person letting me down, I was really really excited about what was happening.
• 5:36
  I'd also they they had to cancel on the call that we had as immediately what happened was that emotionally, I was just like for fuck's sake. They were, I really appreciate your time. I'm like, well, you obviously don't appreciate my time because you've canceled on me the same day and you've also now caused a snowball of things that I've now gotta fucking deal with and I've now gotta do. So obviously, you don't appreciate my time because otherwise, you would have done this days ago or you would have called me up as opposed to a text message of being a coward. Yeah?
• 6:08
  So that happens. K? So the the point I'm kinda come at is that that was my initial reaction. That was my initial reaction. And previously, before I'd done a lot of mindfulness and also adopted this technique and mentality, that would have snowballed.
• 6:28
  That would have snowballed into the remainder of the day that I would have dragged that out. I would have carried that with me. But it's accepting first of all going like, what? It's not a bad day. It's just a bad moment.
• 6:40
  But then the other thing is that I think that what really really kinda like jars us is that we almost don't come to a place of acceptance that this is the new reality. So again, I come back to like, you know, we're unhappy when our reality doesn't meet our expectations. So the problem is that like we go and have that specific event happen and we almost continue functioning with under the illusion of the same sort of reality. Does that make sense? So to overcome it, it's not necessarily kind of going like, right, I'm gonna roll over and die.
• 7:17
  It's accepting that, oh okay, I've been presented with a new situation here. I have been presented with a new situation, a different situation. So for example, let's say that your client sends you a message and they drop off. Now an initial reaction can be almost kind of like to emotionally just turn to a puddle. Turn to a puddle, roll over and die.
• 7:41
  Internally, you just wanna be like, how dare you fucking leave me? Like I've put my heart and soul into coaching you and you obviously don't fucking appreciate it and blah blah blah. Good luck in the future. Okay? That's the internal thing.
• 7:53
  Maybe sometimes you can react a bit emotionally and actually you ain't going to say those sorts of things. Please don't ever do that. Don't ever do that because when clients leave, clients can also come back. Also clients that leave you have also served for me as a source of referrals. So remember, like, don't wanna burn a bridge.
• 8:14
  We don't need to burn the bridge. Okay? So the point I'm coming at is that when they text you and they say, oh, I've got a car. I'm gonna leave you. Okay?
• 8:23
  We now have to change up our expectations because we need to change up our we need to accept that we have a new reality. We have to accept that like, okay, I have a new reality which means I need to deal with this very very differently now. So when that client then says, I'm gonna leave you, k, this is an opportunity to do two things. You can roll over, die, turn into an emotional puddle, and spend the rest of the day kinda wallowing and being like, I fucking hate that person and blah blah blah. Okay?
• 8:56
  Or you can accept that, okay, they're sending me a message that they're going to leave me but I can still salvation this. I can still resolve this. I can still come to a place of salvation off the back of it. There's been many a time when I've had a client who said that they're going to leave me, then say, hey, absolutely not a problem. Why don't we just have like, a little chat?
• 9:18
  Let's understand exactly what's going on, and yeah, and we can finish things off. Not a problem. So I jump on a call, and then it's effectively like a resales call. And there's been many a time, more time than not, when a client has told me that they're going to leave me, I then jump on a call with them. They've actually ended up staying on the program because it was just something that they weren't happy with.
• 9:36
  K? There was something they weren't happy with and it just needed tweaking and amending. And off the back of that, we had that conversation and then they come on board. So it's not always lost. The same with when a client says, let me think about it.
• 9:49
  Again, you know, it's just taking a breath and going, okay, right now I'm in a different situation. K? I'm in a different situation and I need to change up the way in which I'm selling here. I've been presented with objections and now I need to go from a place of selling to a place of closing. Now, how else can this help you?
• 10:07
  Well, I think you have to have an immense amount of self awareness here because when I got that text message today, 11:00, my immediate reaction was emotional. And I was just I was more angry than I normally would be. But I had self awareness to go like, okay. I'm additionally angry because I'm also tired. And if I respond right now, monkey brain is going to respond.
• 10:33
  K? This person doesn't need a response from me immediately. They don't need a response from me immediately. And if they do get a response immediately, it's going to be monkey brain because I'm tired. So I'm gonna finish off the task that I'm currently doing, and then what I did was I had a nap.
• 10:50
  I had a twenty minute nap, and it's amazing because soon as my eyes shut, I had a little nap, but not only did I start to feel more refreshed and rejuvenated, but then also the answer kinda came to me as to how I should deal with this new situation. So it allowed me to go, okay, right. I've just created a little bit of space here between when I got that message and where I am now. I've had a nap, so physiologically I'm in a better space, then also I've had a little bit of time to process, see that I've got a new situation and a new way in which I need to kinda go and do things, and then I was presented with a new solution. And that solution was far more productive than the destructive solution that monkey brain gave me when I was emotional.
• 11:34
  Does that make sense? So first of all, what we need to do is create a a gap between that. So whenever you have any form of emotional stimulus hit you, yeah, like you can choose how you respond. You can respond immediately and that'll be monkey brain and more than not, it will be destructive. Or you can respond positively and go, right.
• 11:58
  Okay. Not a problem. I'm gonna take a step away. I'm gonna have a think about how I could potentially operate here in a way that is going to be constructive as opposed to destructive. So anyway, I then went and did that.
• 12:11
  And and I'm gonna be honest, it's still kind of like, still has pissed me off. It still has pissed me off. So I go, right. Okay. I'm fortunate that the best way for me to change my physiological my psychological state is to change my physiological state.
• 12:28
  So right now, I've just rocked up at the gym. I've got an interval session to do. I'm really excited to go and do that. And as you know, that your mind is a very very different place after doing exercise. So again, all is not lost.
• 12:41
  Okay? It was one bad moment, not a bad day. It's a bad moment, not a bad day. Do not let a bad moment snowball into a bad day. Now, if I look at the remainder of the day, I'm like, right.
• 12:57
  Okay. It's like what? It's half one now. I got that message around eleven. I've got, an interval session.
• 13:02
  I'm chill by the pool. I got the spider man comic. I had this time in there anyway. So this time where I was supposed to go and have this call with this person. K?
• 13:11
  Instead, I've got the opportunity to go and do some training. K? Instead of having to cram my session in, I can go and do a training session and I can sit by the pool. I've got my Spider Man comic. I'm gonna have a great time.
• 13:22
  I'm gonna come out the other end in a far more positive light than I am now anyway, and then I can go again. So there is still salvation available for the day. So just as a reminder off the back of this. K? First of all, whatever bad things are going to happen consistently.
• 13:39
  They are. Things are not going to go to plan. So remember, if you're unhappy, it's because your reality is not meeting your expectations. So we need to change our expectations and accept reality. Accept it for what it is.
• 13:53
  That's not accepting it and rolling over and dying. It's accepting that, okay, I have a different situation than what I assumed I was going to be presented with. And then off the back of that, I then go, okay. How do I deal what is the solution that I can come up with to deal with the current situation that I'm dealing with? Then I come up with that solution.
• 14:13
  I deal with the new problem, and then it was just a bad moment. Not a bad day. And the remainder of the day, I've now managed to fill that time with something I'm really excited to go and do. I'm gonna feel better after it anyway. I'm going to be more productive, and I've got stuff to do this afternoon.
• 14:30
  So there is still an opportunity to make this a very successful day. Never forget if every one of your clients gave you just one new client, you've doubled your business.