Every business owner needs to get their marketing message clear, intriguing and differentiated.  Like it or not, it’s a fact!  It’s also a challenge when the service you provide is a highly personal one to the client.  When it comes to creating  a message for personal services you have to connect with the client on a deep level and give them something they are willing to pay for.  It’s a balancing act many businesses struggle with.  That’s why I feel it’s important to share messages about how to differentiate yourself in the market.

There are several myths that I see tripping up coaches and other personal transformation professionals.  Each of these myths can quickly get you off track and have potential clients going elsewhere…fast!  So, I want to point you in a helpful direction.  See if you have bought into any of the following myths.  Feel free to comment with your opinions at the end of the post.

Myth #1:  Using the correct marketing language will easily drive traffic your direction. “Marketing language” is not magic nor is it always useful.  When I started in the world of marketing, I copied all sorts of “money making” phrases that I thought would fill my business with eager clients.  I mixed and matched, I changed it up a bit and I added my own voice.  Did it get attention?  A little.  However, what really got attention was when I started talking about my own personal story and experience.  I started using MY language, straight from my own brain and heart.  Psst - if you are on a mission, this is most effective in connecting with those you are meant to help.

Why? Because you are unique in you’re own right.  Speaking from your heart will get more traction than using a formula. Therefore your combination and selection of words is unique.  So, why rely on someone else to tell you what to say.  Use your own unique way of speaking.  Remember, the goal is to get potential clients to trust you so they are willing to jump right in.  They will trust you more if they feel like they “know” you.  How can they know you or trust you when you aren’t being authentic in your communications?

Myth #2:  Keep it professional. I know I just said speak from your heart.   Now, I’m saying to keep it professional? Many people feel these two things cannot co-exist and I beg to differ.  You can be personal and use your heart to guide your words.  As long as you stay on a topic that is professional, then you’re fine.

Now, that’s not to say that you’re forbidden from sharing your personal life.  People respond to personal information. By personal information, I’m not saying share the fight you had with your significant other last night.  I’m saying, share some hobbies or things you like to do outside your business.  Relate it back to your business and make connections wherever you can.  Know that in sharing a piece of who you are outside your business, you are allowing people to connect with you in a different way.  They may just start asking for your business help, because they can relate to your personal interests. This is why you’ll find me sharing my love for acting, my addiction to “American Idol” and stories of game days or BBQ’s at my house.  It starts a conversation.

Myth #3:  It’s best to have a Professional Copywriter write for me. While a professional copywriter can write your copy from scratch, however, it won’t have as much power or draw as it would coming from you.

If you really want to get the biggest bang for your buck…write the original copy from your own heart and then send it to a copywriter to spiff it up and enhance the effectiveness.  A great copywriter will appreciate your unique spin and use most of your language with a few pertinent changes they know will get you better results.

Over time, they might start to get a feel for the way you speak and start to write some for you, however, I always recommend at least writing a few paragraphs from your own language in order for the copywriter to do their best work.  Your language and your thoughts about your business change over time.  What might be your language today is not going to be the same in 3 months. That’s why I always suggest that you start with your own original copy.

So, where you are going to start with getting your own unique thoughts into the world?

When you are representing your business, do you have a way of standing out?  In this day and age there are a lot of people entering the coaching world.  If you want to be successful in this larger world of coaching, then you must differentiate. You need to find something that people will remember so they quickly and easily refer to you later on.

I have recently created a strategy for local networking meetings to get me noticed.  So I stand out and am memorable to those I meet.  What’s the strategy?  Tie-dye!  It took a bit of courage at first, but I always tell my clients to capitalize on who they are.  I have to follow my own advice, so I’m going against the rules and using tie-dye to get more noticed.

Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and purchase tie-dye clothes or even change what you wear to networking meetings.  It’s not just about the tie-dye.  It’s about using who you are to create a powerful, memorable marketing strategy that gets people wanting more conversation. You want that, don’t you?

Here’s the story of how all this came to pass and how it fits with my marketing strategy.

Yup, that’s me bowling on my birthday!  My Husband started a tradition of wearing tie-dye in college.  After we got married and I got used to the idea, I started wearing tie-dye too.  Come to find out, I actually LOVE wearing tie-dye.  Hubby and I are kinda known for our tie-dye which is fun.  We’ve got family members wearing it and when we lived in the country the whole town knew us as “The Tie-Dye Couple”.  We wear tie-dye so much we get questioned when we don’t wear tie-dye.

Now that we live in a metro area, I’ve been networking a lot more.  At first I’d go through my closet and look for something to wear.  I looked at all my professional clothes and go…eh.  None of it thrilled me.  I really didn’t want to wear it.  For some reason it just didn’t seem right.  So after a few meetings of being tired of my business casual clothes, I decided to shake things up a little and I wore a tie-dye shirt.  I dressed it up a bit with a khaki blazer, business casual pants and shoes.  To my surprise, not one person looked at me funny.

