Recently three of my clients have said to me that while it may be outside the scope of what I do they needed some counseling on the non-business aspects of the work we are doing together.
I answered that a big part of my service is counseling and I’ve been accused of being somewhat of a therapist, especially when it comes to buy-sell transactions. The time leading up to a deal can be traumatic as there are a lot of emotions flying around.
Little things are taken as major stumbling blocks, comments are taken out of context and all parties worry if they’re being taken advantage of.
I quickly figured out that I needed be the calm voice of reason in the tempest of the deal. Often it’s like straddling a fence. Sometimes I’m calming my client down when he or she overacts and other times it’s getting them to take off the rose colored glasses and see the problem that’s surfaced.
This is what makes transactions fun and rewarding. They truly are life changing for both sides and there’s a lot wrapped up in the event. It’s also what makes coaching owners and executives fun. When they say, as someone did the other day, “You’ve taken a weight off my shoulders and provided improvement. That’s the positive results I need.”