MONDAYS / On Delivering vs. Selling
EPISODE OVERVIEW: When we are intentional with how to share our work with the world we can achieve greater harmony and receptivity.
Hosted by Fiona Bicknell
In today’s episode, we explore a powerful shift that can support us to connect more deeply with our audiences —moving from a mindset of selling to one of offering. As we step deeper into the energy of October, we're being nudged to embrace a fuller expression of who we truly are and communicate that with clarity. Instead of convincing or persuading others to engage with what we have to offer, this episode invites you to embody the energy of delivering—trusting that those who resonate with your message will choose to engage on their own terms. We’ll discuss how neediness can undermine your authority and how empowering others to make their own decisions fosters more authentic, long-term connections.
Through examples like George Clooney’s transformative audition story, we dive into how shifting our mindset from needing something to delivering a solution can change everything. If you're an entrepreneur, creative, or business owner, this episode offers insights on how to remove any energy of neediness from your messaging and step into a space of true service. The message this week is clear: offer what you have with trust and confidence, without forcing anyone to say yes. While this approach may result in slower growth, it will build deeper, more loyal connections, setting the foundation for long-term success.
THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF:
If you're an entrepreneur, creative, or business owner seeking to express your true self and communicate with clarity.
If you feel the weight of neediness in your voice and are ready to remove it.
If you're looking to foster deeper, more authentic connections with those you serve.
What Next?
If this episode felt useful and you’d like to connect further with PORTER, there are multiple ways to engage with Fiona and the brand:
To tune into more OVT, browse all episodes at the link below.
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Hello, hello.
Welcome to another Monday Message. It is Monday, October 7th. And today I'm going to be going a little bit deeper into one of the themes from this month's energy forecast for the October Energy Forecast.
So for those of you who have listened to that, you might remember that there is this overarching theme for October around the self-image or the who it is that we came here to be coming into greater fullness and that there is more clarity around how we see ourselves in the world or how we are seeing the who we are designed to be in the world.
And we're kind of being nudged and pushed to step into that in a bigger way. And the way to embody that is through the voice, is through communication.
So a lot of the things that were coming up for that energy forecast were contemplating questions for the self of like, okay, this person I came here to be, this person that has something, has a responsibility to deliver something to the world, to offer something to the world.
You know, we all came here to be of service. So if I am that person that has this amazing, beautiful, beneficial thing that I am going to deliver to the world, then how do I communicate How do I speak? What is my message? What is my tone?
So a lot of the theme for the month was around contemplating those questions, and I am going to go a little bit deeper into that today.
With particular focus on one idea that is switching from a mindset of selling to a mindset of delivering or offering, whatever language feels good for you there or aligns.
So, you know, if we are selling something, we are generally trying to convince someone of something. We are persuading someone.
If we are delivering or offering, we are just letting them know it's here. If you want it, but it's up to you.
So we are empowering another versus where to me, that convincing or that persuading often is like taking, trying to take another's power away.
And I taught a class, the Kundalini or the Sunday Church class that we did this week, was all around communication of the true self.
We did meditations that help to clear out, yeah, clear out any ways that we might be communicating that is not in line with actually who we want to be in the world or who we are really designed to be in the world.
And we're looking at how it is that we speak in a way that we're heard, because more and more what I'm coming to understand is the people that are tuning into these recordings and listening to the energy forecasts are people who have a need to be selling something in the world, whether they're selling their creativity, selling their business, their offerings, their services, selling themselves.
And yeah, it is becoming more and more clear to me that a lot of the people tuning in here are entrepreneurs and business owners and creatives and all these people that have a need to be able to project out into the world what it is that they have to offer, what it is that they are here to deliver.
And one of the key things that came up in the meditations we did in class was around the idea of neediness.
And the key teaching for this particular meditation is that if we speak with neediness, we are not heard. Or maybe we're heard, but not with authority.
We lose authority in our voice if we speak in a way that we need the other to respond in a certain way, or we need a certain outcome from sharing our words. And it made me think that there's two things that it has brought to mind for me.
One is from someone that I used to work with when I worked back in fashion, and I wonder if he's listening to this and knows that it's him I am talking about.
But someone who is an incredible writer, who worked with us on all of our copy of the brand that I was working at at the time.
And he once said something to me that has always stayed with me, and it was like, make sure that you assume intelligence of your reader. Assume intelligence to the person that you're speaking to.
And that has always stayed with me, and that feels really relevant here when you're delivering something, versus selling.
If you're selling something, you're trying to convince someone. If I'm delivering something or offering something, I'm just letting them know, and I'm giving them the power, or I'm empowering them or trusting them to be intelligent enough and know themselves enough, that they can make the decision whether or not it's something they want to engage with, that I don't need to convince them.
So that's the first thing that came to mind.
The other thing that came to mind is a story that I think was in the book The Obstacle Is The Way.
I could be wrong there, but I think it might have come from that book by Ryan Halliday.
But it is George Clooney's story of getting cast in his first major role.