Have you ever done this with your marketing materials?  Thought you had to stay within the framework you were given with packages, sales pages or e-mail messages, only to get poor results because YOU weren’t in it?

Of course my brain started ticking.  Hmmm….what if I made this my uniform for business meetings?!  How fun would that be?!  Then I started to really think about it in terms of branding.  Okay, it’s fun, but does it work with my branding?  Low and behold, it does!!  Let me count the ways:

1) I have a bright and bubbly personality. I mean, I call myself a life enthusiast and I live up to that name.  I DO enjoy life!  To the point that people give me that “no one can be THAT happy,” brush off at times.   I don’t mind.  If they can’t hack my happy, sunny personality then too bad.  That’s the way I look at it.  Anyway, if you think about it…um, tie-dye can be pretty bright.  It’s fun too. So, it matches who I am as a person.  Awesome!  Where are you including your personality in your marketing?  People trust those they can relate to most. Share who you are!  Share your hobbies, interests and personality with your prospects and they’ll be more willing to PAY you.

2) Tie-dye stands out. How many people do you know show up to a business networking meeting in tie-dye?  I want to stand out in a crowd.  I want to be noticed so people will remember me.  Not because I’m a Singer/Actress and like to be the center of attention (okay, maybe a little).  Mostly because I want people to say “Remember the one in the tie-dye shirt?  Go talk to her.”   If they remember me, they will refer me.

3) I help others stand out. My goal in local networking is to promote the differentiation work I do with clients.  Let’s add that in to the fact that I stand out and now it goes something like this… “Remember the one in the tie-dye shirt?  She stands out in a crowd and helps others do the same.  Go talk to her.”   That’s exactly what I want people saying!

So it totally paid off to marry a tie-dye wearing man.  He’s awesome in other ways too, but this isn’t about my very sweet and cool Hubby.  This is about branding.  I found something that matches who I am and helps people GET what I do.  When you start there marketing is fun, easy and gets attention.

People trust those they can relate to most.  Share who you are!  Share your hobbies, interests and personality with your prospects and they’ll be more willing to PAY you.

It’s your turn now!  I challenge you to infuse more of yourself into your marketing. This is your chance to model to your clients how being “who they are” pays off.  I guarantee you the more you put  yourself out there as “you,” the more appropriate potential clients will line up to buy what you have to offer.

Share your story by leaving a comment.  How are you going to infuse more of yourself into your marketing?

Kristen Beireis
Trust Marketing Expert
http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com

As some of you know, I am a singer.  As a singer, I am addicted to American Idol and watch it every year…okay, I skip the auditions and sometimes don’t tune in until the top 12.  I just can’t stand to watch people make fools of themselves and contort their voices to do things they shouldn’t even be trying to do (that’s a whole other topic though!).

I was watching American Idol a couple weeks ago and it hit me.  The entire process of American Idol is an exercise in differentiation!  If you watch the progression of each contestant through to the finale, they learn where their “place” is in the music world.  They are forced to try different genres for a reason.  It gives them the experience to find where they fit and stand out in as many places as they can.

A few will know what their differentiation is going in.  Adam Lambert was one of those people last year.  He finished 2nd, which is an honor and got him some huge exposure to producers who would’ve never seen him otherwise.  Why didn’t he finish on top?  Numbers.  There weren’t enough of “his people” in the audience to vote for him, but you can bet his albums will sell within his target market. He’s already been at the top of the charts (above Kris Allen, the winner) several times since his album came out.  He differentiated and it got him noticed by those who really want what he’s selling.

One of the things I find most interesting about the process of American Idol is that in order to find out where they fit in the music world, the contestants have to find who they are.  The ones who aren’t secure in who they are usually get voted off quickly.  So, there’s an inner knowing and confidence that’s required in order for the contestants to stand out.  It’s not just about having the best voice.  People vote for the contestants they can relate to.  Just listen to Simon.  Usually his negative comments challenge the contestant to own up to who they are.

I find the same to be true in the world of coaching.  A coach who does the work and finds out who they are, owns it, and creates differentiation based on that will find themselves with a stream of clients coming in.  Clients that are the right clients.  Their people.

Those who are unsure, hesitant, or don’t quite know who they are as a coach yet will flounder and run around in circles trying to get clients that trickle in.  In a world where there are more and more people hanging out the “coach” shingle every day, you’ve got to stand out and find something unique about what you offer.  The unique piece comes from who you are.

Oh, and by the way.  When you offer something that no one else in your field is offering, it raises the amount of trust a client is willing to give you right off the bat.

So, what can we learn from American Idol?  Own who you are and differentiate around it.  If you do, you’ll be the next Coaching Idol to take the stage.

What are your thoughts?  I’d love to hear from you in a comment.

Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert