Is Your Marketing Really Making an Impact?

Janine: [00:00:00] Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Unleashing Brilliance. I'm so excited to be here today. Today, we're delving into a topic that resonates with every single ambitious business person that I know. And that is this, desire to make a significant impact in a world. the desire to [00:01:00] drive change, to do something different, to ensure that the work that you're doing matters.

And yet sometimes it might feel like those messages that you're putting out there are drowning, that you're drowning in the noise. And we're going to explore the mistakes that we're making, and more importantly, what we should be doing to truly stand out and create lasting impact. Now you've heard me preach about the importance of visibility before, about the importance of sharing your voice and expertise to, to really let people know about the impact that you desire for them, for the community you work in, for the industry, for the planet.

but lately there's been this noticeable shift. It's almost as if the cacophony of noise out there is drowning out those incredible, meaningful messages that you're putting out into the marketplace. And I think it's time to address the elephant in the room. And this elephant, the question that I want to address or that I want you to think about is, are you [00:02:00] actually making too much Are you truly making an impact?

Are you actually adding to the noise? Or are you standing out? Now stick with me because in the next few minutes, what I want to do is unravel some of the secrets for cutting through that clutter, and ensuring that the message that you want to put out into the world actually resonates with the right audience.

And then it creates the action that you want, whether that be informing, whether that be game changing, whether that be challenging thinking, whether that be attracting more of your ideal clients into your world. But before we go there, let's, let's face it. social media is absolutely saturated with content, isn't it?

And every single one of us is competing for that elusive moment of user attention, where we're competing for the thousands of impressions, for the, the [00:03:00] millions of people reading, for the engagement to go off the Richter scale, we're competing for the cut through. And when you go through social media, there's no doubt that some of it catches our eyes.

but most of it. Let's be honest, just fades into the background. It just fades into background noise. Now I want you to imagine now as a business owner, that's operating in this digital landscape. how do you ensure that your message, your voice, your business stands out? Well, the answer lies in being really smart about being commercially smart.

And I think it's really smart about how you are strategically posting and what the messages are that you're putting out there. Because what I'm seeing is people just randomly posting. It's like they have an idea and out it goes. And there's this, this mismatch of stuff out there that we think is getting its cut through, but really we're adding to the noise.

And what I'm Actually seeing is a lot of people posting without strategy. And that's [00:04:00] akin to shouting into the void that is social media. you might generate a little bit of noise, but it's unlikely to result in meaningful engagement or conversations or even conversions. So today let's explore.

how understanding, first up your brand position can help you not just make noise, but can truly make an impact. And then I'm gonna give you an idea. and some guidance on how to ensure that you're getting that standout out there through the content that you're sharing.

I wanna give you three actionable steps that will m ake sure that you're attracting those right clients and fostering sustainable growth. So first up, step one is take a moment to really reflect on what makes your business brilliant. know, what sets you apart from the competition?

I want you to take a moment to step back and think about the unique value that you're bringing to the table. Focus on what makes your business operate from a place of [00:05:00] brilliance. You know, it could be that you have a unique approach. It could be that you have a groundbreaking solution or a particular way of solving your client's problem.

It could be that actually you are unreasonable about providing amazing service or unreasonable about connection or unreasonable about a quality product. I don't know, but find out. What sets your business apart? Because every single one of us has something that is unique to how we run our business. And if you truly want to attract the right clients into your world, they need to understand exactly what it is that you offer.

so take a moment or think, uh, this question through, maybe if you're walking and listening to this, or you're driving, I want you to take a moment to think about the five things that you want to be known for in business. What are those five things? What do you want to be known for in business?

if your [00:06:00] potential clients are talking about you and you're not in the room, what are the five things you want them to be saying about you? Or about your business. And here's the thing. If you're struggling here, what I recommend you do is reach out to five clients that you've already got, or five friends that know your business inside out and ask them what they think.

Is unique about you because you're already doing this stuff and you need to own it and you need to step into that brilliance so that you are differentiated out there in the marketplace. So that's step number one. Step number one is understand. What is unique about you? What is your competitive advantage?

Truly? What is your unique selling point? Now, let's move on to step two. Step two then is about getting inside the head of your, what I call your A grade clients. I want you to deep dive. Deep dive. I want you to really try and [00:07:00] understand what are, yes, their demographics, their psychographics, their behaviors, but also understand what are they really worrying about?

