Is Your Brand Brilliant? 5 Secrets Every High-Achieving Entrepreneur Should Know About Branding

July 15th, 2010

As a high-achieving entrepreneur it’s absolutely critical that you have what I call a “Brilliant Brand”–a brand that clearly represents you and the results you consistently deliver to your carefully selected niche audience.

Here are some tips that will help make sure your brand is “Brilliant” and represents you and what results you deliver to your clients:

  1. Your brand is NOT your logo, tag line, or colors. It’s the promise of the experience they get by working with you. Your fonts, colors and designs are just means of conveying your brand but they aren’t your brand.
  2. Make sure you speak to a specific audience with your brand and brand promise. For me it’s high-achieving entrepreneurs with 70% of them being women. You must have a focused, targeted niche for whom your brand speaks. You can’t be all things to all people and market to anyone who breathes. If you’re not Coca Cola or McDonald’s don’t try to market to everyone who breathes. You’ll go broke. Fast.
  3. Make your brand PERSONAL. If you’re a high-achieving entrepreneur with a carefully chosen niche market it’s absolutely critical that you let your personality shine through all your marketing materials–from your website, business cards, ezine–absolutely everything. You have to get out there and let your potential clients get a feel about YOU. They don’t want to deal with a nameless, faceless company. They want to deal with YOU.
  4. Don’t waste your money on “Image Advertising”–ever. If you can’t track your advertising results then it’s not worth your running an ad–ever. This premise is true for both on-line and off-line advertising. They may not be beautiful, but using a Direct Response style ad with an offer or promotion or fre* give away of some kind that can be tracked will yield you far better results. Once more, if you’re not Coca Cola or McDonalds don’t spend your money on Image Advertising. Ever.
  5. Know WHO your business is for? (Tightly, Targeted Niche) Many high-achieving entrepreneurs know WHAT they are offering (Brand Promise) but they aren’t clear on their WHO which can weaken their Brand Promise. Don’t let this happen to you. Know both your WHO and your WHAT.
Check your brand for its Brilliance and see how you can tweak it or re-design it if necessary to have it really sparkle for you and help you attract your Ideal, High-Paying Clients.

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Personal Note from Sharon

July 15th, 2010

Me with Brilliant Success Mastermind Member Ria Hackland at her beautiful home, Royston Hall

Hello

The World Cup is over here in South Africa and it’s a bit of a let-down after the past month of hosting the top soccer (football!) teams of the world. I moved to South Africa 6 years ago right after they won the bid to host World Cup. I must say I was a bit sceptical myself about the country being able to pull it off. I’m thrilled to say I was WRONG. We hosted an amazing event with little incident. It’s always good when progress is made in any area in the world. It affects all of us positively.

If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you’ll see plenty of posts regarding my upcoming move back to America. I’ve started a countdown to the day I leave South Africa so check it out if you want to see what’s going on. I’m going to try to tie in some business, marketing and life lessons in there as well to make it more interesting so let me know what you think.

Are you using Facebook for business and to make connections? If you’re not you need to highly consider it. More than 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook daily! It’s not a fad. It’s not going away. It along with all the other main Social Media platforms is only going to continue to grow.

I connected with a Vice President I worked under at USA TODAY back when I sold National Advertising for the paper through Facebook this week. And she wrote me an amazing testimonial (unsolicited) about my work there. I’m sharing it with you because it means a lot to me. Carolyn Bivens most recent position was the Commissioner of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and now she’s on the Board of Governors with Children’s Miracle Network.

We would not have reconnected in 18 year if it weren’t for Facebook. Who can you connect with this week than can help you in your business?

Love & Brilliant Success to you,

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Why I Talk About Mo*ney and Why You Want to Learn More about It

January 20th, 2010

If you’re like most Phenomenal Women Entrepreneurs you’re running your business on a one-on-one business model that means you only get paid if you provide a service for your client—one client at a time. Starting now look at your business through a new set of eyes. Look for opportunities you may be overlooking that you can take advantage of now to increase your income and your happiness in your business. Here’s some ideas to get you started:

#1 Stop trading hours for dollars (rands) and sell your services in packages full of value for your clients. This takes a complete mindset shift and is definitely worth doing sooner than later. Don’t look at what everyone else in your industry is doing. Do what is best for you and your clients and what will bring your clients the most value. When you design packages for your clients that are full of value your worth increases in their eyes and they’ll pay you more than if they pay you for a session or two at a time.

