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Use Your Expertise And Personality To Get More Leads, Sales and Profits

by | Adrian Ulsh, Business Coaching Fundamentals | 0 comments

When you put your face and your personality in your marketing it makes your business unique. You will stand head and shoulders above your competition because they can’t duplicate you. You will no longer struggle to find what’s unique about your business.

This gives your customers or clients a visible and easily identifiable reason to choose your business over your competition. You quickly become known as the go-to expert for your industry.

And when the media does a story on your industry, they are much more likely to seek out the perceived expert.

Most coaches never consider this strategy because they don’t believe that they have something unique and valuable to offer their marketplace. Even if you think that you can never be in front of video cameras or on radio, you can still be the face and personality of your business by writing or compiling valuable resources for your target market.

You can start with something as simple as creating a frequently asked questions brochure, e-book, video or audio. If you don’t truly believe you have anything unique to offer, then you need to take some time away from your business to reexamine your self-worth because both you and your business offer specific and quantifiable value to your market.

Your Secret Weapon

It’s always better to be famous in your target market because that’s where it matters. When you’re famous, prospects are magnetically drawn to your business without even knowing why. When you implement this strategy, coaches can go from struggling and broke to being cash-flush, easily attracting more customers or clients, possibly more than you can handle.

And every marketing strategy you implement will be much more effective with your name and brand on it.

Examples of Owner Personality & Expertise

There are dozens of coaches who strategically built their companies and brands around themselves instead of a nameless entity. It’s a proven formula that you can borrow from.

Notable coach’s and business owner’s who’ve done this include:

  • Dr. Phil
  • Gary Vaynerchuk
  • Donald Trump
  • Dr. Oz
  • Suzie Orman

The Power of Leveraging Your Personality & Expertise

It allows your customers and clients to connect to you on a deeper level. Overall, people are desperate to feel relevant, connected and a part of the insider’s circle. Use that human fundamental to your advantage.

Putting your personal name and identity on your business implies that you’re trustworthy. With deep connections to your clients or customers, you invoke that “oh yeah, I know him” feeling in your prospects, clients and customers.

That deep connection builds loyalty in your clients and customers. It goes beyond filling their needs. It becomes a part of who they are and that’s what you want.

Perception Is (Almost) Reality

Never try to trick your prospects. But you need to spend time on how your business looks so that you’re positioned properly in order to attract the ideal type of prospects, clients and customers.

When you’re perceived as the obvious expert in your target market, you can charge premium fees. If you need a surgical operation, would you prefer the surgeon who has a book, radio show and local television program with dozens of testimonials or the surgeon no one has ever heard of? Simple choice isn’t it!

Your mission is to create marketing systems that generate leads AND position you as the obvious go-to expert in your target market.

However, underneath the well-polished exterior there must be a fully functioning and well-oiled business that can actually deliver on every stated and implied promise in your marketing.

Not All Expertise Is Created Equal

There are some types of expertise that customers or clients don’t care about. You should focus on only the areas of expertise you possess that benefits your customers or clients like:

  • Books you’ve written to help your ideal prospect choose a specific product or service provider.
  • Television, radio or newspaper interviews you’ve conducted as a consumer advocate or expert in your niche
  • Or comprehensive case studies or testimonials that clearly show the problem, solutions and benefits your customer’s or client’s received from hiring or buying from you

The Potential Downside Of Owner Personality Marketing

But there is a potential downside to owner personality marketing:

  • If you need extended time off, your business could flounder and struggle unless you put the proper systems in place.
  • If you no longer want to be the face of your business, it may be difficult for the business to transition to another branding strategy.
  • If you ever want to sell your business, you must have marketing systems in place to replace your persona generated leads and sales.
  • You must have a personality and demeanor that matches your target market; otherwise you will cost your business sales, revenue and profits.
  • And it can become a crutch that’s used to cover up bad business practices or bad marketing. You must always be able to deliver on the promises you make or imply in your marketing.

How To Build The Right Type Of Expertise Overnight!