What are their biggest fears? What are their biggest dreams? What are their, their things they're scared about? What is their biggest aspiration? What is the thing that's keeping them awake at night? What do they dream of? And I also say to my clients, think about what are the values that you want these A grade clients to have that ensures that it's aligned to how you want to work?

What are the values that they need to have that makes them them awesome, that turns them from being a client into one of your favorite clients of all time. So for example, when I think about the values in my business, what I look for in terms of alignment is clients that don't make excuses, that, that take ownership around doing the work that they need to do.

to move forward. They're not making [00:08:00] excuses. They're not looking for someone to fix their problems. They're not looking for someone else to do the work. They truly understand that it is about them taking ownership to do the very work that needs to be done to move forward. So no excuse clients I love. The second thing I look for are clients that are willing to pay for their expertise and they trust their expertise.

So this isn't about. clients are constantly niggling away on price for me. and it's also not about clients that are always questioning, questioning, questioning, or they think they have all the answers. You know, those clients that pay you for your expertise, but then they don't listen to your expertise.

So for me, there has to be an alignment in terms of a willingness to pay and a willingness to listen and trust their expertise. But Another one of my values, which is really important to me, which if you've read any of my books, won't come as a surprise, is I look for clients that are collaborative in spirit.

this is, [00:09:00] and I explore this when I'm interviewing them. and I do interview them in terms of that potential fit and are we going to work together? So to me, collaborative in spirit is, you know, they're willing to share their experiences. They're willing to help other people with no expectation in return.

they understand that this is a zero sum game and that together we can all become better. so I really, really look for that collaborativeness of spirit when I'm exploring whether I want to work with a client or not, whether they're my perfect fit client or not. And the final one, which is a circuit breaker for me.

It is, it is the thing that turns me on or off the client is, are they fun to work with? Are these clients that if they were to turn up at my house, knock on the door, I'd go come in. Come and sit at my kitchen table. Come and meet my family. Yeah, sure. Let's have some fun. Are they those clients? Or are they those clients that I avoid answering the door to?

I put the phone down to. So [00:10:00] collaborative in spirit. fun to work with. These are people for me that Energy fuelers, energy creators versus energy zappers. So have a think about your A grade clients. You know, all of us do the demographic fit, the age fit, the type of business fits, but what about the values alignment?

And I want you to. Take a moment to think about who those ideal clients are. What are the values? What are the top five values that they need to have for you to go? This is a perfect match. That these are your A grade clients, because these clients are the ones that you love. These are the clients are the ones that you love working with.

These are the clients that you go over and above. These are the ones where the relationship grows over time. These are the ones who truly understand your worth and they're willing to And the thing is that the more you know about them, the better you can [00:11:00] tailor your content and your messaging to address their needs, and you can build a genuine connection.

But here's the thing, right? I just, just a word of caution here. When I talk about tailoring your messaging to their needs, I'm not talking about changing your product to fit every single individual's needs. That's not what I'm talking about. We want to avoid that because if we're constantly creating new products, First up, your client is building your business.

And second up, you're at risk of creating a smorgasbord of product offering, which then means you're hard to buy. And you're very likely to be offering stuff to market that you really don't want to do. What I'm talking about here is really understanding the ins and outs of those A grade clients so that you can use these insights to help you.

To refine your communication, not your product, but so that you can refine your communication and ensure that your messaging out to market resonates, is [00:12:00] seen, is read, has the cut through for the clients, the people that you want to know who you are. So that's what I'm talking about. So number two was know your ideal clients.

So the final step here is become the flamingo. You know, often the biggest risk to us standing out in the market, to us actually adding to the noise versus being the target. The impact or getting the cut through is we become a little bit beige, boring, and pedestrian. We start looking like everyone else and it's bleh, it's like, ugh, boring, yeah, let's keep flicking past, let's scroll to the, scroll past that, boring.

I want you to become The Flamingo, which is the scary bit, right? Because this is about really owning who you are and what it is that you do. [00:13:00] Now, the other week I was running a, speaker training called Up Your Speaker Game with the incredible Kieran Flanagan, and we had 10 incredible thought leaders and speakers in the room.

All of them had come prepared with their keynotes. All of them practiced their keynotes in front of us on day one. Great. Actually, they weren't great. They were good. they could get up on stage, they could talk, they had a message. Yeah, okay, but here's the thing. How do you make sure that it isn't an okay message, but it becomes a standout memorable Meaningful message that has an impact on other people and during that up your speak again program training that we did over the two days we were coaching the cohort to really start owning their brilliance, their uniqueness, their authenticity, so that they could actually amplify themselves in their messaging.

