There I was, in my hotel suite just two hours before I was to do my first big "sale from the platform." You may know what this is, but just in case let me explain. "Selling from the platform" is the term used when a speaker transitions into their "product pitch" at the end of their talk and tries to get the audience to buy what they're selling.

Well, I don't know about you, but I really don't like this experience. It always feels canned, forced and somewhat uncomfortable to me. And, here I was about to do this myself, and I was sick to my stomach. I was sitting in my room with about four other people getting a lot of coaching around what to say, how to say it, what order to say things in, when to pause, when to drive home a point, etc.

The clock was ticking, and I had to get back to my event to give the talk that would lead to this "pitch." As I walked out of the room, I told my husband I couldn't do it. I felt so upset inside, that I knew I couldn't do what everyone was saying I had to do to "hit my numbers."

I had to make a choice right then and there. Was I going to do what everyone told me to do? Which was what I had seen countless others do before and what was the only rational and proven way to go about "the sale"? Or, was I going to follow my intuition, forget all the coaching about how to make a pitch, go completely unscripted, surrender to the moment, speak from my heart and make a genuine, authentic invitation for people to work with me further?

The awful feeling I had when I thought about trying to do it how I was "supposed to" was enough to make me take a huge leap of faith, follow my intuition, and make an invitation in the only way that felt right to me... genuinely and authentically, with love and care for myself and everyone in my audience.

The experience was absolutely incredible. To this day, I have no conscious understanding of how it happened, but as I took the stage and transitioned into making my invitation, I slipped into a meditative state that allowed my heart to speak... peacefully, powerfully, honestly and directly. I was so "in my zone" my husband joked that I must have smoked something before I took the stage. I seemed to be floating in a world of my own as I invited people to join my Freedom Circle Mastermind. I felt completely calm, peaceful, relaxed, authentic and fr^ee.

It was one of the most liberating experiences of my life... to forget what everyone told me to do, follow my intuition instead, feel total bliss, let go of expectation and trust that All is Well... no matter what happened.

However, the result of my intuition-based approach was overwhelming. I had planned for a maximum of 15 clients in my mastermind, but had 30 entrepreneurs who wanted to join (DOUBLE what I envisioned) and ended up creating two mastermind groups! I doubt these stellar results would have happened if I ignored my intuition and introduced the Freedom Circle Mastermind with the same calculated approach I'd seen a gazillion times before.

So, now that you've seen my example of how following your intuition can have a huge impact on your business, it's time to think about YOUR business. Is there something you're doing because you think you "should" be doing it (but it doesn't resonate with you at all)? Do you feel like you're trying to force a square peg into a round hole? Take note of this feeling and begin to listen to what you're experiencing inside. Allow yourself to release the "shoulds" and decide to do one thing differently today based on your INTUITION instead.

Copyright (c) 2009 Christine Kloser