What would appear to be a minor mistake I made 4 years ago turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me in my career.

At the time, I was transitioning from a gym to eventually working for two in-home personal training companies.  I had about 3 clients, so you could say; I was in desperate need of some new ones.

Then one day, I got a call from one of the companies with information of a potential client.  The person lived about 40 minutes away from me, but regardless, I was thrilled and gladly accepted.  I immediately called the guy up and set up a consultation. 

A few days later we met.  The guy was in his late 40s and desperately wanted to lose weight.  He had the same story as most.  Tried just about everything, but nothing worked.  Well, everything except hiring a trainer.

Anyway, we talked for about 45 minutes.  During the talk, he discussed what goals were important to him while I explained when and how he can expect to achieve these goals if xy and z were to happen.  We shook hands and the consult was over.  I was certain he was going to become a new client.

Later in the day...I get a call.  It was my manager.

"Jim, the guy you met with this morning does NOT want to work with you." He said.

"Why not?!?!?"  I asked in shock.

"Well, he felt you weren't thorough enough and also thought you rushed him through the meeting.  He said you kept looking at your watch toward the end of the consult and told him you had another appointment at 9...and you didn't want to be late."

When he told me this...I felt like I was 2 inches tall.  He was RIGHT. 

I did rush through the consultation.  I met with him at about 7am, knowing that my next appointment was at 9...I was cutting it way too close.

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The rest of the day I felt awful.  I just wanted to crawl under a rock.  This was something that NEVER happened to me.  Prior to this meeting, if a client did not want to train, it was always due to financial reasons or they weren't serious.  It was never because of something I did wrong. 

But that was not the case here.  I genuinely screwed up.  And I wasn't even mad about the fact that I potentially lost thousands of dollars. (Although, my manager definitely reminded me of that)  No.  I was mad at myself because I gave this person a false representation.

I made him think I didn't care, which is NOT what I'm about. 

So because of this, he is going to bad-mouth me to all his family and friends which will ultimately damage not only my reputation but the personal training industry as a whole.

Now as I said earlier, to many people this would appear to be a small mistake.  Most would think nothing of it.  But to me, this one tiny incident, transformed me as a person.  It was a turning point that really helped me dig down deep and reevaluate how I do business plus how I treat people.

From that moment forward, when I met with clients for the first time, I gave them my complete, undivided attention.  I never EVER asked what time it was or even referenced 'another' appointment I had to go to.  If the consultation was 2 hours...it was 2 hours.  I made everything about THEM and nothing to do with ME. 

And I have been this way ever since. 

I continually over-deliver on customer service and fortunately, this way of doing things has led me to become very successful. 

Now I'm sure you can take something from this.  Everyday that goes by, you're gonna make mistakes.  But the question is...Are you continuing to make the same mistakes in life or are you learning from them? 

As you just read, one simple mistake you make CAN make a huge difference in your life.

I hope you find and fix yours.

Have a good day!

Best Regards,

Jim Coughlin