Listen to that “little voice” which reminds you to do (or say) something

You know when you think, “Oh, I meant to message that person for…” (whatever it was), and you don’t, and then later on that day they message you to ask about the thing?

You think (or say) “Ahhh, I was literally just thinking of you today and meant to get in touch!” And sort of kick yourself for not taking action when you thought of it, especially if it’s a new prospect or a proposal or quote you promised to send, and you realise you lost a little of the opportunity.

It doesn’t necessarily mean you lose the business, but it does delay the process (and prevents you from getting the sale or cash as quickly). If it’s a potential buyer, it can introduce a little doubt in their mind, as to whether and when you will follow through on your word.

It also applies to other things. Friendships, showing you care for someone in a tough time, an “I hope that person is ok” feeling, sending a card or gift, checking in with a team member, a business opportunity which you forgot about for a while.

The little voice will remind you.

What you do with it is up to you.

A few years ago I mentioned this to the PF team, particularly in relation to sales. I mentioned I use the “little voice” as a reminder to drop the person a note – not even to ask if they want to go ahead, but simply to check in. Send an article about a topic they mentioned. Send a catch up video. Share a post or an idea or just ask how they are going. And I told them when I do that, so many times the person has replied back (it could be after weeks or months or even years) and said “I was just thinking of you today!”.

Sometimes it revives the conversation or relationship, and you get to help them or make the sale or connect them with someone or something they need. Sometimes nothing much happens – they don’t reply, or they say thanks hope you are well too, and that’s the end of it. But more often than not they appreciate the connection, because we appreciate being thought of. Being remembered. 

The team have implemented this too, and one team member mentioned the other day she is amazed how often the little voice has helped spur on a conversation, a sale, or an opportunity which might have otherwise been missed. Sometimes it just helps us to know where someone is at (struggling or sad or motivated or exhausted or excited).

Listening to the little voice is also a good opportunity to give someone permission to discuss something which didn’t seem like a big deal. Something small which was missed, or a different way of communicating, or a little thing they’re trying to be understanding about. Something they liked, or didn’t like, love or didn’t love. Maybe they didn’t even know why. They either thought about it and then figured “no, it’s not enough to bring up as a thing”, or they didn’t really think it through until you mention it. Regardless, it shows you care and are paying attention, and it helps them feel more comfortable not only working out what it was that troubled them, or the question they had, but also being able to bring other things up in future.

This is also why at PF we end every call with “is there anything else you wanted to ask us while you have us here?” or “anything else you wanted to mention you didn’t get a chance to?” or “is there anything on your mind right now?” Almost without exception the person says “No, not really…except this one thing…” and they get a chance to cover off that little thing which didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but would have been forgotten otherwise. It removes any pressure and helps them not feel badly for bringing it up, but helps us both (as we get to serve them better and they have a better experience). If there’s no time for it in the remaining minutes of the meeting, we’re aware of it for the next meeting. If it’s significant or urgent enough, we may arrange another meet.

The “little voice” is sort of a gut feeling. Whilst your gut is usually right, it’s always worth investigating. Where does that gut feeling come from? What was said, or not said? What tone of voice or body language change gave you that feeling? Where does your gut feeling come from? Otherwise you think “yea my gut told me that” and feel really proud of yourself and move on; but you haven’t learned from it and it’s not scalable, either. When you realise every time a client says this, or a prospect takes (or doesn’t take) a certain action, you can build that into your systems and catch it every time, instead of just the one time. It’s also possible your gut is telling you something based on a fear you have, or a previous bad situation, or you’re confusing client situations, and in this case your gut was leading you astray a bit.

You can (and it’s good to) automate many things in your prequalifying, prospecting, and proposal processes. You can prepare emails to go out at certain times, or reminders to you and the team. Those are all helpful and often do the follow up for you when you forget.

But the little voice is your helper. Your reminder.

