Earlier this week, I had my first fully booked five-hour Pilates teaching shift. One client after the next, one customized session after the next…for five hours straight. It may not sound like a lot of time, but when you spend those five hours essentially transferring your energy to your client – in the form of coaching, encouragement, and, well, telling them what to do – it can be a serious energy drain. I’ve taught for only a couple of hours and wanted to crawl into a cave and sleep for days. On this day, however, I felt so energized that I practically bounced out of the studio.
So I asked myself, what was different this time? How can I recreate that energy-boosting environment with both Pilates and business clients?
The answer dawned on me yesterday when I was discussing “giving a class” vs. “teaching the body in front of you” with another trainer. The distinction comes from the idea of spouting off a prescribed order of exercises as if teaching a class of 20 people vs. coaching and cuing the unique person (ie, body) sitting on the mat in front of you. Your presence, both physically and mentally, in the room is the point of difference.
Generally speaking, anytime you present or teach, you give more energy than you get. But when you focus on the actual audience or client in front of you, you get a bunch of energy back. They respond to you. They may even work a little harder for you, which raises the energy of the session and allows you to expend less of your own.
The same goes for business meetings. When you take time to learn something about who you’re meeting with, you can engage them on a more personal level, raising the energy of your meeting and allowing you to shift from selling mode to partner mode. Partner mode requires less energy than selling mode because, simply put, you’re “in it together.” The energy exchange created by being present puts you in a far a stronger position to close a deal or build a long-term partnership.
Once again, life lessons through Pilates lessons. Maybe I should change the name of my blog. 😉
Thoughts? Other ways to raise positive energy in your dealings with clients? Do tell.
