You hear about these people all the time too, I’m sure. In fact, you may be one of them. I’m talking about the “heart-centered entrepreneur.”
There’s a ton of information out there for these folks. How to run a heart-centered business. How we sabotage ourselves as heart-centered business owners. There’s even a “Heart Centered Entrepreneur Magazine.” And they have their own LinkedIn group: Marketing Help for Heart-Centered Entrepreneurs.
Here’s my question. What is this “heart-centered” thing anyway? And what – do they think the rest of us don’t have a heart?
That’s what bugs me about the self-proclaimed heart-centered tribe. They seem to think they’re much more compassionate, much more giving, much more decent than everyone else.
And – maybe it’s just a coincidence? – they’re overwhelmingly women. You don’t often hear a guy describe himself as heart-centered.
That gender difference gives us a clue about what’s behind all this yammering about being heart-centered. You’ll catch people who call their business heart-centered also saying things like: “I don’t want to be too salesy.” “Self-promotion seems sleazy to me.” “I’m not the pushy type.”
If you ask me, it’s all code for: I don’t want to sell.
And believe me, I can relate. I’m compassionate, giving and decent. I don’t want to be salesy or sleazy or pushy.
Here’s the thing. When we get stuck on the soundtrack of “heart-centered” we can wind up skipping right over the other part. You know, the part that’s about “business.”
No matter how big our heart is. No matter how much we focus on service. No matter how concerned we are with our clients’ well-being. In the end, if we don’t sell, we can’t serve.
I suspect for a lot of people, this heart-centered thing is a way to hide from that truth.
When I work with clients who wear the heart-centered badge, they often seem to be playing at business. They’re shining their light out in the world. But it’s a little tiny light. They’re saying all the right things about service. But they’re only serving a handful of people.
They have a practice that’s not really a business.
I’m inviting you to join me in another way of thinking. Yes, we care about people. We know we can help them with their business or their health or their relationships. We want to see them soar. And the way to make that happen is (brace yourself) to sell them something.
Bring your heart to the process, by all means. And bring a business focus along with it. The way to share your wisdom, your skill and your strengths is to enroll someone in your program. The way to change someone’s life is to sell them your product. You can’t help them if they’re not your client.
If “heart-centered” has been your way of playing small, it’s time to step into a bigger game. Comment below to tell us what your next move will be.
Catherine,
I love what you have to say about heart-centered marketing.
However, I think it is also a way for coaches and other service / product providers to differentiate themselves from the most crass, spam-ish elements in our industries.
We need a commonly agreed upon name for middle-of-the-road marketing.
-d
Diana Schneidman, author, Real Skills, Real Income: A Proven Marketing System to Land Well-Paid Freelance and Consulting Work in 30 Days or Less
Yes, it’s true, Diana. AND some of the spammiest marketers I know are business coaches who call themselves “heart-centered” in email after email after email … There’s a certain irony there, isn’t there?
I kindly and with all my heart disagree with you Catherine!
I understand what you are trying to get at–heck, not that long ago even you didn’t know how to “sell” and were queasy about it. I don’t think that being heart centered is the issue though-it is whether you are really using that term as an excuse not to sell, to avoid having to ask for the order, the client or the meeting! And I think that this is what you were trying to say.
When I was peaking in my sales career one of the attributes that set me apart was that I have always led with my heart. It was an unusual thing back then. My clients always knew that I cared about their business and about them personally-many became close friends. That never stopped me from making huge sales. Then again, I had good teachers and role models for doing that.
I guess this is to say that berating folks for working from their heart won’t win over those particular people (if indeed you were trying to win them over). You might try instead to reach out your hand, share your own experience of the fear of asking and offer them a solution from your heart. Or, leave them alone and head toward better pickings in the ranks of eager young women that need mentoring and training before they become afraid of themselves.
Oh, Holly, the last thing I want to do is berate people who are “working from their heart.” I like to think I work that way myself.
It’s the label that bugs me, not the reality. To me it feels like some folks are putting on a cloak of specialness … so superior to the grubby masses who work with head AND heart to make an income that will support themselves, their families and their communities.
And yes, I do believe some use “heart-centered” as an excuse to shrink from the BUSINESS of their business.
I think selling is hard for many entrepreneurs. Especially those of us who had some other kind of career that didn’t require our direct involvement in sales.
You’re entirely right about my own queasiness; recovery from it is a work in progress. Which is why I invited others to join me in another way of thinking that explicitly links sales and service. It removes some of that sales-is-sleazy feeling if we’re selling our programs or products in pursuit of serving the people we’re meant to help.
P.S. I love the new purple and red design-might I say it brings a bit of warmth and heart into your look!
Thanks, Holly! I’m not surprised you dig my colors, you Woman of Substance, you. Glad to hear they resonate.
Hi Catherine,
So enjoy your content and your ‘straight-to-it’ presence! On this post however, I must respectfully disagree. I belong to a marketing mastermind group called Thrive Academy and they have a very definite heart-centered approach – even with a key element of their program titled “HeartSelling.” An impressive number within groups have met with dramatic success… creating sustained $10K-$25K months… Their focus is definitely in teaching people how to seriously monetize their gifts and it works. I DO get however, how overused and diluted all the ‘heart-centered’ lingo has become. Thanks for your continued good works!
Yes, Kathleen – I’m familiar with Sharla and … well, with Sharla. They have built an impressive business and I don’t doubt a lot of their clients have been able to do so too. And that’s partly because they DON’T shrink from the selling. They’re actually very, very good at it.
And I like the way they connect selling and serving. I completely believe we need to do both to have a profitable business.
Thanks for weighing in! I’m glad you’re thriving …