Paul Levy's reflections following our "Open Space - Beyond the Dogma" session

[Jack Martin Leith]

Paul has sent me his reflections on the session we hosted in Brighton on 14
May. I've posted them here: www.jackmartinleith.com/?page_id=212. If you
want to comment, please send me an email (jack at jackmartinleith.com) or post
to this list, and I'll add your ideas to the web page.

On another matter, the current issue of Molly Gordon's coaching newsletter,
*Authentic Promotion,* features an excellent article: *Why Clients Don't
Answer Open Invitations*. Although intended for people running small
businesses, her advice is equally valuable to anyone who needs to invite
people to gatherings of any description, including Open Space meetings.
Here's a very short extract:


> *Not All Invitations Are Inviting
> *When we moved to Suquamish a few years ago, we had an open house. We
> invited friends and neighbors. Our friends came; our neighbors didn't. After
> a bit of pondering, I realized that our friends felt invited. Our neighbors
> felt notified. And you know something? They were right.


I've copied the article below.

If you enjoy the article, you can subscribe to Authentic Promotion, Molly's
weekly newsletter, here: www.authenticpromotion.com. It's free, and I highly
recommend it.

Wishing you an enjoyable weekend,

Jack

Jack Martin Leith | Unconsultant
Bristol, United Kingdom
Mobile: 07831 840541 (+44 7831 840541)
Skype: jackmartinleith
email: jack at jackmartinleith.com
www.jackmartinleith.com

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*Why Clients Don't Answer Open Invitations*
*By Molly Gordon *| www.authenticpromotion.com
As an Accidental Entrepreneur, you need clients and customers. And if you're
not 100% confident that folks are interested, you may feel that the best way
to approach getting clients is with an open invitation.
After all, you wouldn't want anyone to feel excluded, would you?
But being specific about which clients and customers are just-right isn't
about exclusion. In fact, it's exactly the opposite.
How are your just-right clients supposed to know you are talking to them if
you don't tell them?
*The Problem with Open Invitations
*The problem with open invitations is that there's no way for your
just-right clients to know you're aware of their existence, let alone that
you actually care about their concerns.
>From your point of view, the open invitation makes it ultra-easy for them to
approach.
>From their point of view, the open invitation disappears into the background
noise of everyday life. To get their attention, you're going to have to be
more inviting.
*Not All Invitations Are Inviting
*When we moved to Suquamish a few years ago, we had an open house. We
invited friends and neighbors. Our friends came; our neighbors didn't.
After a bit of pondering, I realized that our friends felt invited. Our
neighbors felt notified. And you know something? They were right.
Since we were going to have the party anyway, I figured we might as well
invite our new neighbors (and I wanted them to know what the commotion was).
But the point of the party was to share our new home with friends, and
somehow that came through.
The moral of the story? If you truly want to reach your just-right clients,
you need to send an invitation, not an announcement.
*What Makes an Invitation Inviting?
*If you consider the invitations you receive, including advertisements and
marketing materials, you'll notice that the ones that draw you in have four
ingredients. I call them focus, fit, comfort, and response.
A *focused* invitation speaks directly to a specific recipient, not a
generic audience.
An invitation that *fits* is appropriate to the relationship and situation.
Invitations that tell us what to expect recognize our *comfort zones*.
Invitations get answered when they request a specific *response*.
*Invitations in Action
*Like me, you probably get invitations to charity fundraisers fairly
regularly. What distinguishes those consigned directly to the recycling bin
from those that get at least preliminary consideration?
Of those we consider, what determines whether we buy pricey tickets and
attend, make a modest contribution but don't attend, or decide to recycle
the invitation after all?
The first cut depends on the *focus*. It's easy to tell whether you were
invited as an individual or as part of a target group. In the first case,
you've got some prior connection. In the second, they got your name off a
list, in which case, unless you just happened to have a yen for involvement
in the annual tiddlywinks playoffs, you're not interested.
The next consideration is *fit*. If you've been sending the Human Society
$25 every December for ten years and suddenly get invited to a $500 per
plate dinner and auction, odds are that you're going to stay home. But you
just might pony up (no pun intended) $50 to attend a fundraising barbecue.
Assuming the occasion is a fit, you want to know *what to expect*. Should
you bring a gift? How will people be dressed? It's no fun to arrive at an
event in your work clothes, hungry and looking forward to dinner, only to
discover that you've walked into a formal cocktail party. No amount of
olives and maraschino cherries is likely to make a hungry guest comfortable.
Finally, there's the *response* form. A good one gives you options to
participate in spirit (send a check), in body (volunteer), or by attending.
It will be self-addressed and stamped so all you have to do is put it in the
mail. The clear request for an RSVP and/or a donation completes the
invitation.
*Don't Wait Until You Renovate to Have a Party
*If you think you need more experience or your business needs a Web site or
you have to have new business cards before you start inviting just-right
clients to work with you, stop. When the fit is right, the setting isn't
nearly as important as we think.
I used to think we needed a bigger house and more than six glasses
(unmatched) before we had people over. Then our friends Steve and Michelle
invited us for dinner and to watch an opera on video. (I know. Different
strokes for different folks.)
Like many Bainbridge Island homes in those days, Steve's and Michelle's was
an imaginative and functional space that wasn't quite finished. In addition,
it was crammed with interesting furniture, objects d'art, record albums
(remember when?), and books.
Oh, and they had two mature Great Danes. One slept on the overstuffed couch.
The other sat sentinel next to a huge purple armchair and dribbled into the
lap of its occupant.
All ten guests in that crowded room had a grand time, and I learned that the
secret to a good party is not the setting but the people.
What applies among friends applies with your just-right clients. The quality
of the relationship is a lot more important than the state of your Web site
or stationery.  Just apply the four ingredients of an inviting invitation to
your communications. Whether it's an email or an elevator speech, check for
focus, fit, comfort, and response.
*Invite Them and They Will Come
*The worst thing about open invitations in business is that they are a
self-fulfilling prophecy. We use them to avoid appearing pushy and to
protect ourselves from rejection.
But because open invitations aren't addressed to anyone in particular, no
one in particular responds. We wonder if even the open invitation was too
pushy. We worry that people really aren't interested.
Sometimes, we increase the scope of our invitation while getting quieter. It
doesn't work. (How could it?)
Sometimes we try a noisier strategy out of desperation, following the lead
of a get-rich-quick guru. It feels icky, looks inauthentic, and doesn't
work. (How could it?)
Fortunately, there's a remedy: directly and thoughtfully addressing your
just-right clients.  It's slow (aren't most good things). It's sure. It
works.

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