Imagine we go to a buffet that contains about 80 different dishes
And I start a countdown clock.
From 12:15 pm to 12:56 pm you have to taste all the dishes in the buffet.

Does a gulp come to mind?
And yet most of us will force clients to gobble our buffet.
Go to any workshop. Go to any presentation. Go to any client meeting.
They’re overstuffing their clients and it’s not a good thing.

But what do you do as a consultant?
What do you do as a trainer?
Surely your client wants access to the entire buffet.
Surely your client wants to sample whatever catches their fancy—and have a good time.

What should you do to make the client’s lunch more enjoyable?
Do you steer the client away from the buffet completely?
Or can we still go to the buffet?

Of course we can go to the buffet.

But what you now have to do differently, is you have to do is point the client towards a few good dishes. And make sure the client tries those specific dishes first.

This is a dilemma if you’re the buffet-creator.
Because you created the buffet.
And you want the client to eat the buffet.
And you the client to eat as much as possible, because you need to close the buffet at 1pm.
And yet you’re doing the client a disfavour by overstuffing him/her.

However, when you point the client to a few dishes, you’re now creating an à la carte factor.
And yet, the concept of à la carte is a problem for your little brain cells.

You want the client to have everything.
The client wants access to everything.
So how do we solve this problem?

But here’s how I resolved it in my own brain over the past few weeks:
1) You paid for the buffet.
2) You get the buffet (all the materials and downloads)
3) My job is to give you access to the entire buffet of information.
4) Then I get you to focus on the dishes that I think are the best for you.
5) I point you in the direction of those dishes.
6) It becomes an à la carte meal (even though you think you’re at the buffet).
7) We enjoy as much as we can of that a la carte and you’re happy (instead of being overstuffed).
8)  You’re happy because you have control over what you’ve eaten (control over what you’ve learned and can help implement).
9) You now have access to the buffet at any time (*you have all the materials and downloads).

As a teacher/consultant I felt I had to give everything…
I felt I was giving less by not covering everything in the syllabus.
But I’ve found that less is more.

I had to learn this in workshops way back in 2003.
Then I had to apply it in online learning and courses.
And then in live presentations.
Each time I felt the need to fill up the buffet table.
And even now, I’m finding I have to step back and stop overstuffing my clients.

I now apply this a la carte concept for my ebooks.
For my courses.
For my online courses.
But something will trip me up. I’ll end up being the buffet master.
And I’ll have to re-learn that I’m actually the buffet provider, but the a la carte master

That learning is hard to remember.
And I have to keep reminding myself.
Because otherwise all we have is shock and awe.

And obese client brains!