3 ROI Concepts Uncommon, but Should be Considered
This was a fun episode of Be the Brand TV. I’m talking about some pretty unconventional investment returns. I bet you’ve had opportunities to reap some pretty hefty benefits. It’s like my dad used to say about playing SPADES…”it’s all about how you play your hand”.
Your ROI isn’t always money. It’s uncommon to consider these 3 concepts as returns. If you do, you’ll build a brand that speaks to your authenticity and your desire to build quality relationships with your customers and potential collaborators.
Managing your ROI Expectations
What’s the big deal? You’re a talented entrepreneur with tons to offer, quality content, and a desire to lead your industry. I’ll tell you the BIG DEAL… it’s that no one knows who you are. You’re fresh out of the gate with aspirations of being on the leader board and potentially, unrealistic expectations. You believe it’s just a matter of serving the masses a heavy dose of your skills and ideas.
You hang out your sign and fully expect the payments you deserve to flow in. I mean… it’s your time, your knowledge, and your experience…right? Well, that’s not exactly all you need. NOPE… It doesn’t always work out the way we dream it (at least not at first). You have to do a little more than SAY you’re the expert, you have to WALK it out by developing relationships with your potential customers and establish your expertise among your peers.
It’s so easy to get too far ahead of yourself here. Sometimes falling into the trap of what I call, “NEWBY BLUES” is a problem. This is when you start believing your own hype and think you should be compensated for your grand opening, but not realistically managing your expectations regarding the credibility of your NEW business. If you’ve just hung out your sign and no one knows who you are, then you may not be able to command the same pricing or respect as your competitors.
It’s in situations like this, an open mind to ROI could be helpful. ROI, for those not yet familiar with the term, is your RETURN ON INVESTMENT. I believe it’s important to be intentional as you build your brand identity and in doing so, you should always consider your returns. There are tons of articles about ROI, and there are even calculators to help you compute what yours should be. What’s a little less available is a REALITY CHECK. As you start building your brand identity, consider the following as good examples of ROI’s that aren’t often considered by new entrepreneurs. They may not be top of mind when thinking about your return, but they’re ROI’s just the same:
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Experience – the more you have, the more confident you are, the more you can charge later.
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R&D – Getting a better understanding of the market helps you develop better policies and service.
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Exposure – Sometimes you find yourself in front of people you would have never been exposed to.
I’d love to hear about your returns. Share your experience with “Newby Blues” and how you’ve managed your owb ROI expectations. Your offered experience is a hand out to other entrepreneurs who need to know they aren’t alone; that they weren’t the first to experience something. Sharing how you overcame will help others do the same.
Finally, be sure to join my VIP-LIST using the form below. It’s where the juicy goodness is shared. I share content there, I don’t share anywhere else…
How to Become a Successful Fashion Stylist with Willie Johnson
I’m getting a sneak into the mind and behind the business of Dallas Fashion Expert, Willie Johnson. In this interview he is talking about staying motivated as a fashion stylist, why being intentional is so important in the success of your business and why it’s not a good idea to skip steps during your brand growth.
If you’ve considered becoming a fashion stylist, this is definitely an interview to watch.
Please be sure to like this video by giving it a thumbs up, share it with your friends, and SUBSCRIBE!
Thinking about KICKING IT UP A NOTCH??? Grab this check list and get started right now… https://andreapatrick.com/kickitupanotch/
3 Irrefutable Benefits of Developing Brand Consistency
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” That is a quote from leadership expert, John Maxwell.
As I work with clients, engage while networking and read comments on social media, it’s becoming harder and harder to ignore the need for a conversation about brand consistency. I’m taking it upon myself to get it started. I believe 2018 is the year to really make strides in our businesses, so here are 3 reasons to research, develop, and maintain a plan for brand consistency.
I’ve never considered myself a type “A” personality, in fact, I’m pretty sure I identify much more with any of the “creative” personality types. That said, over the past 6 years of working a variety of businesses, I realized I have to have systems. I need to develop a standard for doing my business and working with clients. This brings me to my first benefit of developing brand consistency…
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TEMPLATES: I don’t know if I’d say these are a benefit of brand consistency or rather, your brands consistency benefits from them. You can ask anyone who knows me… I love ASANA. When I crack the code on ANY aspect of my business (whether it’s a great system for social media calendar or a checklist for doing the perfect event), I’ve found ASANA to be the best place to capture the template that ensures I can duplicate that awesomeness again and again…
There are a ton of websites that offer TEMPLATES for forms, websites, and more…proof that the creation of templates for your business systems and strategies make life easier.
