Close your eyes and picture a successful brand. It can be any brand that springs to mind. What makes that brand unique? I really want you to think about this. Make a list of all the characteristics that come to mind.
Now look at your list. What do you notice? I bet you can see immediately who might be attracted to this brand. You know what type of people–single men, strong mothers, divorced parents, teens–this brand appeals to. But do you know why it has this appeal?
Successful brands know how to tell a story that speaks volumes to their target audience. You have a unique story too. Figure out how to tell your story and you’ll be unstoppable. But this is easier said than done, so let’s get into the strategy and psychology behind turning your story into a successful brand.
The Strategy
Figuring out why a company, an organization, a coach, a speaker, and/or a leader appeals to a certain group of people can be challenging. But the answer is all in the strategy.
The key to success here is to tell your story in a way that moves people to action. As a motivational speaker, when I step onto that stage, my goal is to get every member of that audience to make a decision about me within the first 30 seconds. Love me or not, it doesn’t matter initially. All I want is some kind of response.
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Why? When an individual decides they love me right away, that makes them pay attention to what I say next. When an individual decides they don’t love me, that also makes them pay attention. We pay attention after we’ve made a decision because instinctively, we want to prove ourselves right.
Do you know what you don’t want as a speaker or a coach? You don’t want to get on stage and have your audience feel “on the fence” or lukewarm about you because they’ll also prove themselves right about that. And–you guessed it–they won’t buy from you.
Successful brands make this strategy work and ride it all the way to the bank.
The Psychology
Now that we understand the basic strategy behind using story to move your audience to make a decision, let’s dig a little deeper into the psychology here.
People also respond to brands and individuals who stand comfortably in their authenticity and truth. Go back to the successful brand I asked you to picture at the beginning of this article. Did you write “authentic” on your list of characteristics? I’ll bet you did–or something equivalent to it.
There’s a good reason for this: almost everyone is hiding and creating complex marketing campaigns around masking their own vulnerabilities. But this is the easiest way to get lost in the noise of social media. On the other hand, if you can leverage your own vulnerability, you can tap into power your closest competition only dreams about. Remember, it’s your vulnerability that makes you human and real people relate to real people.
So the key to building a successful brand and being a successful leader is self-awareness. Everyone has a unique story to tell. By identifying your story and the particular strengths you have to share with the world, you can leverage your past experiences to serve your clients.
How do you turn your story into a successful brand with the elements I’m talking about? It starts with these seven steps:
If you’re ready, I’ll show you exactly how I used these seven steps to grow #brandedlikealeaderto over $425K in less than 90 days. The next time I ask you to picture a successful brand, I want it to be your own!
Shaan Rais, CEO of #BrandedLikeALeader, is a speaker and executive coach with one MA in Evidence-Based Coaching and another in Organizational Development and Change. His passion and purpose is to take the world by storm with his time-tested leadership principles and values, evidence-based content, and high-voltage presentations. Learn more about his 8-week program for transforming Black men & women into brand leaders: https://www.shaanrais.com/branded-like-a-leader
