In my illustrious 7- year career as a consultant/coach/headhunter/social media ambassador/advisor to the C Suite/Chief Bottle Washer and Overall Team Player, I have been fortunate to work with many awesome graphic arts companies from sea to shining sea. I have met with all different kinds of companies, all kinds of managers, CEOs, and sales people. I am very fortunate to have been able to build a “second” career with what I call the “side hustle” I am primarily raising my 4 small children while working as much as I can for whomever I can help. I have mostly liked those I have worked for, or I have been able to find likeable, admirable things about most of them. Some have been more difficult than others. I have learned lessons, I have travelled, I have been humbled. I have been flattered. I have made mistakes. I have gotten into arguments. I have even been insulted.
The following is a love letter of sorts, to what I can only describe as my most ideal engagement to date. This company and its’ team were real. NO, I am not going to tell you who they were, but I want to share with you some of the characteristics about them, some of their corporate DNA that made them the most spectacular clients; the one every coach and consultant dreams about.
I hope you see something of yourself in this piece. I hope it inspires you. I hope it makes you think. And, I even hope it gives you something to aspire to.
Dear Best Client Ever,
The following is a partial list of some of the reasons I looked forward to our sessions. It’s an incomplete picture of what our relationship was like, what you brought to it, what I took away from it, and how it will always make me thing of you as I move forward in my endeavors to help other companies like yours to thrive and fight for relevance and success in today’s crazy landscape.
You were open: You gave me so much latitude in my topics for our sessions together, and you were never shocked or pushed back. You never once said – “that doesn’t seem relevant” or “I’m not sure where you are going with this”. You may have thought it, but you gave me a wide berth, and you were always willing to go along for the ride. As a result, we went in some new and unknown directions, and I think we both learned a lot and expanded our horizons because of it. I was forced to stray from some of the more traditional and very well covered topics into areas that were a little more spiritual, and a lot more human.
You came prepared: You did your homework. You were in a learning and receiving state of mind. You participated. When I asked you to be ready, whether having watched a video, taken a test, or having a topic prepared to discuss, you brought you’re ‘A’ game. Every. Single. Time.
You were on time: I have never, I repeat NEVER, had a group of people that were always on the call 3 minutes early. Every damn one of you. It still blows me away to this day. I can imagine that your diligence and respect for other people’s time shows through to your customers, your prospects, your colleagues, and your vendors.
You communicated: Whether it was giving me constructive feedback or asking for deeper content and time on a topic, you talked to me. It helped me keep pace, it helped me stay focused on you and the results you were expecting, and I always felt like I was giving you my best, because I knew what you needed and how to give it to you.
You were complimentary: I’m not gonna lie. Knowing that you were really enjoying our time together and feeling the sincerity of your praises filled up my tank and made our time together that much more meaningful to me. I really hope you meant all those wonderful things you said to me.
You evolved: From the first session, you applied what you learned and told me about how it helped to change the way you were doing things. I hope that you know that this is not easy nor is it very common. I can’t tell you how many times I dealt with people that were just too set in their ways and closed off to new experiences to have the coaching have positive impact. It didn’t matter if you have been on the job one day, one year, one decade, or even longer; you were willing to see that there was more to learn, new ways to look at things, and different things to try.
In closing, my dear best client ever, I want to say thank you. Thank you for all the reasons I stated above, and thank you for choosing me to be a part of your journey. Thanks you for travelling with me, and I hope our paths will cross again very soon.
As a sales and marketing coach and consultant at Success In Print, Kelly Mallozzi advocates for graphic arts companies to start a revolution and fight to keep print relevant. She may be irreverent, but what she lacks in convention, she makes up for in smart-assery.
Connect With Kelly: Twitter @SuccessInPrint and check out her weekly blog on Printing Impressions.
