Feng Shui-ing Your “Maybe” List
ByMy study is where I do most of my work. Every 6 months I spend a profitable day “Feng Shui-ing” my “Maybe List” of potential clients I had “allowed” to hang around, clutter up my mind and slow me down like a dragging anchor.
Maybe you have your own “Maybe List”; one that you’ve allowed to slow you down sucking out the energy that you could otherwise use to carry you profitably forward? If so perhaps it’s time to speak with the people you have been hoping, wishing, praying for to join you, and ask them the liberating question, “Are you ready to make the change?”
Here’s how you can do this…
- Get your list of maybe potential partners/customers
- Decide on a dedicated 24 hour “Maybe Day”… and call them all. (They’ll all be there!)
The next two bits are critical…
- Make it fun, with spring, laughter and confidence in your voice, AND…
- Decide you are looking for ONE of TWO responses… a YES or a NO! It’s either, “Yes I’m going to JOIN or… take an ACTION STEP”, or “NO, it’s not for me”.
You can start with something like this. “Hello Mary, I’m having my ’6 Monthly Maybe Day’…. and the reason I’m calling is to find out whether you want to proceed with (joining, taking the next step, etc) or whether we should move on and let you continue doing what you’re presently doing? What would you like to do?”
At the end of the day you must have eliminated all the maybe’s….
When you get a yes you move them to the next step.
There are no, “keep in touch, call me backs or let me think about its…” It has to be a yes or a no. Remember, you’re clearing your list and your mind. A cup cannot be filled when it’s full, so what you’re doing is emptying it to make room.
If you get any “maybe” responses here is what you can do:
Acknowledge the response
- “I can appreciate that… and Mary, I did let you know that this is a ‘Maybe Day’ (don’t forget to make it fun!) and I think you’ll agree that sometimes we all need to move on… so what I’m going to suggest is this… I’m going to take you off my list of potential partners, and if you ever decide that you want to move forward to get what you’re looking for, please call me… you have my number. “
- Ask. “Before I go…can I ask… for my own clarification… Why you decided not to… (make the change)?” And continue using your Natural Selling skills to Discover whether the circumstances might have changed, or you missed something in an earlier conversation and so on. If you know they are not motivated to make change, then repeat some of (1) and depart graciously.
- Here’s the important part. If you decide to depart, take your contact sheet and a thick black marker pen, and with great flourish graphically draw a diagonal line across it. Then file it in the deepest archives and LET IT GO.
If it’s to be, they will come back. Besides there are more people than you can talk with in a lifetime who need your help and they’re all there waiting for you to talk with them.
The choice is yours! Get into momentum by seeking out those who are seeking to be helped, or staying anchored to those who don’t?
To help you move forward, consider my latest program called “How To Have Fearless Conversations…“. It will give you the basics of everything you need to know to have effective and comfortable conversations without rejection.
Next week I’ll talk about.. What’s the worst that could happen?
About the Author
Michael Oliver is an internationally recognized trainer, speaker and author and the founder of Natural Selling, the only sales training program designed to really eliminate rejection and objections. Visit his blog and signup free to get blog updates by email, along with the latest news, free advice, additional resources, and a lot more! Go now to http://naturalsellingblog.com. While you're at it, check out http://www.naturalselling.com.Subscribe by email and get blog updates, news, and more!
Click the subscribe button and enter your email
This is liberating information. It’s a drudgery to keep the same people on your list forever. I’d been trained to never remove people from my list, but I just doesn’t make sense to me. It’s like hopelessly holding on to someone who isn’t interested. I began clearing the names of people I felt I bothered and harassed years ago, and learned to let go. But this is a great way to do it and see if you can really help them one more time before moving on. Thanks Michael.
I have been doing this over time and am glad that you are endorsing it. It is good for me to close up those loose ends with people who will not make the decision to say no on their own. Most of the time, I have not been able to reach these people directly, so I have to cut them loose by email. I have told them that I don’t like to leave the situations open. Those with whom I have been able to speak understand. A few people have come back to me pretty quickly and have been genuinely apologetic about their indecisiveness. Thank you for this validation and the great ideas about how to make it work even better, especially for me.
Hello M.Oliver, I am into network marketing by internet since only few months now. I am learning slowly to work worldwide.
I am still on the step to choose the right product. I am getting more involved in marketing by internet. I am trying to do a living with it, it takes time and your advice are the very greatful to me. This summer I will take the time to study evry letters you have been sending me since couple years. Seems I never stop to learn how to talk and isten to people needs!
Thank you for your time and have a great summer! Michelle Davidson
Very interesting points.
Michael,this is the first post I\’m reading since a month ago,when I registered to recieve your emails.
it\’s stored in speciall folder in my email ,so I\’m gonna back to the first one and start my study .
I like it,short, and straingh to the point.
THANK YOU !!
Guy Katz
Israel
Michael,
You’ve been a mentor to me and my team and I don’t know where I’d be at if it had not been for meeting you. Thanks for all your great advice. I recommend you to everyone.
Thanks,
Bryan Westra
Dearest Michael, how perfectly on point this post is…for me…today! and how embarrassing it is that I am the one that needs to be removed from some people’s list. what’s worse, i consider several to be my friend. so why would i do this to them? just because i have such a hard time saying no (i’m workin’ on that). it’s taken courageous soul searching to me to admit that i simply do not have space in my life for anything else. i’m totally committed to deleting even more of what i don’t want. Now I need to have the courage to tell that to the people I care about (which is everyone, really).
Well, after reading this, I pulled out my name list, striked all the names who were not
Interested and Bingo…there goes my brand new list..and that new list gives me more
Energy to keep saying…I have more lives to change and free the world from employers!!
Thanks Mike
Nice brief and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Gratefulness you seeking your information.
Michael,
Thanks for the recap of all of the messages, it serves as a good reminder. Have a wonderful weekend.
There you go… and I bet you felt refreshed and uplifted… right?
Ahhh… Interesting point and a wonderful lesson Sally. Saying no without explaining why was a big step for me a while ago. It helped empty my already overflowing cup so that I could receive more of what I wanted. Give it a go and call those people! They’ll understand and if you get any pressure, just stay on course and keep repeating – it’s not what I want to do. I bet you’ll feel great when you do!