The Three Fears Flashcards
(3 cards)
1: Fear of Losing the Business
No service provider wants to lose clients, business opportunities or revenue. Ironically, though, this fear of losing the business actually hurts our ability to keep and increase business, because it causes us to avoid doing the difficult things that engender greater loyalty and trust with the people we’re trying to serve.
What clients want more than anything is to know that we’re more interested in helping them than we are in maintaining our revenue source. And when we do something, or fail to do something, in order to protect our business, they eventually lose respect for us and understandably question whether they should trust us.
2: Fear of Being Embarrassed
No one likes making mistakes in public and having to endure the scrutiny of spectators, especially when those spectators are paying us for our advice or counsel. This fear is rooted in pride, and it is ultimately about avoiding the appearance of ignorance, wanting to be seen instead as smart and competent.
Naked service providers are so concerned about helping a client that they are willing to ask questions and make suggestions even if those questions and suggestions could turn out to be laughably wrong. They readily admit what they don’t know and are quick to point out — even celebrate — their errors because protecting their intellectual ego is not important to them.
3: Fear of Feeling Inferior
This fear is about preserving our sense of importance and social standing relative to a client.
It is completely natural for service providers to yearn for respect and admiration, and to have a disdain for being overlooked, condescended to or treated as though we are inferior. Sometimes we forget that the word “service” shares the same root meaning as “servant” and even “subservience.”
