How Could You Make Someone Cry?

Some thoughts on changing people's lives

The other day, I was doing a sales call with someone who was considering joining my Book Coach Certification Program. We were brainstorming what her future book coaching business might look like — who she would serve, how she would serve them, how much money she might be able to make, whether or not she could actually DO this.

Suddenly, I realized that tears were running down her face.

“Are you crying?” I asked gently.

She nodded.

“Is it good crying?” I asked.

She nodded. She explained that she had caught a vision for the life she wants to lead — something that has alluded her for decades.

Later, in the email where she enrolled in our program, she said, “You don't know how happy you've made me with just a 30-minute call.”

And this was a sales call.

But it turns out that what I offer is exactly what the person needs. What I offer is solving the exact problem she has. What I offer is her path to a transformation in her life.

What if what you offer — what it is, how it works, how you deliver it — is the exact thing that someone needs?

What if you go into every discovery call with a writer thinking that thought?

What if you telling them about what you do could make them cry with relief, with the joy of being seen at long last, and with the hope that they can write the book they want to write?

And to take it one step further: what if the writer asks themselves this question too? What could I do to make my reader cry?

Not every book elicits tears, but work with me here. It’s a stand-in for a deep emotional connection.

Maybe the book delivers the exact feeling of comfort the reader wants, or the exact feeling of hope, or the exact learning they need to understand something important in their own life.

It’s a reminder that we’re all in the business of changing lives.

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