I once visited a therapist who had two doors to her office – one that got you into the foyer, and the next that led to her inner private office. The first one had two handles and acted like a normal door. The second only had a handle on one side – her side. So you couldn’t open it from the outside (just in case you went insane from waiting while another client wiped away the tears/rage/frustration/radical truth of her session). I always saw this as an interesting metaphor.

So many times with our business we have that outer door with two handles locked down in the form of beautiful business cards, a well functioning website, great people skills, and clients who love us. But what’s missing is something really clear for our customers to buy.

If your services or offerings feel like a smorgasbord, it’s just too hard to get “in” to your business. There’s no handle. The door feels un-openable because it’s all too confusing, overwhelming, unclear, and ambiguous. So customers leave, and they’re never quite sure why. Yes it’s literal when it comes to a real door, but in a business, it just feels like something that seemed like a good idea – and then never happened.

Stand for something – it doesn’t have to be everything. Commit to highlighting it. You’ll feel a bit like “but what about this? And that? And I also do this!” Just calm down. They need to find a handle to get in and walk through the door – because if they don’t – they’ll never find the treasures of your company, services, or products in the first place.

Amy