My friend stands in my kitchen holding Luna, a Siberian Husky puppy, refusing to believe that Luna’s “Not my dog.”
He chides me.
“It’s cold out. Why don’t you let her stay inside?”
“Because,” I reply patiently, “Not my dog.”
It happens again later in that same party.
Luna runs back and forth on the back porch, whimpering.
“Aww. How cute. Does she want to come in?”
“Not my dog.”
How do you convince a house full of people that the cute puppy sitting by the back door isn’t yours?
You can’t.
Believe me, I tried.
And it gets me thinking about your Elevator Pitch.
Because so many people back themselves into a corner.
They lead people to assume things about them.
Things that aren’t true.
Then spend valuable networking time backtracking.
The mortgage broker who could get you a loan, even during the housing crisis.
The business coach being stalked by Drew Carey.
The criminal lawyer who doesn’t defend murderers.
Once people form the wrong opinion about you,
There’s no way to defend yourself.
No way to set the record straight.
Once people see you as “Luna’s owner,”
It’s way too late to change their mind.
It’s difficult to distract them from the wrong message.
Very difficult.
It’s been a very Norman Rockwell few weeks.
“A boy and his neighbor’s dog.”
Yes, Luna is my neighbor’s dog.
She adopted us.
She helps me in the yard.
She plays with my kids.
She’s acting like my dog.
But she’s not my dog.
What’s the biggest untrue assumption people make about your work?
That I’m like other “life coaches”. In fact, I don’t even like being referred to as a life coach.
By assuming that, people put me in a box that I don’t fit into. So, I follow your advice and leave out my title.