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MANAGED EXPECTATIONS: Next up on this list of irrefutable benefits to developing brand consistency, is the ability to manage your expectations. How often have you worried about the outcome of an activity? I know for me, calculated risks are best. I want to plan as much as possible to set myself up for optimal success. When I do this, I am prepared for most anything and handle those unexpected outcomes with less anxiety. You’re expectations are not ONLY expectations you’ll be managing … If you produce content, your readers will have their expectations managed as well. Through your brand’s consistency, you’ll be teaching your readers what to expect from you. The brand consistency you develop is a way to give your followers confidence in you and what you have to offer.
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POSITIVE COMPANY CULTURE: As you grow and have the need to bring on employees, you’ll find the development of templates, policies and procedures will help you on-board much quicker. It will also serve as a guide for how they represent your company when you’re not around. Just like in life (we teach people how to treat us), we teach people how to see our brand. Developing templates, managing expectations, and teaching people how to see your brand all come from developing brand consistency.
Do you need to create templates for your business? How can you begin to manage expectations? Your’s and your customers? How serious are you about how others represent your brand? If brand consistency is an area you need to work on, now is a good time to join my VIP LIST…
You’ll receive a plethora of valuable content that will help you create the success that stands the test of time because it’s created through organic relationship building and shared clearly, consistently, and authentically.
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5 Tips to Live Beautifully and Grow Your Brand
You may be wondering why this is a blog post the website of a marketing professional.
The truth is, this marketing professional is an proficient in living authentically, knowing her value and understanding the importance of consistency. Because of this, I know the difference it can make in your life and business to implement these tips in your life.
Living beautifully is a term I first heard from my friend Lauren Palmer. She and I met years ago in a place we both still love to this day, Sharla’s Boutique in McKinney-TX. Listen to Lauren as she shares her tips for living beautifully in your area. You will be surprised by the difference it makes in how you feel about yourself and your business, but most importantly how OTHERS see you and your business.
If you liked this video, you’ll love the checklist created to help you live beautifully (in general). Join my VIP – LIST (Fill in the form below) for all the great content that is created from my amazing guests. It’s the stuff you’ll only get there… Also, please give this video a thumbs up, share and most importantly….
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Strategic Marketing, Networking, and the Power of the Follow Up
Success is purposeful. It’s intentional and doesn’t come easily for most, that’s why I’m writing this blog post. When it comes to building relationships, growing a network, and driving sales being intentional is one of, if not THE most important activity you can do for your business. Being intentional means setting goals, being strategic, and following up CONSISTENTLY. Let’s take a closer look at each of these and hopefully you’ll begin to develop a few intentions of your own.
SETTING GOALS: As entrepreneurs, we know what we want the end result of our labor to be. We understand (intellectually) the sacrifice and work involved in achieving the success we want, but knowing what to do and ACTUALLY doing it are two very different things. I’ve been on a weight loss and high blood sugar prevention quest for years…I know I shouldn’t eat certain things and that I should exercise, but there are times when I let my desire for an ooey gooey skillet chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream get the better of me. Setting goals is a lot like this if you don’t have intention behind it. You see, it’s not enough to know what to do, it’s not enough to know how to do, you have to have a goal. Not just any goal… a S.M.A.R.T. goal. A goal that’s Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timed. This helps with accountability. It holds our feet to the fire when we start procrastinating or veering off track. When we are intentional, we set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
BEING STRATEGIC: Now that you’ve set those S.M.A.R.T goals, you can be strategic in your activities. Marketing, sales, customer services and/or anything else that produces a desired result. Think of chess. It’s not a game of chance, it’s a game of strategy. When you play, the goal is to win. You know the desired result, but there is an opponent in the way of that result. I’m not a chess player, but it only took me a second to google it and find this:
“…tactics allow you to take advantage of your opponents’ mistakes in the short term, strategy flows from your understanding of more permanent aspects of the position. Awareness of strategic elements is vital in that it allows you to evaluate a position (tell who is better off, if anyone); more importantly, it is the foundation of planning in chess.” ~ Chess.com
If you substitute a few words in this paragraph, you’ll be talking about marketing your business. Being intentional in strategic development is about putting your goals and plans into action.
FOLLOWING UP CONSISTENTLY: What good will it do you to set goals or be strategic if you drop the ball on the follow up? In this Forbes.com article, they share “How to Master The Art of Networking Follow up” so you know it’s A THING. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the value of relationships in business. Where do you think that relationship comes from? FOLLOW UP. A piece of advice, I love, from this article is number five… “Give first. Expect nothing in return”. You’d be surprised how valuable this practice can be in your business and the credibility it builds during your follow up process.
