A dirty little marketing secret no one is telling you
b"A lot of entrepreneurs get all twisted up about branding. Either they think it is some huge, expensive thing that is only for large companies, or they get obsessed with nailing a complete brand strategy before taking the first tiny step in building a business. Neither extreme is true. In this podcast conversation with brand expert Liz Dennery-Sanders, we discuss what branding is and isn't, what is critical to know about branding at any stage of business, and how you must pay attention to every part of how you do business if you want your marketing efforts to be effective. To illustrate what we talked about in the interview, Liz shares this post: The dirty little marketing secret no one is telling you By Liz Dennery Sanders Why is it that some entrepreneurs have clients lining up outside their door and a waiting list a mile long, while others are struggling to pay the rent? Why is it that most entrepreneurs are busy, busy, busy with their marketing tasks, but only a handful are truly effective? There\\u2019s a dirty little secret in the marketing world that no one\\u2019s telling you. Until now. Think about it. You\\u2019ve put up a website, jumped on every social media platform that\\u2019s come along, signed up for all the \\u201cimportant\\u201d conferences and even invested in a cool new logo and business cards. But your phone is gathering dust and other than a gazillion unwanted solicitations, your inbox has seen better days. You\\u2019ve been doing everything you think you\\u2019re \\u201csupposed\\u201d to be doing to market your business, but you\\u2019re still not attracting your ideal clients. Well, here\\u2019s the Truth with a capital T: If you don\\u2019t have a strong brand, your marketing will never work. In order for a marketing strategy to be successful, you\\u2019ve got to have a solid brand foundation. This means: You are clear about who you are, what you offer and why you do it You intimately understand your target market and position yourself as the solution to their problems You know your superpowers and you use them daily You communicate your value with ease You lead with your heart and your passion, which enables others to make an emotional connection with you In other words, we need to see and FEEL your awesome in order to connect with you in a meaningful way. Let me tell you about my client, Margaret. A self-proclaimed business coach, Margaret came to me because she was unclear as to why she wasn\\u2019t attracting clients, even though she was \\u201cdoing everything right\\u201d from a marketing stand point. To her, doing everything right meant putting up a website, getting on every social media platform possible, attending networking events and conferences and working 60+ hours a week. Watching her made me dizzy. Margaret was making the mistake that so many women entrepreneurs are making today: she put the marketing cart before the brand horse. When we drilled down to WHY Margaret became a business coach in the first place, I found out that, because of her own experiences, she has very strong desire to help other women become successful, especially women over 40 who are either just starting a business or are completely reinventing themselves. Margaret struggled with a slew of nasty bosses in her 20\\u2019s and 30\\u2019s, went back to school to get her coaching certification in her early 40\\u2019s, and now at 46, has claimed her independence and wants to help others do the same. Bingo. When I shared with Margaret that this was one of the keys to becoming more successful \\u2013 positioning herself to work with a specific group of people \\u2013 she was initially fearful and concerned. \\u201cBut I don\\u2019t want to exclude anyone from working with me,\\u201d she said, \\u201cI\\u2019m afraid I won\\u2019t have enough clients.\\u201d My response: \\u201cWell, how\\u2019s that working for you so far?\\u201d Margaret thought that by being available to anyone and everyone, she would certainly attract more clients. Instead, it was actually repelling them. A confused mind never buys. On the other hand, a crystal clear, passionate message, directed at the right people, makes an emotional connection that leads to a relationship. And a relationship is the first step toward building brand evangelists. When someone would ask Margaret what she did for a living, she used to say something like, \\u201cI\\u2019m a Business Coach,\\u201d or \\u201cI help entrepreneurs thrive in their business.\\u201d Her website and marketing materials had more of the same: Non-committal and often confusing content that was trying to be all things to all people. Not exactly a client magnet. Now Margaret\\u2019s response is something like this: I help women over 40 either start a business or completely reinvent themselves \\u2013 sometime it\\u2019s both! As a Business Coach, Entrepreneurial Evangelist and someone who has gained my own independence from the corporate world, I will help you find the passion AND the profit in your business and help you grow. The next time you find yourself whiplashed by the latest and greatest bright, shiny marketing tools, first make sure you are clear about your brand and confident about the value you provide. This is a necessary step to make sure your marketing will be effective. --- Liz Dennery Sanders is a brand and creative strategist, personal development coach and the founder of SheBrand.com, a global online business dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs build their confidence, their brands and their bank accounts. Previously, Liz garnered millions of dollars in press value for brands such as Escada, Hale Bob, Anastasia, Blue Cult and Elyse Walker, and connected them directly with A-list celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Sharon Stone, Kelly Rutherford, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, Cindy Crawford and Marcia Cross. A member of the Vogue 100, a hand-selected group of 100 influential decision makers and opinion leaders across the country, Liz is known for her distinctive taste in style, design and culture. Liz is offering a brand new class to help you unlock your brand superpowers. It starts Monday, June 18 - Details here: http://theawesomebrand.com/"