Date them for a while

Lesson: Don’t expect customers to want to marry you on first meeting. Be cool. Know your worth. Be critical of them.

I have a habit of wanting too much too quickly (when it comes to commercial customer relationships, thank you). I don’t take my time. I seem a bit desperate and I don’t have patience.

I need to do a bit of self reflection to understand where this comes from. I am driven by a strong force to prove myself as an expert, which leads to me pontificating a lot, and also being a little too eager to show how much I know.

When I engage with customers in this way, it kinda puts them off. It can be authentic, to an extent, but more so it can be desperate.

I need to understand the game we are playing. The expected steps and stages and timelines. Nothing happens quickly, and it all follows a predictable route.

This is also true for building a team. Attracting people to what I’m doing will take time. I need to invest that time and build relationships slowly and intentionally. Don’t ramp up too quick. Don’t assume too much, give things time to settle before acting in one direction or another.

So What Now?

This aligns with my other areas of development. Primarily, create space for others to contribute, don’t push and offer things. Be patient and allow relationships to grow. Expect people to prove themselves to you as much as you to them. Both customers and partners.