Video Marketing

This is done by creating video’s that inform your prospects and positions you as a resource and thought leader in your industry. You don’t have to be a Hollywood actor to create credible videos and become a local celebrity.  You can create great videos for free if you’re willing to put in the time to learn how.

The best method typically involves hiring an online video expert who can create great informative videos.

Odds are there is someone in your niche that’s already doing video marketing, so simply go to Youtube.com and browse the website using search terms for your industry and check them out.

And while your videos may never get as many viewers as Oprah, Martha Steward or Emeril, you can quickly become the perceived go-to expert for your target market.

Your Own Book

A book is your chance to create content and share resources that further prove that you’re an expert in your field. You control the content, so you can demonstrate any facet of your expertise that you want your target market to focus on. There are no limits to what you can do.

Your book can give your clients an up close and personal look into what makes you unique and valuable to them. It’s also an excellent way to educate and tweak the interest of your prospects and past clients and compel them to engage with you.

Use Customer/Client Testimonials In Your Marketing

Trust is a tremendously valuable asset that can take years to build and seconds to destroy. That’s why it’s so important to gather and collect testimonials from your paying customers and clients highlighting the benefits and solutions your products or services provide them..

Third party testimonials and case studies add credibility, trust and value to your business that you could never produce on your own. You should coach your customers as to how to frame their testimonial and what to feature. They honestly have no idea what to say and most will simply respond with “I really like XXXX. They helped me become more successful and confident in my business.”

What you want them to focus on are the specific results you helped them achieve. “In less than 3 months of working with XXX, my revenue increased 23% and my profits increased 37%, all without spending a cent on marketing or advertising.

I went from working 65 hours per week to 40 hours and I have a family life again.” Prospects are looking for a coach that gets results, so make sure every testimonial you get focuses on results.

And ask your customers to include as much information about themselves as possible to add believability to their testimonials and case studies.

Press Release Marketing

The power of using press releases rely on your ability to find a unique angle that peaks the interest of local and national media outlets. Because press releases show up in search engine results, they help you pass the background checks that customers perform on businesses where they plan to shop.

Your press release can either drive traffic to a specific product or service or offer an interesting tie-in with your business. All you need is a good press release writer to scour the media to find a unique angle on a weekly basis and create relevant content for you.

Don’t worry about running out of angles because there are dozens of events that are happening in your local marketplace every day. Just find a unique angle that allows you to offer a specific benefit that ties in with the upcoming event.

Example: the Chamber of Commerce is featuring a day dedicated to small business owners. As a business coach, you could offer to perform complimentary marketing assessments as a way to provide a community service and assist the Chamber in its efforts.

Personally Branded Website

The easiest way to brand your website is to create a series of five to ten videos that introduce you and answer many of your prospects questions, fears and objections when it comes to buying what you sell.

The next best method is to fill your website with content and resources that you’ve compiled or created. A correctly branded website starts the process of building trust and lubricating the path to making a purchase from you.

Even though your website is personally branded with your face and voice, you should always make your content and sales message about your prospects and what they want.

The key to having an effectively branded website is to focus on educating your prospect and answering as many of their questions as possible so they can easily make a buying decision.

The Best Investment

A key part of increasing your expertise is investing in your own continuous education and self-development. Without your own constant growth, you will run out of ideas, creativity, knowledge and the ability to stay cutting edge in your business.

So the best investment is the investment you make in yourself.

An Open Mind Is A Powerful Thing

Most coaches think that by having a closed mind and staying the course, they’re showing persistence. Nothing could be further from the truth. Closed minds don’t allow anything to get out, but a closed mind most certainly doesn’t welcome new ideas either

Only by having an open mind can you discover new opportunities for your business. You should constantly examine other successful businesses and ethically steal their best strategies and tactics.

There are hundreds of successful businesses that have already solved the very problem you’re facing right now, so stop trying to reinvent the wheel.

