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 a Professional, your potential clients (and current clients) rely on you to be the expert.  They rely on you to have a particular skill set and/or knowledge-base they don’t possess.  If they don’t posses the skills and knowledge you do, then they don’t know what they don’t know.  For most people, it’s a little scary to not know something.  It can make them feel out of control of their situation.  In order to get control, they look for someone they feel can definitely fill in the gaps where needed.  They need someone they can trust to be honest and look out for their best interests.

I bet YOU know you’re trustworthy.  Since you are trustworthy, I’m betting it just drips off you when you meet people in person.  There’s an instant connection with clients who are right for you.  They quickly get a sense that they know you and if they are looking for someone like you soon, they are most likely to use that business card you gave them.

The challenge comes when you need to convince someone in visuals and writing that you are trustworthy.  Think about your website, brochures, business cards and all the other printed marketing materials you have in the world.   Trustworthiness doesn’t drip off of the written word very easy.  The words “trust me” without inflection and presence mean nothing on a printed page.  How can you build trust in your marketing materials before you’ve ever met your prospective client?  Here are a few simple (not necessarily obvious) things you can look for to make sure you are building trust.

Differentiation - If you walked into a room filled only with dentists, would you know who to trust?  What if one of those dentists offered you something you’d never thought of or heard a dentist offer before?  Would you trust THAT dentist?  When people are determining who to buy from, they are most likely to go with the professional who stands out and offers something different.  There’s an instant level of trust built in…IF your differentiation is good.

Good differentiation is not something that was given to you by someone else.  Good differentiation comes from inside you.  Now, you may not be able to see it so you may need some help pulling it out.  When you differentiate based on something authentic to you, then you stand out even more and people can tell it’s genuine.  If you try to force  a differentiation that just “sounds good” it has no meaning and as the business owner, you are going to have a hard time explaining it.  When differentiation comes from who you are something specific to that, then it’s easy for you to explain it, talk about it and help people understand it.  Again, instant trust.

Brand Consistency - Do you use the same tag line everywhere?  Is your logo the same everywhere?  Are you using the same font and font color in all your marketing materials?  Is your branding consistent no matter where you place your marketing?  Is your overall message being conveyed the same in your printed materials and in person?  Do you use the same basic messaging all the time or are you constantly changing it?  Look closely at every detail.  Where can you improve your consistency?

Follow-Through and Setting Expectations - This is a biggie that I see missed a lot, especially in online marketing.  When you make a promise follow through on it, even if it’s just a little freebie report.  Make sure it matches what you promised it would be.  Make sure everyone can easily retrieve it.  If you change it, then let people know about that.

I have a report about Twitter that is completely outdated on the technology.  I charged for this report when I first put it out into the world, but because it’s outdated, I offer it for free now.  On the page where I offer this free report, I have made it VERY clear that the technology is a bit outdated.  That way they know what to expect.  Just setting this one little expectation goes a long way towards gaining trust.

If you promise to e-mail in 24 hours after your potential client fills in an automated form.  Make sure you know that automated form promises this kind of turn around.  Don’t forget!  That way, you can make sure to follow-through and get in contact with them quickly.  If you don’t want to promise 24 hours, then DON’T.  It’s up to you what promises you make.  Only make promises you know you can keep.

Transparency - With the invention of social networking, this term has gotten a little bit of extra use.  Be transparent.  Share your brilliant ideas, information you know will be helpful to people before they get to you, and make people think with your words.  First, PLEASE, check in with yourself.  Ask yourself; “Does sharing this promote the trustworthy expert my prospective clients need to meet?”

It’s almost as if your potential clients are vicariously getting in control by hiring someone who has what is needed to get what they want.  If you are consistent, follow-through, and share your brilliance with them, then trust is a natural outcome for all your marketing.

Kristen Beireis of Coaches’ Marketing Source helps coaches and other personal transformation professionals establish trust through marketing.  First, she establishes a foundation that’s rooted in your authentic differentiation. Then she follows up with solutions that bring consistency to everything that has your name on it — from your newsletter to your business card to your social media pages. And while she’s happy to teach you how to do all this yourself, many of her clients love the way her team reduces their workload and overwhelm.

Greater trust means a shorter sales cycle, more of the right clients, and the confidence that comes from knowing your sales and marketing are in integrity with who you are as a person.

Do you ever wonder if you are doing your marketing right?  Have you hired people to teach you the correct way of marketing your business?  Has it ever felt right?

Here’s the thing.  Marketing is all about choices. You get to choose which marketing strategies you want to play with.  Did you know that any strategy could work for your business?  It’s true!  Marketing experts teach strategies that have been successful.  Any and all of them could be successful for you. You just need to choose which ones you want to play with.

Yes, I used the word “play”.  For me, marketing is something to play with.  I play with different strategies.  I play with the strategies that I absolutely love to play with.  I do this because I know I’ll follow through which automatically makes it hugely successful.

