Pitching when you're drowning in imposter syndrome

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Hey friend👋

I’m so excited to welcome you to the #27th edition of Social Media Conversations! This is gonna be a long but information-packed letter. So beware!

Please feel free to share it with your friends if you found it helpful:)

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The last few weeks had taken a toll on my confidence as a coach.

All of a sudden, it felt like the old Shruthi was back again - who apologized too much, who froze with nerves every time she had to ask something for herself, who undervalued herself and what she could do like crazy.

It was hard.

I was terrified of returning to my old shell when I had taken years to work on myself and get out.

But I’m so thankful I realized this and subconsciously started seeking help in the numerous conversations I had with friends (new and old). Their suggestions, tips, and support immensely transformed me in the past weeks.

In this edition of Social Media Conversations, I’m only sharing what worked for me to cure my imposter syndrome (still in progress). These aren’t backed by any data or research. I hope they help!

Before I continue:

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Resource of the week🔥🔥

Hard Parts of Growth:

Some newsletters fundamentally change something in you. The best part?? You would have purely stumbled on them by chance.

Ami Vora’s Hard Parts of Growth is one such newsletter. I would have never looked at it twice on an average day because she’s a product manager at Whatsapp, and the letter is mainly written for corporates.

But lo behold, I learned so many tips and meaningful lessons from the newsletter as a solopreneur, like how to get people’s trust, speak up in difficult situations, etc.

It’s a must-read if you love profound, impactful writing.

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4 tips for tackling imposter syndrome when you pitch to clients

If anyone tells you imposter syndrome is just a “feeling” you’ve to shut down and cover-up, feel free to throw a shoe in their face. Especially if it’s a “bro.”

It’s fucking not easy!

Everything from your childhood trauma, previous toxic work environments, and how you’ve been treated in your life comes into play. Unless and until you dig deep and solve the problem, it’ll be like an overstuffed box that can pop anytime (then you have to stuff everything in again instead of dealing with it).

Note: If it’s too much, I suggest seeing a therapist or talking about it to a dear one in detail.

Let’s start!

1. Dig deep until you find out the reason

Credits: Beatrice Fischer

Instead of trying to bury it, dig all the shit out.

It might be a traumatic experience, but it’ll be worth it.

Write it all down. I wrote morning pages for two weeks straight on what I felt about my business. And then, on the final day, I went back to read it all. Realizing I was terrified of guaranteeing results because I only worked with friends (if you’re an inbound lead, I’ll make you my friend and then work with you).

I was terrified of losing out on the friendship because it’s more than a client-clientele relationship.

I was emotionally invested in their business and wanted them to succeed no matter what. And I did not trust myself to bring about the transition that’d reach my high expectations.

It might be different for you. Dig it.

2. Now, let them know

Your clients don’t want to work with robots. They want to work with humans - emotions, values, feelings, and all other crap.

Do you meet someone you can genuinely help??

A simple, “Hey, I’m terrified of doing this, but gonna do it anyway. I truly think I can help you out with XYZ. Would you be interested?”.

I’m telling you, I finally felt like I could breathe the day I did it. And I’ve gotten beautiful responses! No one’s ever looked down on me, and what’s more, they’ve only empathized and told me that they’re going through the same thing too.

Telling your potential clients that you’re terrified only makes them feel you care. It doesn’t reflect on your potential.

Just don’t take it tooooo far, though.

3. Trust them to make the right decision

Credits: Pauly Ting

Your client is a fully grown adult who can make decisions for themselves. Respect them enough for that.

Once you do the above step, the ball is in their court.

Make it clear that there’s no pressure to accept (mainly because they’re your friend). Don’t keep explaining why your coaching is worth so much. Stop.

Tell them they don’t need to make the decision today and ask them when they’d be comfortable giving the response. And tell them that you’d follow up with them then.

And get out of that phase.

Your work is over. Don’t dwindle on the phase much because it’s a downward spiral that affects your energy (it’s visible, especially in calls).

4. Setting expectations

Credits: Hayden Flohr

I was making a colossal blunder all along in my business.

When I saw my “ideal client,” I used to offer to “help them out in their business.” Why? Of course! I was terrified of “selling” them my service.

So I assumed I would “prove” myself to them on the call before “asking.”

That was fucked up on so many levels.

Why?

Because the expectations were completely different! They thought I was helping them as a friend in a one-off call, while in my head, I had already imagined working with them (cue my overthinking brain).

They were never prepared for the pitch. Or the possibility of working together.

So most of the time, they declined. And while my logical brain understood this problem, my emotional brain died a bit every time.

Now, when I see a person I can truly help, I let them know in the DMs. Something like this.

I know I could have framed it better, and I was terrified of adding this screenshot here. But who the fuck cares (that’s become my mantra now).

Here, I feel I did a good (okay, okay, meh) job putting myself out there while setting expectations and saving my soul.

The fact that he was already a great acquaintance helped, of course.

The best part? Qualifying leads in the DMs saves you a ton of time, mental space, and energy.

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I genuinely hope these tips gave you a headstart to pitch even if you suffer from imposter syndrome like me:)

I know the subject is a tricky one. If you want me to go deeper into it, let me know. I can write an in-depth guide for you to help you out!

Until next week,

Shruthi

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Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

1. If you’re overthinking to send your first DM online, here are 22 use-case based templates to help you out!

2. Struggling with get the first client for your coaching/consulting business? Book a free 30-min discovery call here!