by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Marketing, Mindset, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 22 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA:
How to turn any venture into an admired brand
— From: Bigger Than This: How to turn any venture into an admired brand by Fabian Geyrhalter
Since I love marketing and the creativity behind it, I’m always delighted to hear how companies brand themselves. The media likes this too, and frequently we hear the branding stories about startups with innovative concepts or products becoming beloved brands, as people flock to purchase whatever they’re selling.
Rarely, if at all, do we hear about companies that sell commodities turning them into beloved brands. That is, until now. Branding Guru Fabian Geyrhalter, author of How to Launch a Brand, recently published his second book, Bigger Than This. In it, he details 8 principles that help companies who sell commodities (“products and services that have remained widely unchanged”) turn their brands around to tell empathic stories that resonate with their existing tribes and create new raving fans.
Here are the 8 principles. Follow one or follow all to position your brand strongly:
1. Tell your story. Stories are memorable and relatable. “They flip the intangible into something tangible, the unrelated into something emotional.”
2. Believe in something and be vocal about it. “Any brand can stand for something meaningful, but to do that it has to define and embody its values.” And the values need to be aligned with those of the customers and the community.
3. Root for a cause. “Identify a social cause that can be activated in an authentic way to manifest that the purpose of the product/service goes deeper than solely generating sales.”
4. Connect with your heritage. We all like to anchor ourselves to different places because we feel a sense of connection or belonging. “Connect your product with the desire of consumers to formulate a deeper connection with the place your brand will be known for.”
5. Be delighted to delight customers. “A small, unexpected gesture will lead to them seeing [your brand] as a friend.”
6. Be transparent. “Create a strategic plan on how far you will take the idea of transparency and where your brand will draw the line.”
7. Stand in solidarity with your customers. “Only deep and honest empathy will touch people’s hearts long term. A quote from Alan Alda in the book says, “… focusing on the other person’s need and not my own was the most effective way to make a sale.”
8. Customize if possible. “Start simply by using your collected customer data to create personal experiences surrounding your customer service or product interactions. Customization can start a small as that and grow from there.”
Finally, the book leaves you with this short and helpful template for a “simple positioning statement to derive the bigger story,” and it instructs to “put extra emphasis in deriving your ‘because’—your reason to believe.”
“To [target audience]
our product is the [category]
that provides [functional, symbolic or emotional benefits]
because [support/reasons to believe].”
ACTION
TODAY: Take a look at what you do or what you sell. Could your brand benefit from any of the principles above? If so, identify the one that you can start implementing today (even if just with one tiny action). Note that these principles could also apply to a personal brand. What does your online image say about you in the various social media platforms that you have? How can you tell your story in the best light possible to resonate with those you lead?
FUTURE: Run both your business and personal brands through the above principles and template. Both brands will come out stronger and better positioned to suit your goals.
Let me know if you’d like me to put together an online branding session (at no cost, of course). I know a few branding gurus and will gladly invite them to share their knowledge with us via Facebook Live or a webinar or video chat. I think we could all benefit from hearing experts in the field as to how to position our business and personal brands in a stronger way. Shoot me an email to let me know if you’re in, and I will plan accordingly if this idea gains traction. Fingers crossed!
Know someone who might like this post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 31 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA:
Put doubts in your doubts.
— From: Simple Is the New Smart: 26 Success Strategies to Build Confidence, Inspire Yourself, and Reach Your Ultimate Potential by Rob Fazio
Whenever we are going to do something, whether for the first or the umpteenth time, doubts may creep in. It’s natural, but if left unchecked, doubts can sometimes take over and paralyze or derail us.
Rob Fazio quotes a successful strategy by Al Petitpas, renowned psychologist to athletes, that helps “turn [around] people’s level of performance in sport and life.” The secret? Putting doubts in your doubts. Here’s how it works:
1. Scan for your doubts. Make a list of your doubts. Fear is usually the strongest of all, but it could also be “something that seems as harmless as a gut feeling about who is watching you or the setup of a situation.”
2. Understand and verify. Once you have a list, you can understand the source of your doubts by asking: “Where are these doubts coming from? What are the triggers? Are they real or did you create them?” And once you’ve answered, then ask “Is there any value?” This is important to verify, because, “for example… if you feel unprepared… that may be a cue to prepare more.” This step helps you see what is real and valid, and what isn’t.
3. Identify what the doubts are preventing. Those pesky doubts always have a way of stopping us short, even if temporarily, when they appear. “The way to counteract this is by asking yourself a simple, yet powerful question: ‘What would I achieve if I didn’t have any doubts?’ This question gives us forward momentum [and creates] a vision of success that focuses on the positive.”
4. Put doubt in your doubts. Our doubts usually start with “what if…” and then we imagine the worst-case scenario. So, what if we were to turn that on its head? Shift the negative “what ifs” into “questions that guide [you] toward success”:
“What if…
→ I wasn’t afraid?
→ I didn’t think about what others think?
→ I was confident right now?
→ I was able to get out of my own way?”
