If you’ve ever questioned the ability of personal branding to attract wealthy clients and angel investors, consider the story of Mr. Buffett.
“Attractive is as attractive does.”
Was it ever brought to your attention that one of the world’s wealthiest and attractive entrepreneurs continues to reside in the same $31,500 grey stucco house he acquired in 1958?
Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska, property has risen in value, although it is now likely worth less than $750,000.
Look no farther than Warren Buffett if you’ve ever questioned the ability of personal branding to persuade big groups of people to donate you millions of dollars, says personal branding expert Julie Guest.
Guest is a successful author as well as a well-known public speaker. She is the founder and CEO of Bolder&Louder, a full-service marketing business, and the author of “The Client Stampede” and presenter of The Client Stampede podcast.
Make it so.
So, what if your brand isn’t a multibillion-dollar holding corporation like Berkshire Hathaway, which controls $900 billion in assets?
Guest claims that creating your brand is equally as vital as the Oracle of Omaha if you want to attract high-paying clients.
Whether you’re a consultant, CEO, or serial entrepreneur, your company depends on creating trust and keeping out front as a thought leader, Guest explains.
Business development has become personal in today’s ultra-competitive atmosphere. To expand, it’s necessary to go into the limelight and establish a name for yourself apart from the businesses you help develop.
There will be no more hiding behind a large corporate brand. Back when customers trusted huge, corporate brands, that was enough.
So, how does Guest recommend rapidly and create your unique brand?
Having your book is the holy grail of personal branding, and ghost-authoring is a beautiful way to cross it off your to-do list, Guest adds. The following expert positioning tools help your customers solve one of their issues.
1. Know what’s attractive and teach it to your customers.
You should (nearly) know your customers as well as yourself.
You’ll be able to design a personal brand that appeals to them intimately by recognizing who has an urgent need for what you sell — and who has the checkbook.
Then you know you’ve struck the proper tone when a customer says of your marketing, “I felt like you were talking directly to me.”
Ironically, building a personal brand isn’t so much about you as it is about how you assist others in solving their issues. That’s why they’ll gladly pay you a lot of money.
2. Use one enticing message.
When developing your brand, use an enticing message.
In other words, what problem can you assist them with that keeps them up at night? What is the unique method for which you are known? What inventions have you brought to fruition?
Avoid technical jargon and take a page from Warren Buffett’s playbook by structuring your statements in plain English.
The more customers can connect to you, the more trust they will have in you, and the simpler it will be to acquire their business.
Then put it everywhere on social media.
3. Develop your brand personality to attract the wealthy.
It’s now time to develop your brand’s attract-personality. You’ll need to construct a brand character for your brand in the same way a Hollywood screenwriter produces feelings for a tale.
Warren Buffett wanted to market himself as a Midwesterner folksy, witty, and down-to-earth.
Here, consistency is crucial.
- He communicates via letters, articles, op-eds, and TV appearances, bolstered by his basic lifestyle.
- The man doesn’t own a Lamborghini and instead drives a $69,000 Cadillac XTS.
- He doesn’t buy a McMansion in Malibu and still lives in the same home he purchased sixty-four years ago.
- Modesty is influential.
4. Create attractive sales kits.
If you’re selling directly, the next stage is to create your sales kits.
Ideally, you’ll want to bundle items and services that solve your buyer’s most pressing concerns. Then display them in such a manner that price comparison is almost difficult.
Most cosmetic surgeons, for example, unconsciously pitch their services as commodities. A facelift costs $10,000 to $50,000. Breast implants cost $3,000 to 7,000, and so on.
Comparisons between surgeons’ fees are unavoidable and straightforward. Comparison plays a big part in any personal brand.
5. Price your bundles.
Then, price your bundles at various pricing points. The most challenging dollar to get is a customer’s first dollar.
So…build a modest, smaller package to give them a taste of what you have to offer. After that, upgrade them to a higher level after they’ve had a positive experience.
Alternatively, take a riskier strategy and offer them a higher-priced bundle with a risk-reversing guarantee.
Finally, don’t make your product or service offers too complicated.
You don’t have to show them everything all at once, or they’ll get overwhelmed. And that’s not attractive.
6. Create a website that will attract.
Create a website and use professional positioning tools.
Unless you’re a one-man army, in which case you’re your company, you’ll need your website distinct from your business website.
This will make it easier for Google to find you, and it will give you complete control over your brand — your narrative, skills, values, track record, media appearances, and so on.
This new website must include a prominent link to your company’s website(s).
