The Power of Polish: Making the most out of 7 seconds
The Power of Polish: Making the Most out of 7 Seconds
Those of you that know me know that I never show up underdressed. I wonder if you know why I take care in my appearance? Let me create a little business case for you….
When I started my entrepreneurial career I was young, and I mean young young. That special age where you think you know everything and that at 30 you will be a real grown up. That’s where I started. Since I already knew everything, it was easy, right? Um, not so much. I very quickly stepped into a public role as the leader of eWomenNetwork and needed to not only sell to but confidently lead, a group of women that were 20+ my seniors and provide them with true value.
If I had walked on stage with a side ponytail or the most up-to-date fashion atrocity, it would have skewed their view of me for many, many months, and I would have to earn that credibility back. Not happening. I had sales to close. At that age, it sometimes felt like more of a costume, but I was ok with playing a role until I achieved the goal. Your appearance is how others decide to view you as a person, which they do, within the first seven seconds of meeting you.
What does your appearance say about you? Here are just a few possibilities:
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Professionalism
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Motivation
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Experience
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Attention to Detail
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How you Represent your Brand
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Trust
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Like-Mindedness
So often we see business owners and employees that haven’t taken the time to put themselves together in a way that will not only help them open doors but help them close sales. A few years ago, one of my legal clients had a gorgeous baby face, not a wrinkle in sight. Before she went to court, she would pull her hair back into a simple high ponytail. How would you feel about a lawyer that looked like she was still in college? Not great was the answer for a lot of her clients. All it took was a different hairstyle to allow her to elevate her image to the professional kick-butt lawyer that she truly was! It simply took a little polish.
For the next week, I would like you to try a little experiment. Every morning, before you leave the house, take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask these three questions:
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Do I look like my brand (personal or business)?
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Is this a great fit for the meetings I have today?
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Does this convey my professionalism, my intent and my level of experience?
If the answer is always ‘uhhhhh maybe?’, it might be time to start putting together what your personal brand needs to be.
For questions or more information contact me at Marie@revenue.wp10.staging-site.io
Permission-based Marketing: Where yes means yes, and no means no
Permission-based Marketing: Where Yes Means Yes, and No Means No
Marketing can be powerful, impactful and even helpful; but it can also be annoying and unwanted. These days, marketers are trying to decipher through some blurred lines on whether their message is wanted, appropriate, and even legal.
This is where permission-based marketing can be so powerful.
“Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them. It recognizes the new power of the best consumers to ignore marketing. It realizes that treating people with respect is the best way to earn their attention.”
As you can imagine, we believe permission-based marketing is the best kind of marketing because it targets the right audience, with the right message. To help you find your voice, below are several situations that are all “Yes” (full permission), and a couple of situations you don’t want to get caught in.
Yes means yes: Situations where your marketing can make a HUGE impact!
Your email list:
If someone is on your email list, it means that they have expressed specific interest in your business. A good email list if full of highly engaged contacts that are expecting you to send them something. **hint, EXPECTING** that’s right, when they signup, they are flat-out asking for it.
Social Media:
Your followers, likes, and community is another place where your audience is interested, engaged and looking for information. Social media platforms give you the voice and audience to kick your marketing into action.
No means no: Critical misses that burn marketers and brands.
Purchasing an audience: If you have a list or an audience that you purchased, you are walking some fine lines. These contacts have not expressed interest, so often your message will appear as unwanted and even intrusive. Because of this, your campaign performance will suffer and you won’t be getting the results you are capable of.
Promotion overload: Remember, you must treat your audience with respect and provide relevant information. If you are always talking about yourself and not providing value, this is a great way to get ignored and lose your audience.
Find your safe word: Just in case you are afraid of crossing a line, there are a couple universal safe words that you should know: “unsubscribe”, “opt-out” “unfollow” and “block”. Always respect your audience’s decision.
Rule of thumb- get permission where you can, and ensure that content is always relevant and interesting to your audience.
If you are looking to build your audience or need help finding the right words, we can help.