5. Shout out the doubt. Take the questions above and transform them into positive, strong statements that you can believe and that resonate with you and your values. “You need to believe in yourself or no one else will.
→ ‘I wasn’t afraid?’ becomes: ‘I know how to manage my fear.’
→ ‘I didn’t think about what others think?’ becomes: ‘I care more about what I think than what others think of me.’
→ ‘I was confident right now?’ becomes: ‘I am confident and strong.’
→ ‘I was able to get out of my own way?’ becomes: ‘Who I am is my strongest asset, and I help myself win.’”
6. Replace the doubt with doing. Action cures fear. “This is where the focus happens and you shift from doubt to doing. Identify one situation where your doubts have held you back, and attack. Leverage your newfound confidence and lean into your discomfort.”
7. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. By building the habit of doubting your doubts and taking action “you will have more power and control over yourself and debilitate your doubts.” More importantly, you will be able to take action where necessary in the case of true and valid doubts (e.g. more preparation in the above example), or dispel them if they arise out of fear or out of another emotion that is not serving you at this time.
ACTION
TODAY: Take one of your doubts and run it through the steps above. What did you learn? I’m sure a positive mind shift took place!
FUTURE: Make some time in the near future to create a list of doubts and run each doubt through the steps above. Take action where you need to. Rinse and repeat as often as needed. I’m sure you will be able to lift a burden off your shoulders (the stress we undergo from our doubts is not only unnecessary but also quite draining), and have peace of mind knowing that you are moving forward towards the completion of your goals.
Like what you read? Then don’t doubt for a second and help us spread the word via email, Facebook or Twitter. Your friends with doubts will thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Growth, Marketing, Mindset, Resources, Sales
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 48 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA:
How to apply the Law of the Category to your benefit.
— From The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing: Violate Them at Your Own Risk! by Al Ries and Jack Trout (read a sample or watch an animated video summary of the book).
“What’s the name of the third person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo? If you didn’t know that Bert Hinkler was the second person to fly the Atlantic, you might figure you had no chance at all to know the name of the third person. But you do. It’s Amelia Earhart. Now, is Amelia known as the third person to fly the Atlantic Ocean solo, or as the first woman to do so?”
You just witnessed in action one of the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, the Law of the Category:
“If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in.”
As professionals, we are constantly selling either products, services, or our efforts (say, our work to our boss) and we tend to focus on “better.” But better naturally brings a comparison: better than what? Better than X we say. And then a further comparison ensues. Ok, better than X, but can you top Y? The bar is constantly being raised to unattainable levels if we just focus on better, better, better. Let’s think new instead.
Marketing gurus Al Ries and Jack Trout say that while “everyone talks about why their brand is better… prospects have an open mind when it comes to categories. Everyone is interested in what’s new. Few people are interested in what’s better.”
By promoting the category you are first in, you can differentiate yourself from the competition. And since every category has a leader, you can become this way the market leader in your category.
So, what category are you first in? Let me know in the comments!
ACTION
TODAY: Figure out what category you are first in. If you sell a product or service this should not be difficult, as what differentiates you from the competition is a way to define your category. If you are not in sales directly, you can create your own category in the work that you do. Are you the first to try some new strategy or method? Or the first to try out some new technology? Or the first to teach something to someone? There are so many firsts that come to mind! What can you do that can give you a leg up, and create a category of “you did this first” in the mind of the people you report to? If you can’t come up with anything, check out this post: There is no such thing as a shortage of ideas or ping me and I can help.
FUTURE: One of the ways in which you can constantly create value is by reinventing yourself, your business/work, and your categories. Make a point to review your categories at least twice a year. Are you still dominant in the one you chose? If so, congrats and keep on going. Are you still dominant but many competitors are trying to snatch your title? Come up with another, complimentary category. That way you’ll have the strength of the first one plus the additional one, and this will certainly be a further differentiator in your clients’ minds.
Know someone who can benefit from reading this post? Please share it with them via email, Facebook or Twitter — thanks a lot!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Mindset, Opportunity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 5 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA:
The lone genius myth is not true, it’s about collaboration.
— From Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon (here’s a summary of the book)
As a society we’re enamored with many myths, and one of them is the one of the “lone genius.” Austin Kleon says that seeing creativity under such light portrays it as “an antisocial act, performed by only a few great figures, mostly dead men with names like Mozart, Einstein or Picasso. The rest of us are left to stand around and gawk in awe at their achievements.”
Instead, Kleon points to the way in which the renowned English musician Brian Eno views creativity as a scenius: “a whole scene of people who [are] supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas and contributing ideas.” A scenius is a model under which “great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals—artists, curators, thinkers, theorists, and other tastemakers—who make up an ‘ecology of talent’.”
“ A scenius doesn’t take away from the achievements of those individuals; it just acknowledges that good work isn’t created in a vacuum, and that creativity is always, in some sense, a collaboration, the results of a mind connected to other minds.”
