Episode 19: Creating Your Expert Brand: Part 1

Episode 19: Creating Your Expert Brand: Part 1

Once you have a logo and a name, you’re good to go with your business, right?

Not even close! A brand is so much more, and having your brand even a little bit ‘off’ will hurt your success.

In the first part of this 3-part series, Pamela walks you through the core elements of a great expert brand.

You’ll discover:

• The 3 branding types that work for coaches, healers and experts, and the only one that works online.
• How to know which type will work best for you.
• The key questions you need to ask to see if a re-brand is a good idea.

Timecode Guide:

02:52: Discover the three branding types that work for coaches, healers, and other experts, and the only one that really works online.
10:32: Pamela explains how to know which type is going to work best for you.
14:04: Let’s talk about the key questions you need to ask to see if a rebrand is a good idea right now.

Podcast Transcription

Episode 19: Creating Your Expert Brand: Part 1

Intro

Intro (00:00):
You’re listening to ‘A Profitable Impact.’

Pamela (00:02):
There are three types of brands that you can have as a coach expert or healer. And really only one of them works online.

Gene (00:11):
Welcome to ‘A Profitable Impact,’ where every single week we help experts like coaches, healers, course creators and other online professionals to expand their reach, to increase their impact in the world and to be well-paid for their extraordinary gifts and talents. My name is Gene Monterastelli, and I am the lead coach in Pamela Bruner’s Impact Accelerator coaching program. And please welcome my friend, my colleague, and the CEO of Attract Clients Online, Pamela Bruner. How are you doing today, Pamela?

Pamela (00:42):
Great, Gene. And we are talking about one of my favorite things today, which is branding. Yay!

Gene (00:47):
And it’s the thing that’s exciting about this is we’re doing a three-part series on this, so it’s not just today. And I think this is such an important thing for us to talk about because I think branding is one of those words that people use casually, but they’re not exactly sure what they mean when they use that word. And so when someone is talking about their brand, I think it’s good that we help people to understand what we’re talking about as well as how to do that really effectively in their business. Now, as you listened to the conversation today and you come across something where, as we’re unpacking this idea of branding, if you feel like you’re stuck, we would love for you to have an opportunity to talk to one of our coaches, to help you to unpack that and to be so much clearer about the results that you provide in the world.
If you’d like to have one of those conversations, all you need to do is go to BookMyBreakthroughCall.com. That’s BookMyBreakthroughCall.com, get yourself on the calendar for one of our coaches so that we can help you out to be a clear communicator about the work that you do.

Pamela (01:44):
So we’re going to impact your brand in a few different ways over this three-part series. And one of the things that I want to encourage you to do when you’re listening to this is if you’re tempted to say, well, you know, I’ve got my brand. I’m good. I, you know, I don’t think maybe I need to listen to this particular episode. What we talk about is broader than just your name or your logo, because a brand is not a name, a logo, a color, a font. It is much, much more. And so there are going to be things that we talk about when we talk about creating your expert brand that you could change today. If you wanted to, that would enhance your marketing and increase your business. So even if you feel like your brand’s kind of nailed down, I think this is going to be really useful. And what we’ll talk about today are the three branding types that work for coaches, healers, and other experts, and the only one that really works online. Also, how to know which of these types is going to work best for you particularly. And the key questions you need to ask to see if a rebrand is a good idea right now.

Gene (02:44):
Well, I think without further ado, Pamela, I think we should just jump right in what are those three brand types that coaches and healers can have?

What are the 3 Brand Types Coaches and Healers Can Have?

Pamela (02:52):
The first one I want to talk about, which I believe actually has the lowest revenue potential (in other words, this is the one that’s going to keep you most broke or keep you poorest), is the process or method type brand. And that is branding around a given process. You have for a given method you have. So for example, if you say XYZ coaching as your brand, or, you know, my name coaching as your brand or something like that, that is your branding on coaching or your branding on healing or something like that. Now there is a way in which this brand type will work. And that is if you have a well-known commodity process or method and you are local. So for example, one of the businesses where I live is Asheville acupuncture and people in Asheville who know they are looking for the modality of acupuncture will find that business.

Pamela (03:47):
And often that’s very searchable online. And so that kind of process or method brand works really well. And mostly I’ll just call it a process brand from here on out. So the process is acupuncture or dentistry or healing or medical or something like that, and a local location, a neighborhood or region, something like that. That means that your client attraction is largely going to be geographic. And based on your commodity, if you have a process or method that is not well-known, you know, gene, you and I both specialize in EFT tapping as our favorite modality. And although it’s used by millions of people around the world, it’s not a well-known modality and it’s also able to be done at a great distance. So branding around that is a process brand. And while some people succeed with a process brand, I would advise anyone who’s trying to attract clients online outside of their local region. And you’re using a process that is not well-known that may not be the right branding type for you, but that’s branding type number one. Okay.

Gene (04:50):
And when you say that, Pamela, one of the ways that I like to think about that is tribal language gets us tribal clients. When we’re talking about something in a specific, and the process that we’re using, the only people that we are going to attract are the people who are or understand the process that we’re using. I always think about whenever my sister comes to visit me here in New York, because the neighborhood that I live here in Brooklyn, and this is not an exaggeration, within half a mile of my apartment there are 17 yoga studios. And my sister is a certified teacher of yoga and she loves doing her yoga. And so when she is looking for the studio that she wants to go to, she is not looking for the distance from the apartment because they’re all close. She’s not looking at time because he’s on vacation and she can go whenever.

