Women, Spirit & Money: 5 Simple Steps to Find Expertise and Resources, Fast

The struggle to solve a problem can be frustrating, particularly when on deadline. Here’s how columnist Sherri McLendon gets the answers she needs, fast, so she can move forward decisively.

Simple listing has a certain brilliance about it. We list a lot of things; we compile “Honey Do” lists, guest lists, task lists, and email lists. We get black listed, white listed, or read lists of ingredients. Lists can be brainstorms or brain dumps. Whether we’re aware of it or not, lists are integral and pervasive to our organizational culture, individually and societally.

When we require expertise, our goal of finding solutions means we need access to individuals who can help us find the answers to a situation-specific problem that’s arisen in our business or life. Creating those connections quickly is what I might refer to as a ‘Mastermind Action.’

Recently, I was online trying to make changes to my child’s health care plan on a heavily trafficked website. You know the one. My frustration with the way the questions were constructed meant extra delays. Of course, I had only hours to spare before the final deadline, and I needed answers. Here’s how I found the expertise I needed to move forward, fast.

First, I made a list of persons I know who could help me find an answer. (This list included everyone I could think of who knows more about the topic than I do.) Second, I got proactive, picked up the phone, and reached out to my top two contacts: in this case, my sister and my insurance agent. My sister didn’t pick up, but my insurance agent did. She didn’t know the answer to my question, but recommended a contact with specialist knowledge to assist me with my specific question. She suggested I mention her name when I made the next call. Next, I called the referral contact, and got the answer to my question, fast. Finally, based on the new knowledge, I was able to take fast action to move the decision forward. Happy dance!

This entire process, which I’d been avoiding for months, took less than half an hour from start to finish. Upon reflection, I realized this process mirrors a type of mastermind process, one in which we bring our specific challenges to others to find answers and move forward decisively in our business. This method is one which can be brought to bear daily to increase personal financial and business success.

How to Find the Expertise You Need in 5 Simple Steps

1. Make a list of the challenges you face in your business.
2. Hone in on the most pressing, the one you can no longer tolerate.
3. Focus on what’s holding you back. Turn those problems into questions.
4. Make a list of persons who can help you with answers and information, both direct and indirect.
5. Assume this question has to be answered immediately.

Next, pick up the phone and call each person on your list based on expertise and access. These persons now function as your personal mini-mastermind, and you’re requesting a one-on-one conversation. That suggests Seth Godin might not take your call, but your friend the marketing director at a local e-business probably will.

Treat Each Contact as a High Value Relationship

Use these scripts as a jumping off point for the conversation, as it’s important to treat others’ time as valuable.

Example 1: The Person in the Know

(Name), I have a specific question about ______________(topic). Do you have a minute to check in with me and recommend a next step?

Example 2: She Knows the Person in the Know

(Name), I have a question about (specific topic). Could you introduce me to (person/relationship) please? Is it possible you could do that by (time limit)? Or, as I’m calling (person) today, may I simply mention your name as the referral source?

To Have a Resource, Be a Resource

Stay on topic, keep the personal exchange brief, and end the call quickly and with appreciation for their time and contribution when the exchange feels complete. However, if this is a connection you’d like to cultivate, arrange a future meeting over coffee or tea to see if there’s a way you can become a mutual resource for this person, too.

Continue reaching out until one finds an answer that logically determines the next step out of the conundrum. The idea that we need to know everything that will happen prior to moving forward is a fallacy; we simply need to know what comes next, and the likely outcomes of that action, in order to move forward. If a contact returns a call after the answer is found, thank them and say, “I found the information I needed, but I appreciate you taking the time to call.”

Ask for the Resources You Need

When it comes to spirit-led women who want a rich, meaningful existence expressed through their business, it all comes down to access to the resources needed. Personally, I make it a policy in my world to be a resource to others whether they work with me directly or not. It’s my goal through my work to better the life of each person I come to know. Feel free to reach out to me personally or through WNC Woman Magazine to ask for help with top problems in money mindset, manifestation, and growing your conscious business and life.

Together, we can develop the knowledge and resources to grow a heart-centered world.

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Sherri L. McLendon, M.A., is a recognized Asheville area feminine leader, conscious business coach WomenSpiritAndMoney.com, and marketing public relations consultant and content strategist at monetampr.com.