The beauty of a scenius then, is twofold:
- It opens the door for the rest of us: “the people who don’t consider ourselves geniuses” and for whom art and creativity takes many different expressions than in its purest, most widely adopted sense. I’m subscribing here to Seth Godin’s description of art in his book The Icarus Deception: “Art is not a gene or a specific talent. Art is an attitude, culturally driven and available to anyone who chooses to adopt it. Art isn’t something sold in a gallery or performed on a stage. Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another. […] Seizing new ground, making connections between people or ideas, working without a map— these are works of art, and if you do them, you are an artist, regardless of whether you wear a smock, use a computer, or work with others all day long.”
- You don’t have to be a genius to be part of a scenius. To be a valued member of a scenius is not about your intelligence and talent, the school you went to, or who your parents are. It’s about your valuable contribution to the community (ideas, connections, conversations, and elevating the art form, whatever this form may be in your particular scenius).
Thankfully, we live in a time where the Internet provides lots of sceniuses where we can all contribute to something that we care about. There’s plenty of opportunity and no barrier to entry. So, what scenius will you pick and what will your contribution be? Let me know in the comments.
ACTION
TODAY: Where is your scenius? What tribe would you like to belong to? Identify where your scene is (whether in person or virtually) and make connect and contribute something today if possible (an idea, a comment, feedback, etc.). If not, schedule in your calendar when you can start contributing, and do so.
FUTURE: Now that you’ve found your scenius, take a look around. Where and what is the most valuable contribution that you can make with the resources that you have? Think: time, knowledge, resources, connections, etc. May sound trite but it’s true: you always get out what you put into it, so give it your best. If you’re hesitant about making a commitment because it seems daunting, give yourself a trial time to see if it’s a good fit. Contribute to a scenius for, say, 3-6 months and see what happens. One way or another, I’m sure you’ll be all the better for it afterwards.
Enjoyed the post? I hope so! Please share these ideas with more people via email, Facebook or Twitter — thanks a lot!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Goals, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 43 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA:
Give Yourself an A.
— From The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life, by Rozamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander.
Because we live in an ultracompetitive society, we are constantly comparing our results to others and others’ results to ours. The result? Disappointment that we don’t measure up or that others don’t measure up to our standards, with the consequent anxiety, despair, and a bunch of other symptoms caused by this unnecessary stress. However, Ben and Roz Zander in The Art of Possibility rightly state that all of the labels we assign are merely human inventions, “so we might as well choose to invent something that brightens our life and the lives of the people around us.”
As such, they describe a fascinating tactic, the practice of giving an A*: “It’s a shift in attitude that makes it possible for you to speak freely about your own thoughts and feelings while, at the same time, you support others to be all they dream of being. The practice of giving an A transports your relationship from the world of measurement into the universe of possibility.”
You can give yourself an A, and you can also give it to “anyone in any walk of life—to a waitress, to your employer, to your mother-in-law, to the members of the opposite team, and to the drivers in traffic… This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into.”
Ben Zander, who serves as musical director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (on the date of publication of this post) says that he gives all students in his class an A at the beginning of the course in exchange for writing him a letter (within the following two weeks and postdated at the end of the course) in which each student should detail “the story of what will have happened to [him/her by the end of the course] that is in line with this extraordinary grade. [The students] are to place themselves in the future, looking back, and to report on all the insights they acquired and milestones they attained during the year as if those accomplishments were already in the past.” In the letter, Zander wants them to highlight, and is especially interested in, “the person [the student] will have become [by the end of the course]… the attitude, feelings, and worldview of that person who will have done all she wished to do or become everything he wanted to be.”
“I tell them I want them to fall passionately in love with the person they are describing in their letter.”
So why not give ourselves an A today and see what happens? And how about giving it to the people that surround us? Let’s give it a try, for all we know, we may make our corner of the world a much better place!
ACTION
TODAY: Write yourself a letter explaining why you’re giving yourself an A, and date it a year from today. Describe who you will have become and why a year from now. Fall passionately in love with the person you are describing in the letter. Go make it happen!
FUTURE: Every time you find yourself unnecessarily stressed or in a pickle about something, give yourself and the people involved in it an A (no letters involved here, you can simply give them an A in your mind). See how your attitude changes. Ask yourself, “What happens if we pretend that this isn’t hard?” It’s game changing!
In my mind and in my heart you are all As, and my wish for you is to always dwell in possibility and marvel at yourself and others. I am so grateful for you being with me on this journey: EntreGurus is celebrating one month, and we have so much more to share, woo-hoo!!
Please let me know in the comments the ideas that EntreGurus has sparked in you! And a favor, please: help me share these ideas with more people via email, Facebook or Twitter. Thank you!
NOTES:
* For our international gurupies**: Grades in school in the United States are measured in a scale of A to F, with A being the highest and best grade a student can get. In other countries this would be the equivalent of 10 or 100. Simply substitute the A in this case for the highest and best grade that students can get in your country and this tactic will immediately resonate with you!
** Gurupie = blend of guru and groupie = how we fondly refer to the EntreGurus’ community, because we all follow the ideas of the gurus.
