Meet James.

Ok, so this isn't actually James in the photo, but let's pretend it is.

James* is a guy I met through a casual social group made up of freelancers and aspiring freelancers. He had just left his office job and was launching into the world of web design. He was excited for all the possibilities in a way that only a fresh-faced recently-freed entrepreneur in their early 20s can be (ah, I miss those days!). James was super sweet and seemed incredibly genuine. I instantly wanted to help him succeed in any way I could! 

Fast forward about 8 months.

James is now living a nomadic freelancer life. He's hopping from city to city, country to country, and enjoying the freedoms of working remotely! He attends a very popular online business workshop, which is then followed up by an in-person conference where he gets to meet many of the 'superstars' of the freelancing world. He's PUMPED!

About two weeks later, I see that he's starting to do webinars. This was clearly a result of the workshop he'd just completed, but I was happy to see him take such proactive steps to grow! I reached out to him one day because he was beginning to specialize in SEO-building services and I knew that I would need help in that arena at some point soon. I mentioned that I loved what he's doing and that he's on my radar for when the time comes to hire help. He encouraged me to follow him on social for weekly tips and possibly sit in on his next webinar. To show support, I signed up and attended the webinar! 

Realistically, it was very clear that he was new to speaking, educating, and performing webinars. I mean, those all take lots of practice! But I was really proud of him for charging ahead and continuing on his road. I sat through the entire presentation, expecting that at some point there would be an offering of some sort of consultation package or digital product. Oh boy, was there ever! He was offering a spot in a new mastermind group, and it was loaded with perks and access to him for the low price of $10k. 

Yes, you heard that right.

This very new freelancer was making his first webinar offering and it was a $10,000 buy-in. Yikes! 

Now, I give total props for the courage that took. I, however, wasn't able to take him up on that offer. I was expecting to have an offering somewhere in the $1,000-2,000 range, which would have been something I could have considered (albeit, it would've still been a stretch at the time).  So I privately messaged him to congratulate him on a great webinar and that it was far too out of my current price range, so I wouldn't be able to partake. I wished him the best of luck and signed out. 

Fast forward one week.

I get a message from James. He wants to ask me a few questions about the webinar so he can have feedback to work with. I think, "Great! I'm excited to offer constructive criticism to help him grow!" His first question was "Why did you decide to not take part in the mastermind offering?". I told him that it simply was far too out of my price range and that it was a much bigger offering than I expected or needed. He then asked me what sort of offering I was expecting him to have. I replied that I expected some sort of small consulting sessions or online consulting and that I expected around $1,500. 

James then proceeds to start sharing his frustrations with me. About how people don't get the value of it, how they'll make it all back once they put in the work, about not getting the response he expected, about his existing network not stepping up and spending money on his services... I gave my insights as someone who has totally been there and felt that!  In terms of people investing in coaching services, he even served me a line that I've heard so. many. times. from online marketers:

"I mean, how bad do you really want it?"

And then there was silence.

Seriously. After I gave my insights, he never responded. There was no 'thank you', there was no acceptance of my advice, there was no acknowledgment of having taken time out of my day to give him feedback. This was over Facebook messenger, so I was definitely expecting some sort of closing to the conversation. Keep in mind, I had gone out of my way to let him know that I wanted to hire him in the future. So he was very aware of the fact that he was talking with a potential client.

To this day, I haven't heard a single more word from him. 

In that instant, he lost me for life. It would be extremely difficult for me to feel like he genuinely cares about helping me in the future. In that moment where he dropped our conversation because he was frustrated, I lost all trust in him. It can happen that quickly. 

Had James said anything at all after that, he could have saved it. Even a simple "Thank you." would have sufficed. I expected him to also ask about my whole experience - how did he sound, how was the information he offered, did I find the webinar educational, did I understand him clearly the whole time... as someone with public speaking experience, I had feedback on all of it! But I never got to share any of that because all he asked about was why I hadn't bought into his mastermind.

What does this all mean?

All I could think of after our shocking messenger chat was that this was a perfect example of how customer service can have a major effect on success. The words you use, the questions you ask, the tone you use... it all either supports or tears apart the reputation you work hard to establish. It all feeds into whether clients will trust you, like you, and work with you. 

So next time you're about to chat with a designer, whether current client or potential client, take a few deep breaths and make sure you have a smile on your face. Keep focused on being of service to others, rather than how others can serve your business. It can make a huge difference!

xo,

Natalia

*My colleague’s name has been changed for anonymity.