The Client I Almost Didn't Call Back

What if the biggest opportunities in your business didn't begin with a marketing campaign?

What if they began with a conversation?

In this episode of Business Coaches Corner, I found myself looking through an old notebook filled with names, phone numbers, and reminders from years ago. Most of the names no longer meant anything to me, but one memory refused to stay on the page.

It reminded me of a client I almost never called back.

That single phone call became the beginning of something much bigger than I could have imagined at the time, and it made me reflect on a lesson that has quietly followed me through every business I've ever built—from my plumbing and HVAC companies to my fitness business, and now my coaching practice.

This isn't an episode about lead generation tactics or sales scripts.

It's a conversation about relationships, the unexpected ways businesses grow, and why some of the most important opportunities in your career begin long before anyone signs a contract.

If you've ever wondered where your next client will come from, this episode might encourage you to look at your business a little differently.

Sometimes the conversations that seem ordinary in the moment become the ones that shape your future.

Join me for Episode 15 as we continue exploring the stories behind four decades of entrepreneurship and the lessons that only become visible when you take the time to look back.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Business Coach's Corner. A while ago I was cleaning out old notebooks when I came across a page filled with names. Most of them meant absolutely nothing to me anymore. Some had phone numbers beside them, some had little notes written beside the names that only made sense when I first scribbled them down. One simply said, Call Tuesday. I have no idea who that person was. I don't remember why Tuesday mattered. I don't remember whether I ever even made the call. It's strange what survives and what disappears. You can spend years building a business and somehow your mind hangs on to tiny moments while letting much bigger ones simply fade away. Looking at that notebook reminded me of someone I almost never called back. I wish I could tell you there was some brilliant business strategy behind what happened. But there wasn't. Life just simply got busy. The phone rang while I was in the middle of something else. I wrote the name down, fully intending to call later. And then another day slipped by. And then another. Eventually I remembered. Oh darn, I didn't call them back. So when I finally picked up the phone, the first thing I did was apologize. I was convinced I had probably waited too long. I assumed they had already hired someone else. That's usually the story we tell ourselves, isn't it? We assume opportunity disappears the moment that we are not perfect. Instead, the conversation lasted almost an hour. I still remember hanging up and thinking how different that phone call could have gone and how differently it went than I expected. That client stayed with me for years and years. More importantly, that client introduced me to other people, and some of those other people introduced me to even more people. Looking back now, it's almost impossible to separate where one relationship ended and another began. That's one of the things that nobody explained to me when I first started building businesses. Businesses don't really grow one customer at a time. They grow one relationship at a time. Sometimes those happen to become customers. Sometimes they don't. But the relationship has a funny way of continuing long after the transaction is over. When I was building my plumbing company, I thought I was in the plumbing business. Years later, I realized I had actually spent decades in the people business. The plumbing just happened to be the reason that we met. The same thing happened when I owned the fitness boot camp. People came because they wanted to get healthier. But most of them stayed because they enjoyed being around people who genuinely cared whether or not they succeeded. Today, coaching looks completely different on the surface, yet somehow it feels exactly the same underneath. People schedule a call because they think they need help growing a business. What they usually remember months or even years later isn't the spreadsheet that we built together or the strategy sessions that we had. They remember how they felt during the conversation. I didn't understand that early in my career. Honestly, I don't think I even thought about it. I was focused on solving problems. Looking back now, I realized people were paying attention to things I wasn't paying attention to at all. They noticed whether I listened to them or not. They noticed whether or not I followed through. They noticed whether they felt understood and listened to. You are trying to make payroll, solve problems, answer phones, return emails, and somehow remember what day it is. It's easy to believe that's where the business lives. Looking back now, I don't think it does. The business lives in all of the little moments that you barely notice while they're happening. A conversation where somebody feels heard. A phone call that lasts longer than you expected because you're genuinely interested in the person on the other end. A customer who hangs up feeling better than they did when they called. None of those moments feel particularly significant by themselves. The interesting part is they don't stay by themselves. They travel. Someone tells a friend about the experience that they had with you. That friend remembers your name months later when someone asks if they know a good plumber or boot camp or coach. A business owner mentions you during a networking meeting. Years go by and somebody reaches out because another conversation led them back to you. Because you were memorable. When I look back across every business that I've owned, that's probably the thread I noticed more than anything else. The businesses looked completely different from one to the other. But the people didn't. Whether someone called because their plumbing wasn't working, wanted to lose weight, or needs help growing a business, they all want the same thing at the beginning of the conversation. They want to know that they were talking to someone who cares. They want to build a relationship. I don't think I understood how valuable that was when I was younger. I thought people hired expertise. Now I think expertise simply opens the door. Trust is what invites people inside. That's probably why I smiled when I found that old notebook. I couldn't remember most of the names. I couldn't remember why I had written some of the notes, but I could remember the feeling of those years. I remembered how every conversation felt like it mattered, even if I had no idea where it might lead. Some of them led to customers, some of them led to friendships, some of them led absolutely nowhere. At least that's what I believed at the time. However, at this point, I have lived long enough now to be careful with that phrase. Sometimes the conversations that seem to go nowhere are simply taking the long way around. Years later, someone introduces you to a friend. A former client calls unexpectedly. A referral appears from a place you've completely even forgotten. You realize that relationships have been quietly growing while you were busy living your life. That's one of the reasons I don't spend much time worrying about finding the next client anymore. I'd much rather spend my time having good conversations, make that great conversations. The clients have usually found their way through those conversations anyway. It's funny how that works. When I first started building businesses, I thought success was going to come from having all of the right answers. Forty years later, yes, 40 years, I'm aging myself. I think it has had much more to do with asking good questions, listening carefully, and treating people well long after the transaction is over. That old notebook eventually went into the recycling bin. There wasn't any reason to keep it, the names had faded, the phone numbers weren't useful anymore, the reminders had long since served their purpose. But before I tossed it away, I sat for a few minutes turning the pages. Not because I was looking for anything in particular, I think I was simply appreciating the journey along the way. Every page represented someone who had crossed paths with me for a reason. Even if I no longer remember the details. When you're in the middle of building a business, it's easy to believe the numbers tell the entire story. Years later, I think the people tell it much better. Thanks for spending part of your day with me today. This is Business Coach's Corner. I'm Bex Gold, and I will see you on the next episode. Have a fantastic day.