So the other day I made the mistake of asking my 3.5 year old, ‘What do you want for breakfast?’ Boy was that a mistake. He listed off about 10 different things that he wanted for breakfast and I, like any other rational mother, grabbed two of them, the wrong two. I should have known that he didn’t want strawberries and waffles, but rather bunny cereal and craisins, (who knew mind reader was also part of the Mom job description). What soon followed was a toddler tantrum of epic proportion that ended in both of us frustrated and a lot of wasted food.

This got me to thinking about many of the service based entrepreneurs that I work with. So often I hear them say, ‘I can help with a, b, c and x, y, z…’ and the list goes on and on. They become a jack of all trades and a master of none, offering customized iteration after customized iteration of their services to various clients. They spend much of their time writing customized proposals adding many different one-off’s to their ever growing list of offerings. The problem… well it’s going to lead to a client tantrum.

The problem with offering unlimited options is that the prospect then is the one defining what they need from you when they aren’t the expert. DUH, that’s why they are talking to you! While it is critical to do some discovery to find out whether your prospect even likes bunny cereal or not **wink wink*** you still need to position yourself by showcasing what you do best! And here’s the thing about being an expert…. you know exactly what your strengths are and exactly what they aren’t.

When you are thinking about offering your prospects bunny cereal or waffles, rather than asking them what they want for breakfast, consider this; most, if not all, of your “ideal clients” will fit into one of your offerings or options. By streamlining what you are offering and narrowing it down to 2-3 different options you are going to gain some sanity and avoid that meltdown later on in the relationship. Why you ask? Because you are setting clear guidelines as to what you offer right out of the gate, you are only going to showcase what your strengths are in these offerings (yes, I am an expert bunny cereal pourer), and you are going to avoid that decision overload when it comes to the prospect.

As a mompreneur, I know I am constantly making decision after decision day in and day out and it gets super overwhelming. Do yourself a favor this week when you are prospecting and consider this, offer only services that are your strengths (you know, the stuff that lights you up and you find hours passing by when you do it), simplify what you do and how you do it, and limit the options that you give to your prospects. Asking, ‘What do you want for breakfast?’ isn’t always going to give you the outcome you had hoped for. Instead ask, ‘Do you want strawberries and waffles or bunny cereal and craisins?’

Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon, How to avoid decision overwhelm.

With your success in mind,

Jamie

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