And it's the same here. It's the [00:14:00] same when we're talking about posting and sharing content. When you're beige, uninteresting, predictable, pedestrian, you're just adding to the noise. But when you're amplifying you, when you're stepping into what it is that you believe in, when you're willing to be the real and the authentic you, when you become the flamingo, you start standing out.

So my question to you is, are you really ready to let your true colors shine? I want you to analyze your competitors right now. And yes, identify your competitive advantage, uh, from a business point of view, but also identify your uniqueness. you know, it could be, of course, your expertise. It could be your background. It could be your quirky sense of style. It could be your sense of humor. It could be your accent. It could be anything. What is it about you that actually positions you as the go to, as the expert [00:15:00] in the industry? I want you to differentiate yourself from the noise.

Now, if you're struggling to think about how to stand out, I want to remind you of something I said in the past, I've already said it and I'm going to say it again. You. are your competitive advantage. Because here's the thing, nobody thinks like you. Nobody has your perspective on the world.

Nobody has your IP. Nobody has your messaging. Your perspective, what it is that you want to say in here is what truly sets you apart from your competition. This is why I always recommend that you develop that IP first, develop that thinking, get really clear on what is your message.

What is it that you stand for? What is your perspective? What do you truly think about that? And build that IP based on what you know, from your experience, your expertise, your craft, the, uh, work you've done till now. remember. It's okay to be different. It's good [00:16:00] to stand out. And if you think about your competition as a flock of pigeons, that they all look the same from the outside, I want you to be the flamingo.

There are hundreds of coaches, hundreds of marketeers, hundreds of accountants, hundreds of lawyers, hundreds of us doing the same thing. There are hundreds of people out there that look like a flock of pigeons.

They all look the same. You got to stand out. You got to be the Flamingo. You've got to be that person who is different from first glance, who makes the impression, who stands head and shoulders above the rest. You've got to believe in yourself and be brave enough to share yourself because we want to work with you, who you are being.

And we want to work with the vision that you have for us as your clients. So now that we've got that crystal clear in terms of understanding the brand, in terms of, [00:17:00] understanding, well, you know, what it is that you do, your clients and being that flamingo, it's time to really, start harnessing the power of the brand.

Of strategy, of consistently and frequently ensuring that you are getting cut through in the marketplace. And if like many of my clients, I'm imagining that you might be tired of really complex posting schedules. so here's one thing I want you to focus on. I want you to focus on crafting engaging and purposeful content.

I'd rather you post less than more. I'd rather you post engaging and purposeful content than posting a whole heap of bland, boring content out there that's adding to the noise. With your brand position in mind, this is about creating content that speaks directly to your A grade. Clients, so those clients that you want to work with, it's about offering valuable insights.

It's about sharing [00:18:00] industry trends. It's about having a rant. It's about having the opposing view to everybody else. It's about providing solutions to their challenges. And it's about showcasing your expertise. I want to invite you to share your defining moments. What are those defining moments in your life, in your career, or in your business that have shaped you into the absolutely remarkable, brilliant individual that you are today?

Because by offering meaningful content, you're going to build trust. You're going to establish yourself as a thought leader in your field. Every single one of us has got those defining moments. Every single one of us has got those times where things didn't go so great and we learned from it. And every single one of us has got those times where we did something that changed our world.

Share that. Share your journey. Share you. Because we want to get [00:19:00] to know you. Remember, at the end of the day, it's not about making noise. It is about making an impact with everything that you do. So let's take a moment and I want you to reflect on how these steps can transform your approach. And I want you to think about how, if you change everything just 1%, it could help you stand out in that crowded digital landscape.

Before we wrap up today's episode, I'd love you to share this episode with your community. And don't forget to tag me so that I can actually share some love back. Let's spread this brilliance and let's make sure we make those platforms interesting and impactful instead of a sea of beige and noise. I'd love you to leave a comment below with your key takeaways, or even share your experiences with applying these strategies.

I want to hear, how this episode today has helped you because your insights might [00:20:00] inspire someone else to make a positive change. And finally, don't forget to review, leave a review, make sure you rate this podcast. And I'd love you to subscribe. Your feedback is invaluable and it helps. Us reach even more incredible, ambitious business owners and souls, just like yourself.

Thank you for tuning in today to this episode of Unleashing Brilliance. Remember, you are absolutely capable of, creating the profound impact and change that you want to make. And your clients need you to be your uniquely brilliant self, and you deserve to be heard. go out there and unleash your brilliance.

Thank you for listening and I will see you next week.

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