I wanted to share this podcast with you because I’m interviewing someone I call a “MASTER NETWORKER”. She is dynamic in her approach to and follow up after networking! The beauty of this interview, however is she not only shares her expertise about networking, but she also drops some nuggets of wisdom on the subject of strategic marketing…
Now that you’re wrapping up this blog post, take a LISTEN to this fantastic interview!
Also…remember, P.B. & Style is a weekly dish of personal branding deliciousness and I’m the chef. Just like any chef worth her salt, I have my secrets. I share them over in the P.B. & Style KITCHEN (my email list). At the bottom of this blog post, after the button for the podcast, I’M INVITING YOU TO JOIN FOR “The Tea“…. All you have to do is enter your information and you will have a seat at the table for all the YUMMINESS being served by me and my guests. Sorry, you won’t find me sharing it any where else!!!
3 Reasons to forget the word COMPETITION
Leadership is a JOURNEY, not a DESTINATION
I know it shouldn’t, but it still amazes me the number of entrepreneurs I run into who still get nervous when it’s time to give a 30 second elevator pitch, or who can’t seem to find their footing when explaining what they do. The more I work with people like this, I’m finding FEAR is the culprit behind everything. There is a fear they won’t measure up to someone else, there’s a fear they’re going to sound stupid or worse, like they have NO IDEA what they’re talking about. There’s a lack of confidence and because of that, whatever is said sounds salesy or ill-prepared.
I attended a networking event recently and there was a participant who got upset because someone else from his industry (same brand) was there and that person was working the room. The upset individual was ill-prepared, afraid of not knowing what to say or do, and on top of it all he was a networking novice. He allowed his presumed competition to get in the way of his own success.
In this blog post, I want to share with you 3 reasons you don’t have to fear your competition. In this brief overview I want to encourage you to reflect on the times you’ve allowed a fear of competition to prevent you from being successful at what you’re trying to accomplish. Now, let’s take a look at these three reasons….
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VALUE – Valuing yourself is the key to finding and harnessing your confidence. It will help you recognize a need to do something different to get a different result. It releases you from the fear. In the corporate world “Change Management” is a term used to describe a systematic approach to dealing with change both from the perspective of an organization and the individual. Sometimes in our business (as we mosey along our entrepreneurial journey) we need to recognize a need for change if we want to get the results we are looking for.
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VISIBILITY – Being Visible… Allowing the real you to be present in your communication with others. It gives your audience a since of who you actually are and how you relate to their situation in a UNIQUE way. You begin to build relationships that lead to loyalty and loyalty that leads to referrals. Your content and images become recognizable to your tribe regardless of the platform you’re using. I equate this to a TRUE friend knowing your style and recognizing it and thinking of you when they are out shopping for something they need.
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VOICE – Knowing your voice helps you provide clarity, consistency and authenticity when speaking to your tribe. Having a voice frees you from the anxiety that happens when presenting your SUPER POWER to your target audience. Knowing your voice helps you realize you’re enough and what you have to share is valuable. Your tribe will love what you’re saying just the way you’re saying it.
In case you haven’t noticed, promoting yourself without fear of competition or competency is more about YOU than the customer or the COMPETITION. The reason you shouldn’t fear your competition is because you have the power to demonstrate your worth and be confident in your ability… your unique super power. There may be thousands of people doing the exact same thing you’re doing, but NO ONE CAN DO IT EXACTLY LIKE YOU!
Now let me ask you something…
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DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOUR ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE A “CHANGE MANAGEMENT” OPPORTUNITY IS BEING HINDERED?
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ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT YOUR AUDIENCE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE YOUR EFFORTS?
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DO YOU FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE ISN’T REFLECTED IN YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGN EFFORTS?
If you answered “YES” to any of these questions I’d like you to join me for an upcoming webinar called “The 6 Stages of my Leadership Landscape”. The success you’re looking for comes when you’ve positioned yourself as an influencer and a leader. This FREE webinar will give you tools yo need to build that platform on a solid foundation and not a house of cards…
Use the optin below to register for this upcoming webinar and you will be notified of the exact date and time to hop on..
Value, If You Don’t Know Your Own, How Will Anyone Else?