So he shared a story around how he was showing up to audition after audition after audition, and not getting selected, not getting any roles.
And then he had this key moment where he shifted his mindset, and he understood that it's not me going into an audition with a need.
I'm not going in from this needy place of I need them to choose me because I need this role.
He shifted into this space of understanding that the casting director needed someone to fulfill a certain role.
They had a need, and that he was walking in there as a solution.
Like, here you go, I'm just delivering a solution for the need that you have.
And he talked about how his energy completely shifted, his mindset completely shifted, and that audition where he changed his energy was the audition for ER.
And that was his big break in television. That was kind of where his career took off from there. And as I know, a lot of you are in the business of selling.
How can, I guess my suggestion for this week, or the contemplation for this week, is to think about how can you begin to move yourself, if you're not there already, into this energy of delivering or the energy of offering, and empowering the people on the other side, versus coming in, trying to sell, trying to convince, trying to persuade, which comes with this energy of neediness.
And if you just think for a moment, like if you can, wherever you're listening to this, if you can close your eyes, close your eyes and think of the energy of neediness, or the feeling that goes with neediness. Like it is icky. It does not feel good. It does not feel good to be in a space of neediness, and it does not feel good to be on the receiving end of someone else's neediness.
It's like, yeah, it makes me feel like uncomfortable. So if you happen to be someone that is right now at this moment or this point in life, looking to deliver or offer something or sell something, can you look at where there might be some of that energy of neediness showing up?
And is there a way that you can shift that or transmute that into being more into this space of delivering?
So maybe it is, I don't know, you're looking for funding on something.
It's not, please, can you give me your money? It's like, hey, I have an amazing opportunity for you to use that money that you have available to invest, that you want to invest.
I read a stat the other day. Shit, I can't remember this off the top of my head now, so I'm really worried I'm going to get it wrong. I'll put it in the notes if I do have it wrong.
But it was something like, if you combine all of the money available in all of the VC firms and funds that are set up ready to invest, there's more than $2 trillion available, just sitting there waiting for somewhere to go, like right now.
So it's like there's money to be spent.
There's people in the world that are looking for something to do with the money that they have. So you're not coming in like in this needy place, I need your money.
You're coming with a, I'm delivering something to you. I'm offering an opportunity to you.
And how can you shift yourself into that space? Or maybe you are a practitioner selling a service.
How can you be more in that energy of like, hey, here's something I have available to you, should you choose to take it.
And I'm putting, I'm empowering you and I'm trusting you and I'm seeing you as an intelligent enough being to decide whether or not it's something you want to commit to.
And also think of the feeling that comes with, or the kind of commitment level, let's say, that comes with, if I feel like I've really been sold something, and I've been persuaded and convinced to do it, I'm going to come into it with a little bit of skepticism, right?
And I'm going to come into it, and maybe this is just me, I don't know.
But if it is me, I'm coming into it with a bit of skepticism.
I'm coming into it feeling a little bit like, you convinced me to do this, okay, now prove to me that it's worth my while.
Whereas if I'm in a position that I sort something out, where I actively chose this is something I want for myself, and I'm going to seek it out, and that's very different.
If I don't feel like I've been persuaded or convinced, if I feel like I've been given that power to make the choice myself, then I'm coming into it more committed.
I'm coming into it more open. And I actually then asked ChatGPT what they thought about this.
I mean, I know they don't have thoughts, but anyway.
And I just said, can you, can you speak a little bit about the difference between selling versus delivering or offering?
And when it was talking about selling, it was using language like strategy and goals and objective and targets and persuasion and convincing and all of that sort of thing.
And then on the other hand, it said, delivering builds trust and reinforces value.
Offering rather than selling suggests a more collaborative approach where the emphasis is on service and meeting needs, allowing the customer to choose whether they want to engage.
Delivering and offering fosters deeper connection and greater long-term loyalty.
And that, I totally agree with.
So that is the contemplation for the week ahead to look at whatever it is that you might be putting out into the world.
How is that you can remove any neediness from your energy, remove any neediness from your messaging, and how can you be in the mindset of delivering and offering something?
Okay.
And the other final thing I will say on that is that it might mean slower progress.
So you could have a sales strategy that you're, we see all these programs out online available to us, that it's like, here's your 10 steps to your launch strategy, or how to put your offer out there with building momentum, and blah, blah, blah, and all of that sort of thing.
And so, and those kinds of things are perhaps designed to have higher sales volume earlier on.
Whereas if you're delivering something and you're kind of leaving it up to people to choose rather than convincing them, it might be a bit of, it might mean slower growth.
If you're someone who is selling a particular product, it might mean that the number of sales you have up front is less.
But if we come back to this, it fosters deeper connection and greater long-term loyalty.
My thought process is that delivering an offering rather than selling is a much safer approach for the long-term and going to set you up to have a more sustainable, like a stronger foundation, and having greater loyalty with your community.
Okay, that's all I have for you.
I hope you have a really beautiful week ahead.
I hope that was helpful in some capacity, and I am sending so much love.
