Send me a price
While it appears to be an opportunity to start a new deal, there’s lots going on in the background —especially if you’re in a nuanced, expertise business. It also means: I’m shopping for a price. I’m doing the assessment by myself. I’m already comparing other options. I’m checking features. It also means your prospect has the upper hand. Your negotiation power is low and hope is more of your “strategy”. There’s a simple fix though. Qualify your prospect. See if they’re the right ones for your…
On this one, I’m afraid.
Have you ever felt you made something but (under the faux-disguise of “modesty” —but in reality, fear), you don’t promote it? That’s what I’m getting right now. The lovely Jonathan Stark invited me to his show, Ditching Hourly, and we explored a POV re: personal branding —and why it doesn’t really exist. So, here I am, inviting you to give it a listen and let me know what you think. And yes, while feeling vulnerable on this one, I’m good to take a few punches. 🙂 Let me know your thoughts on…
3 myths of personal brand
“This is me. These are my values. This is my personality” → Me, Me, Me. It’s focused on you and not on the ones you serve. How are you to be of service and help, if you’re the most important person in the room? “You’re the product” → If you’re a product… then you have no conscience. No morals. No ethics. Because a thing can’t have those. A person does. 🙂 “You build a brand” → Not. Your customers build a brand for the business to thrive.
How not to stand out
When it’s all about yourself (and your brand), it’s hard to stand out. When you get to think —like, really think— of your customers, it changes it all. You don’t show up to sell, but to help them to buy.
Legacy branding
Legacy branding is all about bells and whistles. How YOU or your company —or worse, agencies— build “winning” brands. Because when you have a “winning” brand, you’ll stand out and everyone will care for it. That’s not the case. I have some bad/good news here: People don’t care about your brand. Your customers don’t care about your brand. They care about how they can get what they want —and if your business can help them transform and get delighted, they’re all in. Businesses can’t (and don’t)…
Focusing on them is not forgetting about yourself
A few responses to a part of 3 Myths of personal brand were —in the background— asking: if it’s all about them/others… when do i get to think about me? Such a great question. Spoiler alert: It is not an either-or option. Here’s why While speaking to your customers, thinking of ways they can get help into what they’re after doesn’t mean you forget about yourself. On the contrary, it enables you to be more focused and scale your impact. To know what kind of “them” you want to think of starts…
From clarity to others
Thinking of “them” —your customers— comes from clarity. It’s how you choose to make a greater impact in your market. It’s about how you can focus on them so that you better serve them. It’s not about how great work you do, how cool you are, how awesome your brand is. (It helps, sure…) While you choose based on your personality, values, interest, access and more, the focus of your business is not you. It’s your customers. Being “others-focused” doesn’t take you off the equation —or means you…
Quantifying fun
How can you quantify the fun you’ll have in a project, so that when thinking of “them” doesn’t become a chore —or a long agony on what to write, how to approach, how to help? Quantifying fun In doing so, you’ll be able to see if the project is worth it and if you have interest in pursuing it. Plus, if you’re ready for the long game on the same type of projects. At its simplest, it’s 5 axis: Impact, Profit, Fun, Access and Credibility. ImpactWhat’s the impact on your clients. Is it a BIG…
PSA
For fun to keep being fun, you also need to take some good rest when needed. Just your friendly reminder that work is part of life. Take a small break. Enjoy. Then go back to it.
The marketing way to do marketing
Give as much as you can, at scale, to help the ones you serve. Write, speak, present, podcast… you choose. As friend-of-the-list Jonathan Stark says: “Help people you like get what they want.” Helping is the only way to do marketing. PS.- While I’m at it, if writing is one thing that grabs your interest, Jonathan is launching Email365 this upcoming monday (Nov 14th) —he’s actually guilty of me being in your inbox everyday for the last 349 days and counting. It’s a game-changer.