The Sum Total Of Everything You Do

The actions, habits and standards you execute on a daily basis will ultimately determine the success or failure of your efforts in your business. If you’re undisciplined, tough to talk to or rude, then don’t be surprised when your employees, customers and distributors reflect the same back to you.

You must do everything in your business as if you’re being judged by a panel of your worst critics because that’s exactly what your customers will become if you let your standards slide.

Don’t Limit Yourself To One Information Source

In order to make an informed decision, you need all available information that will allow you to position your business for success.

You should own every book, marketing and business-building course that is remotely related to your business.

You should regularly scour online and offline bookstores for books, videos and reports that cover your industry. You should subscribe to your industry publications and any other publications that are even slightly related to yours.

You should actively mystery shop your competition and ask your customers what they think about your competitors. And yes, this is time-consuming, but this is what it takes to build and maintain a successful business.

Find A Mentor, Mastermind Group or Business Coach

In every market and industry, there are other coaches who have faced the same challenges as you and have successfully navigated solutions to those very problems. One of your personal goals and missions should be to find a mentor who can walk you through your business challenges and help you find solutions.

A mentor is great for knowing your business intimately and helping you solve very specific problems in uniquely creative ways. So if you have never worked with a mentor before, be prepared to be challenged in a good way. It’s a life and business changing decision.

Mastermind groups are another option to consider. These are groups of business professionals who meet regularly to help each other solve their business problems. They’re usually from different industries so they bring fresh eyes and perspective to solving your problems.

How To Build Your Marketing Campaigns                                            Around Your Personality & Expertise

Target The Best Prospects

Every campaign must start with you knowing exactly who your best prospects are. You discover this by examining your past customers and building an ideal customer profile.

You should never build your marketing campaign around the type of customers who complain the most, spend the least and buy the cheapest stuff.

By targeting your best prospects, you can focus your marketing dollars on the most profitable type of customers. You also can fine-tune your sales process and really optimize your sales funnel when you do this.

Develop An Unique Market Niche

It’s next to impossible to be all things to all people, so pick a lucrative niche and focus on dominating that niche. Concentrate on building one complete marketing campaign around your selected niche.

When you focus on one niche, you can channel all of your energy and resources into dominating it. It simplifies things for your prospects, customers and staff. And your marketing campaigns become much easier to create and execute.

Position Your Business Correctly

Most coaches are in it for the quick buck only, so they never consider positioning as a worthwhile goal. When you choose to become a library of resources that educates your prospect about your products, services and industry, you carve out your own space in the mind of the prospect.

Positioning your business as the best solution can be done by creating marketing resources that educate your prospects or existing customers.

Maintain Your Visibility By Consistently:

  • Using video marketing as much as possible.
  • Putting out relevant and timely press releases.
  • Weaving testimonials into your marketing.
  • Writing a monthly or quarterly newsletter.
  • Branding your website with your voice and face.

Maximize your Fame

Find a way to include your third-party credentials in your marketing campaign. Create a credibility showcase package that includes:

  • Articles you’ve written and had published
  • Books you’ve written or contributed to
  • Interviews where you were the person interviewed
  • Newspaper stories or media coverage where your business was featured
  • Informative resources you’ve created or had created for you

The Right Place At The Right Time

Place your educational resources throughout your business so that prospects and customers can see them. If you have a waiting area, place your books, monthly newsletters and brochures there.

You can even play an endless video loop that you’ve compiled of customer testimonials, interviews and informative tidbits of information. And repurpose all of your content and use it in every facet of your business.

Education Is The Key

Your marketing process of educating your prospects can become your unique sales proposition. At every turn in your business, you need to be positioning your company as a resource and a destination for when a prospect is ready to make a decision. Never stop educating your prospect. Not only does it position you for success in your prospect’s mind, but it keeps you in the right mindset towards your prospects and customers.

So until next time,

 About Adrian Ulsh

Adrian Ulsh is the CEO for Leader Publishing Worldwide, the largest online provider of coaching services worldwide. Adrian currently works with more than 500 coaches in 24 countries advising them on building 6 and 7 figure coaching practices.

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