by Melanie Benson Strick
The Entrepreneur's Success Coach
Have
you ever had a client who had a new idea every time you talked? Or
perhaps you notice a pattern of not following through because they get
distracted with some amazing new opportunity? This is often the sign of
an "opportunity addict."
Entrepreneur's often become addicted to the idea of opportunities and
lose sight of their desired outcome – making money, accomplishing
results, and enjoying time off.
How do you know if your client is an opportunity addict? Here are some of the common signs:
- They say YES without thinking through how it will affect their other obligations and priorities.
- They have over 15 projects going on simultaneously (and this seems normal.)
-
When they are approached by someone to collaborate or joint venture
with, they are so excited by "the prospect of cash in the bank" that
they just jump in full-force.
- They say YES because they are afraid of what they might lose if they say NO.
-
They get frustrated when their projects and goals are falling behind
schedule, but can’t figure out "“where things went wrong."
So you have an opportunity addict on your hands. Now what?
First, get the client to acknowledge that this is a pattern of sabotage. Acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving it.
Second, realign the client’s vision so that they are crystal clear
about their goals and ideal lifestyle. They need to have a process in
place to filter out the “fun ideas” from the profitable ventures.
Otherwise they will just get sidetracked from success.
Third, encourage them to take a bird's eye view of their business.
Just because something looks good today doesn’t mean it is a good
investment of time, energy and hard-earned cash. Help them be able to
see the short AND long-term payoff.
And remember that everything the client says yes to means they are saying no to something else.
Melanie Benson Strick is "The Entrepreneur's Success Coach ' and co-creator of The Unstoppable Goals Method. Enroll in Melanie's upcoming teleclass to learn more about The Art & Science of Coaching Entrepreneurs
