As a high-achieving entrepreneur it’s absolutely critical that you have what I call a “Brilliant Brand”–a brand that clearly represents you and the results you consistently deliver to your carefully selected niche audience.
Here are some tips that will help make sure your brand is “Brilliant” and represents you and what results you deliver to your clients:
Your brand is NOT your logo, tag line, or colors. It’s the promise of the experience they get by working with you. Your fonts, colors and designs are just means of conveying your brand but they aren’t your brand.
Make sure you speak to a specific audience with your brand and brand promise. For me it’s high-achieving entrepreneurs with 70% of them being women. You must have a focused, targeted niche for whom your brand speaks. You can’t be all things to all people and market to anyone who breathes. If you’re not Coca Cola or McDonald’s don’t try to market to everyone who breathes. You’ll go broke. Fast.
Make your brand PERSONAL. If you’re a high-achieving entrepreneur with a carefully chosen niche market it’s absolutely critical that you let your personality shine through all your marketing materials–from your website, business cards, ezine–absolutely everything. You have to get out there and let your potential clients get a feel about YOU. They don’t want to deal with a nameless, faceless company. They want to deal with YOU.
Don’t waste your money on “Image Advertising”–ever. If you can’t track your advertising results then it’s not worth your running an ad–ever. This premise is true for both on-line and off-line advertising. They may not be beautiful, but using a Direct Response style ad with an offer or promotion or fre* give away of some kind that can be tracked will yield you far better results. Once more, if you’re not Coca Cola or McDonalds don’t spend your money on Image Advertising. Ever.
Know WHO your business is for? (Tightly, Targeted Niche) Many high-achieving entrepreneurs know WHAT they are offering (Brand Promise) but they aren’t clear on their WHO which can weaken their Brand Promise. Don’t let this happen to you. Know both your WHO and your WHAT.
Check your brand for its Brilliance and see how you can tweak it or re-design it if necessary to have it really sparkle for you and help you attract your Ideal, High-Paying Clients.
Me with Brilliant Success Mastermind Member Ria Hackland at her beautiful home, Royston Hall
Hello
The World Cup is over here in South Africa and it’s a bit of a let-down after the past month of hosting the top soccer (football!) teams of the world. I moved to South Africa 6 years ago right after they won the bid to host World Cup. I must say I was a bit sceptical myself about the country being able to pull it off. I’m thrilled to say I was WRONG. We hosted an amazing event with little incident. It’s always good when progress is made in any area in the world. It affects all of us positively.
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you’ll see plenty of posts regarding my upcoming move back to America. I’ve started a countdown to the day I leave South Africa so check it out if you want to see what’s going on. I’m going to try to tie in some business, marketing and life lessons in there as well to make it more interesting so let me know what you think.
Are you using Facebook for business and to make connections? If you’re not you need to highly consider it. More than 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook daily! It’s not a fad. It’s not going away. It along with all the other main Social Media platforms is only going to continue to grow.
I connected with a Vice President I worked under at USA TODAY back when I sold National Advertising for the paper through Facebook this week. And she wrote me an amazing testimonial (unsolicited) about my work there. I’m sharing it with you because it means a lot to me. Carolyn Bivens most recent position was the Commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and now she’s on the Board of Governors with Children’s Miracle Network.
We would not have reconnected in 18 year if it weren’t for Facebook. Who can you connect with this week than can help you in your business?
In today’s business climate you absolutely must make your clients and prospective clients offers they can’t refuse in order to get their business. You are wasting your time putting any weak or wimpy offers out there. I mean really, is 10% off really going to get you to invest in that product or service? It’s not going to work on me for sure.
Here are some basic guidelines you must follow whenever you are making offers to your clients and prospective clients:
Make sure your offer has a very clear CALL TO ACTION. Yes, you need to instruct your clients and potential clients as to what action you WANT them to take whenever they are reading an ad, your website, a sales page, a brochure, you name it. Don’t just put your company name and a general blurb and your phone number. Be Specific. Instruct your clients to call in, sign up, invest, etc. Be very specific or you’re wasting your advertising dollars and time.
Make sure your offer is appealing so your clients and potential clients will want to take you up on it quickly! Most offers out there are boring, bland and basically blah. A strong offer will cause your potential client to rush to do business with you as soon as possible.
Make sure you list a deadline for your offer. An offer isn’t really a proper offer unless it has a deadline. Where’s yours?
Whenever possible make your supply limited and tie it into the deadline. For example……only the first 20 customers get “x, y, z” so invest now!
Give a reasonable reason for your deadline and or limited supply. Maybe you want to keep it exclusive for only a few, maybe it’s a promotion tied to a national or international or even local holiday. Maybe it’s tied into a story about a celebrity. You can even make a reason if it’s funny or clever.
Entice your potential clients to do business with you using premiums and bonus gifts. You can give a gift (even an e-book or a fr*e mp3 with great information on it), for purchasing early. You can offer multiple gifts or a choice of gifts.
We’re living in a very different age from even two years ago. Our client’s buying habits have changed for good. What are you doing to make sure your clients and potential clients will take advantage of the wonderful services and products you have to give to them? You’ve got to be Big, Bold and a little Out There these days and create irresistible offers or your potential clients will pass you by for someone who is offering them something they can’t refuse.
