written by john c ashworth
How to create an Image in the minds of your audience and make your competition irrelevant
...some vitally important and time-sensitive notes on personal branding and omnipresence.
YOUR ability to differentiate yourself and your business in the marketplace is constantly under siege by the market’s constant move toward commoditization. As a person. As a company. As a brand. You must constantly be moving to the high ground of authority and expertise. Because like a tsunami slowly approaching and mostly unnoticed, this ominous wave is unstoppable and holds the constant potential of washing you and your business away in an instant.
In order to prevent from being commoditized, you must play the game of business in a way no one else is playing it. You must think different. You must act different. You must BE different. A scary and unsettling idea for most humans happy to follow the lead of others.
The good news is that since most other small business owners won’t do any of this. Instead, they will continue doing the same things they’ve always done. One of which is to simply copy others in a weak effort to make-up for their ignorance and lack of fortitude. Or more often, their fear and broken belief systems about what works and what doesn’t, and about what is truly acceptable inside the marketplace. Inside capitalism. Inside the minds and hearts of your audience.
Much of this comes down to the facts. The numbers inside any business. The truth about what is really going on. The truth about what really works and can be measured. The clear and repeatable path someone follows as they make their way from interest to inception as one of your new customers. If you don’t see this path in your business, it's definitely time to get to work. And even if you do, it’s time to stop ignoring the premise on which I began this idea with you today; and begin working diligently to establish your authority and expertise in the minds and hearts of your prospects and customers.
How do make your competition irrelevant? Here are 3 simple ideas on which to begin your journey.
1. Do what you advise others to do. Lead by example. In other words, don’t get caught selling one plan while working another. The fitness business is a great example of this. One of the reasons I stepped away from it completely for five or six years. Coming back and taking a look around, it is clear that it’s even worse now. Diluted with non-sense and with charlatans. All of whom sell one plan while working another. Stay tuned here on the ash flash for a more honest and straightforward approach to your health and fitness. Both as an example of how to do what I’m talking about here today and if needed, to help get your own health and fitness program back on track.
This entire point, by the way, could be summed-up in one simple statement:
“Be authentic!”
2. Establish a foundation of marketable and profitable knowledge for which you possess unparalleled depth and breadth of knowledge, understanding, and ability to use that wisdom to server your niche in a way no one else possibly can; and do it in a way that is legendary!
3. Like it or not, humans gravitate toward celebrity. What can you do to turn yourself into a local celebrity; or at the very least, be seen as a celebrity for those whom you serve. Remember, being watched and listened to and talked about is what drives move of the marketplace. Think Trump and don’t let your political beliefs one way or the other sway you from the absolute resonance of this example.
Put another way, you can label all of this as personal branding and/or authority marketing; and it truly is powerful stuff. As one simple personal example, I can tell you that my regular health and fitness segment that aired every other Friday here on the local NBC affiliate in Madison, WI did more to help me grow my fitness business back in the mid 2000s than anything else I ever did.
Recently I sat down for a podcast with my son, Carl Ashworth where we discussed an introduction to these ideas in “How to Garner Attention personally, professionally, and for maximum impact.”
Subscribe here on JohnAshworth.com and you will receive email updates about all the episodes we have planned in this series and which are focused on the topics of how to develop and position your personal brand for maximum authority and impact in your local marketplace.
Good luck!
John