You’ve heard it asked before…What’s your value proposition? I could close my eyes and be spun around in a circle with my eyes closed and asked to “pin the webinar on the marketer” and no matter where my pin landed, it’s a safe bet that person has said it during their presentation…
WHAT IS A VALUE PROPOSITION?
The official definition of a value proposition is an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers. My version is “What makes you a SUPER HERO to your niche”.
Regardless of whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner, there’s no better time than the present to get clear about your super powers.
Why?…..Take a look at what my good friend Chisa Pennix-Brown had to say…
WHY DO YOU NEED ONE?
When asked her opinion about small businesses most challenging area, Chisa, a strategic marketing and social media guru, pointed to the area of marketing. During our recent Chisa Pennix-Brown interview she talks about the importance of resonating with your audience.
Being a super hero to your niche means giving your tribe exactly what they need the way they need it (but in an authentic way). If they can relate to you and your message, the odds of them choosing you over your competitors is much higher. The point Chisa made about the value of FREE was sooo important, especially when you’re creating an event or promotional campaign.
Discovering your value proposition, sharing your experiences and how you’ve either developed solutions or found ways to overcome challenges is how you connect with your audience and it’s what makes you their super hero.
Are you tired of that hard Coaching sell? I get it.. Sometimes you just want to DIY it, right? No worries, I’ve got a fun way to enjoy tips and tricks to using your Authentic Authority to awaken your Inner Influencer… I created Authentic Style just for people like you. I even made it FREE so you wouldn’t have any obstacles preventing you from seeing the good stuff… A.S. has everything you’ll need to discover, improve, and/or confirm your value proposition… SUBSCRIBE!
3 Personal Branding VICTORIES Won with The Right Wardrobe
Most of the time, here on my blog, I’m sharing information about the business building side of personal branding (connecting with your audience, being authentic, maintaining clarity and consistency with your brand messaging), but today I want to approach personal branding from a more visual standpoint. In order to get to the conversions you want, you have to pass the “First Impression Test”. This is where the initial decisions about whether to move forward with a business transaction or not takes place. Under most circumstances, consumers and potential collaborators take their first step towards doing business with you after making assumptions from your visual messaging. The goal of this blog post is to open your eyes to 3 Personal Branding Victories won with the right wardrobe.
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A “Compatibility” Win:
Believe it or not, people make assumptions about their ability to work with you based on your appearance. Your clothing choices are (or should be) a reflection of your true personality and when done correctly, the visual of your wardrobe choices speak for you. It controls your visual narrative and says you’re approachable to the consumer you are trying to reach. The goal is to appeal to those who truly want what you have to offer – the way you’re offering it. Depending on your choice of attire, you could be seen as someone who takes themselves too seriously/or just seriously enough (i.e. looks too buttoned up) or someone who doesn’t get it at all (i.e. sloppy and/or disheveled). The goal is to find a happy medium that fits your personality while maintaining a polished look that speaks your nonverbal message.
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A “Competency” Win:
People assume you have the ability to get the job done. If this weren’t true there wouldn’t be a need for the “Don’t judge a book by its cover” quote. We all have an idea in our heads about the way people we hire should look. It’s what we base our opinions on, at least in part, when deciding if we should use them… c’mon, you know I’m right. Be honest.
If your choice in wardrobe matches your personality, it gives an impression of self-assurance and that you have a grasp on the subject you’re claiming to have knowledge about (your product/service). It’s likely you will be perceived as credible despite a lack of definitive knowledge about your abilities.
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A “Conversation to Convert” Win:
Once you’ve gotten past the initial nonverbal visual, your chances increase that people will take a chance on you and pay to play. When the lines of communication open up, you can begin the task of verbally explaining your value. The point is, conversations that convert happen as a result of you appealing to your consumer in a way that resonates with them. Personal branding is about presenting yourself to your consumer in an authentic way. It’s an organic approach to your brand promotion that goes as deep as your personal choices. That includes your wardrobe. When you look the part, people will take a chance on your abilities.
These visual victories work for professionals as well. In a study done by the Wisconsin Job Center, 95% of the employers interviewed said a jobseeker’s personal appearance affected the employer’s opinion of that applicant’s suitability for the job.
Society has shifted its focus from branding being the ONLY thing that affects their decisions. With the emergence of reality T.V., people want to know even more about the brands they purchase. Can they be trusted? Do they believe the same way? Are they making an effort to relate? These answers need to be apparent from the very first time a brand is introduced. A logo isn’t enough anymore. I’ve said it before and you’ve heard it many times… You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Use this post as a guide to achieve visual victories with your personal branding.
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