Listening to it (and taking an action which takes seconds or moments) can save you – and the person you’re connecting with – hours or days or even months of time. It helps build trust and shows them you cared enough to take action, rather than saying “oh yes I’ll do that later”.

So that’s my note for today: Listen to the little voice. See what happens. 

And let me know how it goes!

Follow me

ON THE GRAM

Popped into a fave local coffee shop in York this week and this was the mug they gave me. ❤️✨

Wasn’t feeling so superwomanny when I got it - this week was very full, plus period cramps and multiple migraines and my ankle being wonky and more travel than I’ve done in a while. I had intended to get coffee but the cramps were so bad I had to go for mint tea and just sit until they faded enough for me to walk again. 

At the same time, I also had an amazing time during this week with the @weare_pf Board meeting in person for the first time. Getting to know each other better as humans and sharing ideas and making plans and most of all appreciating that the weight of all the business decisions doesn’t rest solely on my shoulders. 

This is just one of your reminders that being a superwoman looks different at different times, and whether you’re striding along strongly or sitting weakly with mint tea, your superwoman status still applies. 

#justkeepgoing #superwoman #muglife #wegotthis #onedayatatime
Every single time I go sailing past this lighthouse on the mull-to-Oban ferry I think “this time I’ll just watch it and not take any pictures” 

And then something wild happens like A SAILBOAT GOES BY and of course I have to capture that, surely I haven’t taken that photo before (spoiler: I have), and then I have about seventeen lighthouse photos to add to my collection of seven thousand lighthouse photos from the last twenty years. 

But, I figure, what’s the harm anyway. It’s my photos and my memories and it brings me joy. I love the lighthouse as a visual of my journey from the mainland to the island (or a reminder I’ll be back soon). 

So, see you soon lighthouse. Thanks for standing there. 

#lismorelighthouse #eileanmusdile #lighthouse #lighthousesofinstagram #oban #ferry #calmac #isleofmull #sailaway #sailboat #scotland #travelscotland
I read. A lot. My list of “books to read” has over 100 titles listed, and every time I mention a book I’ve appreciated, I get another recommendation of a new one and the list gets longer. 

One of the books recommended to me years ago was “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”. She mentioned it had some helpful principles about how we navigate life - and whether you’re a buddhist or not, there are principles you can learn from and apply in life.

I wrote it down, forgot about it, and moved on with life. Read lots of other books.

And then when I broke my ankle, and was sitting and resting a LOT, with loads of time for reading, I went back to my list and started reconsidering some of the titles on it.

When I looked up “The Buddha in Me the Buddha in You”, the subtitle was “A Handbook for Happiness”, and that struck me.

Dealing with an injury is difficult. Sad. Wearying. It can be hard to find happiness and every day feels about the same. (Very Groundhog Day.)

So I bought the book, and put it by my bed. I started getting into a pattern of reading a chapter every morning with my coffee.

I thought I’d share some of the principles I appreciated and which are already helping me as I continue to navigate my life right now: 

[the full post on these is too long for an Insta post so click the link in bio or story if u want to read more!]

Thank the spoon - a spoon stirs up the mud in what had appeared to be clear water. Same with life: hard things stir up what you haven’t dealt with yet. So you thank them. “Thank you, spoon”

The Fundamental darkness (FD) - the “Survival Obsessed Self” who responds in a way based on survival but not growth

There’s a gift in the struggle - He describes it visually as “the lotus flower in the muddy pond”. You can focus on the mud, or on the flower, but they’re both there.

Nam - myo - ho - renge - kyo : The happiness soundtrack - I pulled out the core concepts of each of these words as they applied to me, and they are: 

Purpose
Mystery
Potential 
Bloom in the struggle
Flow of life

#karensnotes #buddhainmebuddhainyou #books #reading #happysaturday 

[full note link in bio!]
The snow is swirling the wind is howling IT’S FROZEN OUT THERE 
#snowing #happyspringeveryone #inlikealion