Plus, you know it may take several sessions with your clients for them to get the results they want. If you offer them the ability to purchase one session at a time they may only invest in a session or two with you and stop short of getting the results they really, really want. So then you are both frustrated!

#2 Begin charging for valuable elements in your business that you now give away for f*ree. One of my clients is a Personal Trainer and after working with me realized she was giving away a lot of valuable time and information in a detailed initial assessment at no cost to the client at all. I helped her see how valuable her assessment was and that her clients would pay for the information she delivered from the assessment. And guess what? They are paying for the assessment now without complaint.

#3 Reorganize your business so your clients pay the most for valuable One-on- One time with you. When pricing your services arrange your business so your clients pay the most to spend time with you one-on-one. Make it a Platinum Style Program full of value and worth. Make it very special and elite for your clients to be able to work with you one-on-one and deliver them a focused, special experience in your Platinum Style Program.

#4 Ask yourself when was the last time you increased your fees and immediately raise them by at least 20%. Entrepreneurs and Women Entrepreneurs in particular, are notorious for NOT CHARGING ENOUGH FOR THEIR SERVICES. If you are offering a valuable service and you are answering a problem that your clients have they will pay you for this service. Most entrepreneurs barely get by because they aren’t adequately valuing the service they’re delivering to their clients enough. This step takes having strong confidence in yourself and the service you deliver. If you believe your service should be priced more because of the value you deliver, make sure your client understands the value you deliver and charge more!

#5 Write an Information Product that answers a big problem that keeps your clients up at night and sell it to them. Anyone can do this actually on almost any topic. Begin researching a problem or problems that keeps your clients (or audience) up at night. What do they really want to solve? Is it having enough money for their kids schooling? Is it fixing the pain in their back? Or Is it wanting to sell their house fast?

Whatever it is research the problem and all possible answers to the problem and write an e-book on it, record an mp3 on it—better yet, hold a seminar, charge for people to attend the seminar and then record the seminar and sell it later.

#6 Start a group Platinum Style Program or MasterMind. Begin offering group style programs where you can reach more clients with less of your time.

#7 Start a monthly membership program. Start a program where you charge a monthly fee for say VIP services. There is one lady in the US who has made a fortune doing this with her Pizza business. Her VIP clients pay a monthly fee for perks such as having their orders moved to the top of the list no matter when they order and so forth. If she can do this with Pizza (and she has a million dollar a year business in Pizza) anyone can do this with their business. As Dan Kennedy, the million dollar plus marketing genius, says “Your business is NOT different.”

So here are just a few ideas to get your mind going to help you leverage your income now so you make more mon*ey, have more free time and give more value to your clients.

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Personal Note From Sharon

January 20th, 2010

Kendall and me strategizing

Wow! I’ve only been in the US for a week and it feels like a year as I’ve done so much this week. First I had my palette done by Kailash of www.KailashSozzani.com which is so much more than just finding out what season you are. Then I had my photos taken by Lindsay Miller who is TheMarketingPhotographer.com. Finally, I had my 2 day VIP Retreat with my million dollar mentor, Kendall SummerHawk all in gorgeous Tucson, Arizona.

Most of you know I am a big believer and investor in mentors because always having a strong mentor or mentors has been a vital part of my lead generation and sales success throughout my 22+ year career.

Kendall helped me see some amazing business opportunities in both the US and South Africa for my business in 2010.
Of course I’ll be sharing specifics in later articles. In the meantime I’ve got to run to catch my plane to Dallas where I’ll spend the week with family and friends. Have a fantastic two weeks until we meet again!

