Once you’ve set up your website, created your services page, and possibly even a blog, the first thing that people ask is how do I attract clients or customers?
So they invest into courses teaching about courses, sales funnel and business, create their first lead magnet and then start building their email list.
And when they go to sell their services and products, no one wants to buy anything from them.
Why is this?
Because there is a very important step that is being missed called Personal Branding, that is crucial to your business and your ability to succeed.
What is Personal Branding?
When most people hear the word Personal Branding the first thing that comes to their mind are things like their logo and their brand colors, but the truth is, that’ s not Personal Branding at all. That is visual branding.
Personal Branding is when an individual uses their personal values, lifestyle choices, personality and reputation to market their business.
But if we take this a step further, before you can use yourself to market your business, you have to actually have to properly define what your brand actually stands for and get really clear about your speciality as a person and a business.
Why does this matter? Because those who skip defining themselves, build audiences that do all of the defining for them.
[sc name=”Lead Magnet”]What I mean is, every time a stranger lands on your website or stumbles upon your social media, they’re creating an impression of you in their mind.
And if you don’t have full clarity around what you do and what you’re all about, you leave an impression in your potential customers mind that says that you aren’t right for them, and they keep searching until they find someone that is.
How does Personal Branding affect your sales?
The actual process of discovery and defining yourself is what Personal Branding is.
That is what I do with my clients. I help them define themselves and get full clarity around who they are, what they do and what they have to bring to their industry that’s going to help them stand out.
So how does this affect your ability to sell out your course, your 1:1 program or your online product?
When you don’t do the proper Personal Branding work beforehand, this usually means that…
- You don’t have a solid grasp on your niche or how it’s even profitable.
- You’re sending out email after email but no one really is checking out when they visit the cart.
- Your posting on social media every single freaking day but no one is begging to work with you.
- You have no clue what makes you stand out from your competition.
- You’re copying your favorite mentor or your competition’s website in hopes to “steal their magic” and apply it to your business because obviously they’re doing something right that you’re not (which never works, btw).
- You’re struggling to sell out your programs because people don’t understand how you can truly help them.
- You only can sell something when you’re offering a major discount because people don’t see the value in it.
If any of these are you, most likely, you have a Personal Branding problem.
See here is the common thread between all of what I just listed. The biggest thing that is blocking you from financially thriving is your messaging.
If your messaging is not resonating with your client’s and customers, you’re not going to sell a thing.
It doesn’t matter how many sales funnels, ads, emails, or social media posts you create. Your business will struggle as long as your messaging is all over the place.
It’s the content you put in your ad copy, your social media posts and your emails that matter the most–not the fact that you’re sending it.
Here is why you really really really do need a Personal Brand.
Look, let’s just be super honest about it.
Your customer isn’t going to buy from you because that quote you posted on Instagram is super witty. Everyone posts quotes.
Your customer isn’t going to buy from you because your coaching program offers way more value than any of the other coaches in your industry.
We’re now in a world that is ran by Kim Kardashian, Cardi B, and any other person that has the courage to follow their footsteps and step out in front of their brand.
Your customer buys for three reasons:
- They have a belief about themselves and purchase products from brands that confirm that belief.
- They have a belief about themselves but aspire to be something different, so they purchase products from brands that identify with what they aspire to be.
- They believe that the outcome they desire is possible for them, and they are certain that you are the one that can help them get this outcome.
Here is an example of what each of the following looks like in lehmans terms:
- Your customer is animal-cruelty conscious (self-belief) and purchases products only from vegan brands (brand that confirms their beliefs).
- Your customer is overweight and believes she could commit to a diet plan if she didn’t have to give up everything she loves (self-belief) so she purchases a fitness program from a coach that helps women lose weight even with ice cream in the meal plan (brand that confirms their beliefs)
- Your customer wants to sell without being salesy (self-belief) and discovers a mentor that has built her entire business with organic marketing so she buys it (brand that confirms their belief aka oh so its possible to make $$$ without being salesy?).
What a person believes about themselves shifts their buying behaviors. This is why your business can’t just sell a product.
Your business has to be built around your customers identity.
And the only way to build a product around your customers identity, is to first have clear understanding around what that identity is.
This is why Personal Branding works. This is why being the face of your own brand works.
Chances are, your customer or client is a mirror of you. An old, outdated version of yourself.
As I mentioned previously, Personal Branding is when an individual uses their personal values, lifestyle choices, personality and reputation to market their business.
That means in order to create emails, social media posts and ad copy that really resonates with your potential customer, you have to do the work to really define yourself, your personal brand and uncover how your personal brand’s story intersects with your client’s story.
By taking this step first, your emails, social media posts, and ad copy has more impact because it’s connecting with your client’s identity.
You’re no longer creating content just for the hell of it.