Me with my Million Dollar Marketing Mentor, Kendall Summerhawk
Hello
Can you believe the year is half over? It’s unbelievable how time is zooming by. I only have 2 ½ months left before I move to Dallas which in and of itself is pretty unbelievable. How are you doing in meeting and reaching your 2010 goals? If you’re using my new Juicy Goal Activator™ you’d know the answer to this question right away. : D If you’re off track and want some help getting back on track in a simple, easy way, then take a look at my new Juicy Goal Activator™. If you aren’t off track, keep on going, okay?
Winter here right now on the South Coast of South Africa is absolutely stunning. Daytime highs of 72 – 75F with the lows about 60F! This is my favorite time of year here in this amazingly gorgeous country. It’s going to be hard to leave here for sure.
I’m busy presenting “How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It™” day Intensives next on the South Coast and Ballito. I already have 5 to 7 enrolled in each and am looking to cap out each Intensive to around 12 high-achieving entrepreneurs. “How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It™” is a program I’m licensed to share as one of my million dollar marketing mentor’s (Kendall Summerhawk) Certified Money, Marketing and Soul™ Coaches.
Please email me and let me know of any specific topics you want to know more about. I’ve gotten a few responses but would like some more so I can give you exactly what information you need for more clients, cash and abundance.
Here are a few top secrets to help you experience more clients and cash flow abundance in your business. They are simple yet powerful strategies to help you pull in more money and clients immediately.
START MARKETING! This sounds so obvious, I know. BUT, there are plenty of High-Achieving Entrepreneurs who don’t market their businesses, products or themselves at all. They wait for the phone to ring or for the customer to walk in the door. Passivity and inaction will not work in our new economic reality.
“Always keep your pipeline (or marketing funnel) FULL of potential prospects and customers.”This tip comes from my Dad, Sledge Killion, who is a Master Sales Genius.
He’s been in sales or sales management for 46 years now–by choice. I don’t think he’ll ever retire. He enjoys helping people too much. The best sales advice my dad ever gave me as a raw rookie in sales is to always keep my pipeline overflowing. No matter what. Period. You may love what you do, but your number one job now is to market yourself and your business.
Take time out of your business every day to market your products, services and even yourself to help you keep your pipeline full. This means blocking out time each day to promote your products, services or yourself. Don’t neglect marketing and promoting yourself in your efforts because, remember, clients and customers buy YOU first.
Spend time writing by hand — yes, by hand — notes to clients. Send clients and prospective clients relevant or interesting articles in the mail with a note you think this might be of interest to them.
Use this time to call at least 5 prospective clients a day. Send follow up emails to current clients and customers as well as potential clients. Use this time to plan your next email or snail mail campaign. Use it to write your newsletter. Use it to plan your marketing plan for the next 3, 6, or 12 months.
Make sure you do some type of activity to promote your products, services or yourself every day no matter what.
Systemize your marketing. Begin by systemizing your marketing time by scheduling marketing time in your diary or in Outlook every day–and stick to it!
Schedule follow up calls to clients and potential clients and keep the marketing appointments you make. Invest in an auto-responder system either through your shopping cart or on its own such as aweber or icontact. Auto-responders are a great way to stay in touch with your “list.”
INVEST in marketing your business. No one says it better than the brilliant Direct Marketer, DanKennedy:
“If you are spending on marketing; you’re doing it all wrong; you need to be investing in the acquisition, nurturing, retaining, upgrading and multiplying of customers as assets.”
Personally, I believe there is no better place for me to invest my money than in the marketing and growth of my own business. I hope you will too. In our new world economy investing in your business by growing it through Smart Marketing & Soft Selling™ is a smart decision.
My Brilliant Success Mastermind Ladies (partial group) Aren't they gorgeous? I love them to bits
Hello
World Cup Soccer is still going strong here in South Africa. I must say it’s a bit sad now that Bafana Bafana is out of it but we’re all still excited to be hosting such a big event in the world. It’s also been interesting to notice the riots up in Toronto for the G-20 meetings while it’s been as peaceful and calm as can be in South Africa during World Cup. Hmmm………
Are you charging what you’re worth and getting it? Most High-Achieving Entrepreneurs aren’t. If you’re not and you’re in South Africa you’ve got the opportunity to attend one of 3 day long “How to Charge What You’re Worth and Get It™” seminars I’m holding in July and August in Margate, Ballito and Durban. Don’t miss out on the last workshops I’m holding in South Africa before I move to Dallas, Texas.
I’ve made a tough decision to give away my dear doggie, Suzy Q, to Verona and Luciano Baldi when I move. She’s just too fragile to make the 2 day trip back. Suzy Q can barely make it to the groomers without hyperventilating! She’ll be so loved by the Baldi’s which makes me really happy.
Please take some time and let me know what types of issues you are facing in your business and what challenges you need and want solved. I want to write articles based on exactly what you want to hear about.
Have a great and productive and cash flow abundant week!
As a high-achieving entrepreneur it’s absolutely critical that you have what I call a “Brilliant Brand”–a brand that clearly represents you and the results you consistently deliver to your carefully selected niche audience.
In today’s business climate you absolutely must make your clients and prospective clients offers they can’t refuse in order to get their business. You are wasting your time putting any weak or wimpy offers out there. I mean really, is 10% off really going to get you to invest in that product or service? It’s not going to work on me for sure.
Here are a few top secrets to help you experience more clients and cash flow abundance in your business. They are simple yet powerful strategies to help you pull in more money and clients immediately.