Love & Brilliant Success,

Wow! I’ve only been in the US for a week and it feels like a year as I’ve done so much this week. First I had my palette done by Kailash of www.KailashSozzani.com which is so much more than just finding out what season you are. Then I had my photos taken by Lindsay Miller who is www.TheMarketingPhotographer.com. Finally, I had my 2 day VIP Retreat with my million dollar mentor, Kendall SummerHawk all in gorgeous Tucson, Arizona.
Most of you know I am a big believer and investor in mentors because always having a strong mentor or mentors has been a vital part of my lead generation and sales success throughout my 22+ year career.Kendall helped me see some amazing business opportunities in both the US and South Africa for my business in 2010.
Of course I’ll be sharing specifics in later articles. In the meantime I’ve got to run to catch my plane to Dallas where I’ll spend the week with family and friends. Have a fantastic two weeks until we meet again!

Love & Brilliant Success,

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Are You Losing Business By Not Having a Platinum Style Program in Your Business?

November 12th, 2009

I know in the last issue of Brilliant Success I asked you if you’re ready for a Coach or Mentor. I hope you said “Yes” to yourself. When you say “yes” to yourself your journey to Phenomenal Abundance and Success has already begun.

Now, the next issue is about Platinum. You’re probably asking what do you mean by Platinum? Well, what do you think of when you think of Platinum? Most of us think of words like “Rare” “Special” “Exclusive” and “The Best” because platinum is such a rare and expensive commodity. Here in South Africa where it’s mined; it’s definitely in the news often.

Platinum is a state of mind. In both your business and your life.

Any service oriented Female Entrepreneur can add a Platinum Style Program or VIP program to their already existing business. Even retail stores can do this. You already have Platinum Clients. You just haven’t acknowledged them as such more than likely. Normally your Platinum Clients or VIP clients will be in the top 20% of your “list” or database who bring you 80% of your revenues. All businesses experience this, it’s the decades old “Parato Principal” you hear me speak of time and again.

Take a look at ways you can make your best (and most special) clients feel valued, pampered and appreciated. Studies have been done, and get this–that reveal that at any given time there is 20% of the population who will PAY MORE for Platinum and VIP treatment. Yes, you read right. These clients will pay YOU to treat them like the Platinum Clients and VIP clients they already are.

Let me give you an idea in my own business of how I’ve structured it. In my coaching and mentoring programs I only work one-on-one with my ideal clients who have been accepted into my 2010 Brilliant Success Private Platinum Program. These are clients who understand the value I bring to our coaching relationship and who want time with me on a one on one basis. Because they desire one-on-one time with me via coaching calls and private one day intensives with me over the phone or in person, I give them uninterrupted laser focused time on them and THEIR business.

There is an application process and a commitment the client makes to me and I make to them at this level that ensures amazing success in the client’s business. When a client invests in themselves at a Platinum level, transformation begins to take place for both the client and the coach. I’m not going to let my Platinum Clients slide and not live up to their full amazing potential as the Phenomenal Woman Entrepreneurs they are.

There is still plenty of access to me in my Platinum Group Programs, as well as the Workshops and Classes I’m conducting in 2010 both live and via teleseminars. I’m not out of the picture; I’m just not available for one on one coaching and mentoring unless you are in my Brilliant Success Private Platinum Program.

As you know I try my best to always “Walk my Talk” and I personally have TWO Private Platinum Coaches for 2010 as you know from my last newsletter. I believe in investing in myself to get the best results I can as fast as possible. I can’t do it alone. No one can. Why not indulge and pamper myself as I grow my business globally?

Now, you can do something “Platinum” for your own clients. It can be as simple as hosting a cocktail reception or dinner once a year for your most valued clients. I know of one Real Estate Agent who throws a big dinner party at a very popular Mexican food restaurant each year for every client who has bought a property from her in the past year. It’s always a resounding success.

Try getting creative with your own business and see what you can do to make your clients feel special, pampered and appreciated–Especially the top 20% who bring you 80% of your revenue each year. You can’t do too much for these valuable clients–especially in today’s economic climate.

Till next issue, “Ciao” as they say in Italy!

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