What do I mean by "context?"

Things like:

• Do they have a team or VA or contractors doing any of the work?
  • e.g. Is that coach making 'six figures' on IG also creating the content, doing admin work, building their website, writing all the copy, creating the images in canva, posting, etc? Or, are they just showing up in Stories and on calls?

• How engaged was someone's audience before they did (whatever they're selling/teaching you)?
  • It's different to have a loyal audience on social, and move to email, than have a cold audience on social and move to email. The time it takes to get sales could be vastly different.

• Are they using ads, and if so, how much are they spending?
  • I know of at least two coaches who didn't disclose until after you purchased that they spent thousands in ads. Thousands.

• What does low-energy or low-capacity mean to them - in hours?
  • Does that mean they're battling fatigue on a daily basis, and only have 2 hours of time they feel awake enough to focus and get things done? Are they working X hours..but they have a VA and an engaged audience?

None of these things are bad. But if you don't know them, it's hard to decide if something will work for you.

Cool story, Jen, so what do I actually do with this?

Thankfully, Reader, there are a few things you can do + they're relatively easy.

Be aware + recognize you might not have all the context. Today, I could've watched a panel of people sharing X, but instead I'm focusing on things I need to get done because from the limited info I have, our situations (and thus our context) is different. So I saved myself a solid 90 min.

Ask questions. Someone may not answer them, but that's its own data point.

• Bonus tip: if you aren't sure if they've worked with someone in your industry niche before, don't directly ask that. Instead, ask who their typical clients are, or what industries they specialize in, etc. If you ask a question they can answer a 'yes' or 'no' to like, "will this work for my spiritual business?" Some might say yes even if it isn't true. If you instead ask, "what niches do you tend to work with?" that's an open-ended question, so they'll have to give you examples.

• Bonus BONUS tip: ask something like, "who typically tends to be successful with this program?"

At the end of the day, you'll have more information in order to make decisions.

Which doesn't mean that a 'no' = you don't do it.

If something doesn't seem like a good fit, but you know that going into it, you're still making the decision grounded in knowledge.

I've spent both time and money on things that ended up not being worth it. But there's a marked difference between the ones where I went in knowing that was a possibility, and the ones where I didn't. Fun fact: I'm doing a one-month trial with one right now 😉

I hope this was helpful, and hit reply with any questions!

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p.s. Wanna work together or simply connect? Here are some options 🙃

• Got a marketing or biz things that's sucking your will to live? Or, working but burning you out? Book a Tune Up. Code: INTRO50 gets you half off this month!

• Want to 'pick my brain' on something simple? A Quick Fix might be a good fit.

• Just want to hang out and get to know each other? I'm always game for a virtual coffee!