It has been quite a year for you, Jill. I know it must have been difficult to write honestly about how your highs and lows for last year. I am humbled and reminded how easily we can slip into the trap of getting too cozy with our clients. Firstly I celebrate with you your success and congratulations on becoming Jazzercise certified! I know that you put the same dedication and focus into the good things you manifested in your life last year that you do with your business. You are a very inspiring person to know. For me, I know that I often look to you for guidance and you have never steered me wrong. I want to thank you for that.

My condolences on your brother’s passing and your divorce. I’m sure that both events were devastating to you and your family. I imagine that your clients had very little idea what was really going on in your life. You have always been very good at steering the conversation to neutral topics and professional conversations about the service and the products you recommend.

I know that last year for me was exciting and I accomplished many long term goals that I had set for myself many years ago. It would have been extremely easy to gush about how excited and happy I was to have done those things. And in fact I did find it a daily struggle to dial it down and answer my clients questions about the things going on without letting it take over the conversation. It was an exercise in learning to focus better and redirect my thoughts when they started to drift towards the next trip or competition. My clients were excited for me and so they naturally were curious about what I was doing. I had to constantly self-talk to remind myself to only give a couple of minutes attention to those questions and then turn the focus back to them.

This is a good reminder to all of us that we all have triumphs and trials that we go through on a daily basis. Ultimately we should remember to ask more about the client rather than over-sharing our lives with them. They are paying for an experience with you and that has nothing to do with what you are facing in your own life. They are often facing similar challenges and don’t need to hear about yours. And if they do want to ask about your life, be sure to keep those details to a minimum and redirect the conversation back to them.

— Sandy