Tweet

Make "PERSONAL" the Centerpiece of Your Brand Position

Written by: John R. Wilson, Sr.

Article Overview: I live in Arizona where everyone comes from somewhere else and in the summer no one opens there doors. Can you imagine how grateful we are for the communication technologies that our new world offers? But something very wrong has occurred and it may be threatening your business...

Make "PERSONAL" the Centerpiece of Your Brand Position

I love technology. It intrigues me. It keeps me excited and ever learning. Technology has also changed the face of business in spectacular ways. It has enabled businesses to embrace a greater community, it has increased productivity, and simplified communication. There are so many positives that they would be hard to name here in this post.

There is one aspect of technology that I find sad, and that is how it has made us lazy regarding personal contact or “face time” with customers and prospects. Email makes it so easy and efficient. But, you know what they say, “out of sight, out of mind.” In business this situation can be the kiss of death. If your entire relationship is email and text based, there is virtually no relationship.

Never believe that expediency is a better choice than relationship.

Electronic customers take on a different dynamic. Customers within a few hours drive are worth having face time with. When they are both a distance and treated with a steady diet of E-Mail you are in jepoardy.

Companies like the investment company Edward Jones, does not allow it’s advisors to use email with their customers. They do allow personal, voice and snail mail contact only. This effort is rewarded repeatedly. Here are some other things that I do to make “face time” work for me:

Coffee Clutch Time: When a person contacts me to see how we might work together, I typically suggest we meet over coffee. This way I can size them up better and try to understand their motivation. I’ve struck up some terrific business relationships this way.

Network meeting: You can use these events to spruce up your sales skills and put a face to a name. It gives you a chance to help someone on the spot. It also is an opportunity to create dialogue and open up lines of communication with potential partners.

In-person presentations: It has been my experience that an in-person presentation is your most powerful ally. I can demonstrate my desire to serve their business needs and I desire it enough to get out of my office and shake some hands. Virtual relationship is an oxymoron. A physical business shows you’re a real business.

Ignore email: I actually did not believe this until I took a lesson from a marketing wizard. Purposely visit customers or at least make phone calls when you get electronic messages. Showing up to chat WILL get you more business. It certainly ensures you will be taken seriously. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken something in person to a client that I could have just as easily emailed only to get other projects given to me on my way out the door. Seeing you reminds them of other ways that you can help. In today's virtual discussion environment, it is so rare that it also creates a certain amount of felt need to make sure your time was not wasted.

“I’m in the area” opportunities: Sometimes, when “I’m in the area” I call to see whether I can pop in to say howdie. These friendly requests always brings a smile and some great conversation.

New service meetings: Recently, I emailed a number of old files and offered to bring them a coffee and discuss what I’m offering these days that might be of help to them. A number of them took me up on it, and this effort resurrected some old business.

The point here is not to rely on convenience to grow your business. It’s not about you - it’s about your clients and customers and nothing tells them you care as much as hearing your voice, feeling the palm of your hand in theirs and listening to your laugh when they tell their latest jokes.

Related Articles
  Personal Branding Tips for Beginners
  Lock Out Your Competition With a Strong Personal Brand
  Everything You Do
  The Art of Book Branding
  Professional Presence

Article Tags: business relationships, clutch, coffee clutch, e mail, edward jones, electronic customers, email, expediency, face time, intrigues, investment company, kiss of death, learning technology, out of sight, personal contact, personal voice, potential partners, snail mail, steady diet, terrific business



Related Forum Posts
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.
List of a few legitimate online business - Well My main methods to make money so far are adsense,affiliate marketing and freelancing and I think these are some more sites that can help me to make some more money.Your reviews are welcome: ::linkworth dot com>This site is awesome and offer lots of ways to make money. ::mturk dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::microworkers dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::shorttask dot com>complete simple mini task and get paid ::istockphoto dot com>sell stock photos ::eHow dot com>Make money writing ::Bukisa>Make money writing ::Associate Content>Make money writing ::Triond>Make money writing ::fiverr dot com>$5 freelancing job ::cpalead dot com>make money by completing offer ::peerfly>make money by completing offer
Top 19 Copywriting books - 1. Ogilvy on Advertising. David Ogilvy. Wiley. 2. Positioning: The Battle for your Mind. Al Ries and Jack Trout. Warner. 3. The New Positioning. Jack Trout. McGraw-Hill. 4. Tested Advertising Methods. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 5. How to Make your Advertising Make Money. John Caples. Prentice-Hall. 6. Guerrilla Advertising. Jay Conrad Levinson. Houghton Mifflin. 7. Direct Mail Copy that Sells. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 8. Sales Letters that Sizzle. Herschell Gordon Lewis. NTC Business Books. 9. Herschell Gordon Lewis on the Art of Writing Copy. Herschell Gordon Lewis. Prentice-Hall. 10. Romancing the Brand. David Martin. American Management Association. 11. The Art of Writing Advertising: Conversations with William Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Gribbin, David Ogilvy, Rosser Reeves. NTC Business Books. 12. Confessions of an Advertising Man. David Ogilvy. NTC Business Books. 13. My Life in Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 14. Scientific Advertising. Claude Hopkins. NTC Business Books. 15. How to Become an Advertising Man. James Webb Young. NTC Business Books. 16. The Lasker Story as He Told It. NTC Business Books. 17. Advertising Concept and Copy. George Felton. Prentice Hall. 18. The Copy WorkShop Workbook. Bruce Bendinger. The Copy Workshop. 19. Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads. Luke Sullivan. Wiley. This should keep you busy for at least a year. Enjoy!
Re: What are your January Goals? - Here's a quick update on mine: Goal #1: Hire New Writer = done - Post job description on oDesk - Set up trial job - Pick top candidate Goal #2: Follow up with Clients = done - Create and send quarterly report - Touch base with last year's clients - Follow up with 4 connectors Goal #3: PERSONAL = about 70% done on the month - Do something nice for my wife each week - Exercise 4 times per week - Daily stretch - want to touch my toes
Re: looking for partner - Partnerships in business can be tricky. Most partnerships fail. Here are a few points to ponder before starting a partnership: - Should have common goal and vision - Level of commitment in business - Expectations from business and each other. - Good sense of self-worth - Financial Position – Have a good experience in related business with strong financial standing I suggest you to go on Google type “Partnership Assessment form” and Partnership Assessment Tool” You find some good results. Further apart from this forum look into on social media and business sites.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Effective Leadership

Entrepreneurs and the “Oh! No!” Trap

Purchasing Real Estate using the SBA 504 Loan

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.