If you are running a business, this is the book for you. It doesn’t matter if you work as a freelancer or with a team. This book can be a life changer if you’re stuck when it comes to bringing in more money and clients you actually like. I was gifted this book by a client because my agency provides their social media content. They needed me to understand how they treat their clients and how they want to show that online. The funny thing is, I was already going the same route. Reading Getting naked by Patrick Lencioni made me pick it up even faster. It’s a great book, so keep reading if you want to improve your business.
Title: Getting naked, a business fable about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty.
Author: Patrick Lencioni.
Rating: 10
Price: From €16,99 or $15,48
Where to buy: At Bol.com or Amazon.
Summary
Through the book you get to follow Patrick Lencioni, who works at a fancy consulting agency in America. He doesn’t just consult his clients, he also sells consulting for the agency he works for. As you might know that means you pretty much follow the same sales strategy for every client. Older agencies often sell more because they’ve built a name and clients love prestige. They also sell more because they’ve managed to get good results in the past. Something potential clients are always looking for.
But Patrick finds out that a bigger and older agency isn’t always the best. When the agency he works for acquires a smaller agency, he finds out the smaller agency does better when it comes to making more money and getting clients. He never understood why this smaller agency won many clients over, even when they were up against the big agency he works for. Patrick finds this annoying and doesn’t get how all of this is possible.
Thankfully Patrick gets to find out why this smaller agency does so much better than the agency he works for. As he is forced to work together with the team of this agency, since they are now partners working for the same bosses. He discovers the way they look at doing business, how they put people and being helpful first. Patrick discovers a new way of selling, being super chill about it and delivering better results. He shares all of this in the book. No more stress about getting the clients, being the best all the time and money problems. And all you have to do is face your fears and get naked!
Pros
The book Getting naked by Patrick Lencioni is written in story form and contains 217 pages. This makes it very easy to read the book within an afternoon, or a day if you like to take more time. I personally read it in about four hours as I got sucked into the story. Patrick managed to write a book without an annoying amount of jargon. It’s very easy to follow, even if you’ve just started a business. I couldn’t detect a pretentious or arrogant tone throughout the book. Nope, it reads like a letter you’ve gotten from a friend. Which made me soak up all the information like a sponge, teach me master!
The book is mainly about finding out why you’re having trouble getting new clients. How and why your old (personal and business) habits are not serving you at all. But most of all, the title Getting naked describes the book really well. Patrick tells you to pretty much ‘get naked’ in front of your clients. Meaning you share your real personality, intentions and vulnerabilities with the client. The book helped me break with my fear of looking stupid in front of a client really fast. I was almost there because it was something I was already working on, but Patrick gave me the last kick.
After reading the story, Patrick starts breaking down the three fears you might have. Three fears that are holding you back from connecting with clients on a higher level. It starts with the fear of losing the business. The second fear is about being embarrassed and the third zooms in on feeling inferior. Don’t worry Patrick really goes in on these three fears from the start of the book, without you even realizing it. By the time he really starts to explain it all, it feels like a big eye opener and I personally truly understand everything he explains!
Cons
There are no cons with this book and yes, I am biased! But I can honestly say that this book will help you, if you allow it. With that I mean that if you feel any kind of resistance towards clients, the way you’re currently doing business or certain points in your own personality: You need this book! You see, there is nothing worse than going to work feeling resistance. From you to your clients, from them to you and you towards the work. It sucks and it makes you want to quit right now.
It might be hard to read this book if you are stuck in your own ways, because it does force you to get naked. And that’s hard to do, but only real entrepreneurs dare to challenge themselves on a personal level too. To be honest, our personal development is often that last piece of the puzzle that stands in our way to become the most successful version of ourselves. Running a business gets so much easier when you are in sync with yourself. Give that relaxed way of being, really knowing who you are and what you can do to yourself.
The verdict
It felt like Patrick was in my head, like he was me or maybe I’m him!? His resistance and fear to let go of his old ways of selling felt very familiar to me. I kept yelling to myself: ‘This man gets me, my fears and the way I think!’ The version of Patrick in the book is very easy to relate to, as everything he says in the book could be something I (would have) said before reading it. Like I said, it felt like I was exchanging letters with an old friend.
The book has a friendly tone, it’s realistic and practical. Which is exactly what you need as an entrepreneur, get shit done right!? If you are just like Patrick and I used to be, this is the book for you. Get it if you know you have fears holding you back from being the best business owner you can be. I personally feel this book gave me that last push to feel completely me within my business. My happy go lucky self that clients easily gravitate to. Instead of quickly running away because I came to seek, search and destroy.
No more baby, I’m now so relaxed they wish they could all be my friend and also pay me a lot of money to work with my agency. And I like that!
Kaya-Quintana
P.S. Do you think this book your fears are holding you back in business too? Let me know in a comment below and read more business tips here.
Simple Reveries
This sounds like a really great book! Thanks for sharing the review with us x