You always have a choice.  If you’ve done your homework and you know how to utilize a marketing strategy you CAN make it successful for you…and it doesn’t have to be hard.  In fact, if you choose your marketing strategies based on who you are, then it’s easy peasy!

Ok, so as a coach it’s required that you know who you are.  Do you really know who you are when it comes to marketing?  Are you clear on exactly what makes you, the way you run your business special? Did you know that knowing the answer to that question can inform your marketing in ways that will make marketing your business a breeze.

Think about it for a minute.  Knowing who you are and who you want to be in life has allowed you to reach goals you would’ve never been able to reach otherwise.  It’s informed the decisions you make in your life.  What would it be like to have just one thing that is deeply you and all your marketing was based on that? How much easier would your marketing life be?

I highly recommend you find that one deep differentiator that will help you stand out among all the people calling themselves a coach these days.  Then your choices in marketing will be easy.  Does it match or not?  That’s all you’ll have to answer.

Once you have an authentic differentiator it will not only inform your marketing, but it will help you quickly and easily build trust with potential clients.  They’ll be able to quickly attach to the challenges you solve because you will be able to clearly verbalize and write about them.

The joy of knowing your authentic differentiation is that marketing and attracting clients gets a whole lot easier.

Are you ready to step up, own who you are and use it to attract clients?  Are you ready to make your own choices instead of playing follow the leader?

I dare you!

Create a great day!
Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert
Coaches’ Marketing Source

PS - Of course, not every coach is able to find this kind of deeply rooted differentiator on their own.  In fact, most people (in general) can’t see it themselves because it’s just an automatic thing they do anyway.  So, if you are ready to step up and want some help, join me in the “Marketing Success Without the Stress” 30 day group program.  In 30 days you will have an authentic differentiatior, a clear understanding of the challenges you solve, a way to do marketing reasearch, and a much easier way to connect with your potential clients.  Visit http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com/success to register.  We start June 2.

Did you know there is a day called “International Day of Trust?”  It happens every year on May 3.  Yep, that’s right.  A whole day dedicated to building trusting relationships.  It’s a global thing.  In fact, Vanessa Hall has founded an entire organization around building trust in schools and communities.  Vanessa and I share many of the same ideals about changing the world through trust-building.

So, in honor of “International Day of Trust,” I want to answer Vanessa’s question:

‘If you were to imagine a world built on trust, what would it look like to you?’

A world built on trust would look like a peaceful one.  One where the people of the world look up to each other, learn from each other, believe in each other and love one another.  I truly believe that if we all got hugely conscious about building trust in every relationship we create (not just business relationships), happiness would run rampant and success would be achievable for a larger percentage of the population.

I see  a world where terrorists can’t gain power, because their potential followers trust their own instincts and steer clear.

As it relates to business, I see more inventive businesses being developed.  I see competition being driven 100% by quality of products and services.  I see honest people running businesses and dishonest people unable to get their businesses off the ground.  I see more choices for consumers.  I see a world where business owners check egos at the door and consumers trust themselves to make their own decisions.

What about you?  What do you see?  Leave a comment.

Some links for International Day of Trust:

International Day of Trust Website - http://www.entente.com.au/idotoverview.aspx (Download “The Simple Truth About Trust” midway down the page)

International Day of Trust Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/International-Day-of-Trust/189933871049907?sk=wall

Forbes interview about trust and business with Vanessa - http://blogs.forbes.com/lisaquast/2011/05/02/building-a-culture-of-trust-do-your-customers-trust-you/

FYI - I’m offering a trust-building tip on a call this Thursday about “5 Myths of Working with A Marketing Mentor.” You can find out more and register at http://www.coachesmarketingsource.com/successpreview.html

Happy Trust Day!
Kristen Beireis, Trust Marketing Expert

I, personally, like to do interviews.  In fact, I’d rather do an interview than a tele-class.  It’s more fun for me because I have someone there probing me throughout.  I like being made to think on my feet.  I’m guessing it comes from my acting days when I had to be on my toes every performance because you never know would happen…especially if I was performing with a group that liked to do onstage pranks (don’t get me started!).

Anyway, through twitter I’ve been following Michele Price @properitygal for a couple years I think.  I’ve always liked what she posted and we’ve had a couple small convos which I appreciated.  So, when she asked if I would be a guest on her Women In Business Radio show, I was all for it!

Last Monday we had a very frank discussion about my road becoming the Trust Marketing Expert and what that means.  My favorite part was we didn’t have a script!  Yes, I know as an actor I should love having scripts.  However, in this world of business I much prefer to be myself and not “act” a part.  So, I MUCH prefer to be offscript and candid.

Michele made it easy.  She asked some great questions that got me thinking on the spot.  She got some great off the cuff answers from me that I would’ve never thought to give had she not caught me off guard.  Truly, it was a fun interview and we had a good time doing it.  So, if you’d like to tune in listen to the interview by clicking here.

Leave your comments below about the show after you listen.