Is Your Message Full of Excuses?

by | Aug 29, 2012 | Biz Tips, Guest Experts

This post is written by someone I admire and he is a brilliant copywriter. Introducing Matthew Goldfarb, renegade, copywriter, speaker and all around a really good human being on the planet up to big things. http://corporaterenegade.com/
His message is so relevant to busy women entrepreneurs. This is why this particular newsletter article by Matthew stuck out to me…
I signed up for a telesummit a couple of months ago and every email that was sent out about the telesummit started out with an apology and an excuse about why the recordings weren’t available or why the link didn’t work, etc. The apologies where getting in the way of the powerful lineup the telesummit had to offer.
It’s a trap that can seem like an “honest” way to communicate, but making excuses devalues what you are about.
You can find more about Matthew Goldfarb of Corporate Renegade here: http://corporaterenegade.com/
Matthew Goldfarb

A quick shout out to all the new Renegades
who have joined us since the last newsletter.

When you make excuses, what message are you sending to your clients?

I’ll be honest. I’ve been busy lately. Lot of new clients. Lot of new work. Retooling my business and preparing for a baby.

It’s exciting, it’s hard, and it takes a lot of work.

The problem is, my clients don’t really care.

They don’t care that I have a baby due. They don’t care that I’ve got to schedule birthing classes in between my work load or that I’m working very late to get deadlines met.

Worse off, they REALLY don’t want to hear about it as it affects their deadlines and what they are expecting.

I’m sharing this because I want to focus on a different angle of messaging.

What does it say about you when you’re too busy to return an email, respond to a call, get back to people?

It sends signals that you don’t have your shit together. It says that your business maybe isn’t as organized as you would like others to be.

I’m not speaking specifically to outbound communications that you send to your list and your tribe, but in your daily communications to your clients, both prospective and current.

I’m as guilty as anyone in what I’m sharing, so this is not being preachy or coming from an ivy tower. This is more a transparent realization I’ve had recently when I reflect on the seeming paradox that is a result of creating a successful business.

The truth to remember that your message gets transmitted with every touchpoint in your business. This includes the way you respond to emails, the experience clients have when they interact with you, and even your auto-responders. It all sends a signal.

So the question for you answer is: when you make excuses, what message does that send to the world?



Here’s some hints: Start thinking about the way you respond to requests and responses from everyone you interact with. Recognize that every conversation is an opportunity to either push a positive message forward or send a negative one to the people you want to connect with the most.

Now get writing.