Gene (05:37):
But she is looking for a very specific type of yoga that she is trained in because she wants to train there and go there. So for her, because she already knows exactly the type of work that she’s looking for, they’re going to find it. But for me, I am, I like yoga. I think yoga is really useful, but I don’t know the difference from one strain of yoga, another or one teaching branch or another. And if you’re only teaching in that vocabulary, it means absolutely nothing to me. And since I am outside of the tribe of understanding the different types, you’re not going to reach me if you’re using that sort of vocabulary.

Pamela (06:11):
What a great example. So let’s go into branding type number two, which is a Charisma-based brand and a Charisma-based brand is absolutely wonderful for people who have that it factor. And I, this is a particularly interesting arena, I think for the two of us to be discussing Gene, because we both came into working with clients and doing the transformational work that we do from a place of severe social anxiety on both of our parts. And so I wouldn’t have called myself charismatic in the past. I wouldn’t even call myself particularly charismatic now, you know, I think I have reasons that I appeal to people, but I’m not sort of one of those it girls and I don’t, you know, as, as powerful as I find your teachings, I don’t believe you brand on charisma either. True. That is absolutely correct. Yeah. But if you are one of those people that, you know, when you walk into a room, people sort of follow you and they want to talk to you and they throw credit cards at you and sort of everything you do, you look great and you sound great. And, and it’s not even about being beautiful or not being beautiful. It’s about having that certain charismatic, confident factor. Then you may want to choose a charisma brand. And what I find is that people can often set themselves up as the charismatic leader or the guru and do quite well with that. When we go into the next section, we’ll talk a little bit about whether a charismatic brand might be right for you or not. And the pros and cons of that.

Gene (07:43):
I think that the charisma brand Pamela is the one that is the most seductive when we’re kind of looking at it from the outside, because the people who are successful at a charisma brand, it looks effortless from the outside because of who they are and how they show up in the world. And it doesn’t mean that it is necessarily easy. There’s obviously lots of work behind people who have charisma brands to be very successful behind that. But it’s almost like a magic trick where you can’t actually see what is going on. So it looks way easier than it actually is. And it’s important for us to recognize that it’s because of who it is and how they are doing and how they show up in the world, which makes it look easy when it’s actually something else.

Pamela (08:27):
Yes. And another word for a Charisma-based brand might be a celebrity brand. And so if you are not coming into doing your work with a certain celebrity behind you, you know, it may or may not be a good, good choice for you. So now we get to the third type of brand, which is my personal favorite, and that is a result brand results brand or results-based brand. And this is branding around a particular solution to a particular that you provide for a particular group of people. So for example, I hope transformational entrepreneurs, coaches, healers, and experts who struggle with their marketing, can’t attract the clients they want, can’t be paid the way that they want to create an impact-based business, a business that really makes a difference in their lives of the client and the world. That’s the result that I provide. And if you specify a particular result, regardless of the modality you use, regardless of the charisma, you may have, you can still use a particular process. You can still use a particular method. You can still be as charismatic as you want to, but the question is, do you brand around a certain result?

Gene (09:34):
And what are the things that I have been talking about a lot Pamela with our clients is the idea that everybody in the world is the main character in their story. And everybody around them are the supporting characters that help them through their life, as they’re trying to do what is going on. And so someone who is wandering through the world and they’re dealing with the problems as the main character, they’re looking for rural assaults and they’re looking for transformation. And since people have problems in they’re looking for solutions, they are much more likely to find us if we are speaking in terms of those particular results, because they’re not looking for me, they’re not looking for our podcast. What they’re looking for is a way to solve their problem. And if we’re leading with that particular result and talking about the problem in their vocabulary, they’re going to be so much more open to it because a results brand is actually about our client and our customer. It’s not about us

How To Know Which Type Is Best For You

Pamela (10:32):
Beautifully said. So now let’s talk about how to know which type is going to work best for you. As I mentioned earlier, process brands tend to work really well when you are local and you have a well-known commodity. So Asheville acupuncture, neighborhood dentistry, things like that can be powerful brands, because those are the kinds of things that people will search for when they are looking for a commodity that they’re familiar with in a region that they live. So if you want to brand around that particular expertise that you provide, and you’re getting people in person and you do hands-on work, or there’s a reason for people to come to your office or your brick and mortar location, then yeah. A process brand can be an effective choice for you. But that’s the only way that I would really choose to do a process brand.

Pamela (11:25):
You know, one of the companies that we know well the tapping solution, people tell me all the time, both they’re branded around tapping, that’s branded around a process when, while they are very successful, the truth is that the way that they grow that business is with particular problems that they solve particular programs that they have. So they have one about money and they have one about weight loss that they call body confidence. And there are these specific results that lead to them. Also, I would not look at an outlier, you know, just because they have achieved success with it and they have, they’ve done it in a very specific way that may not be a good fit for everyone. The second type of brand, when we talk about a charisma brand, partly I want to say you either have it or you don’t.

Pamela (12:10):
However, based on watching my own videos from 12 years ago, I know I’m far less charism. I was far less charismatic then than I am now. So getting that kind of approachability and accessibility and engagement and learning how to be on video, it’s something I’ve certainly transformed in the last 12 years. And I believe that you can do that. My challenge with a charisma brand, when I say how to know which type will work best for you is if you know, you’re charismatic, you know, that people are attracted to you for your charisma. You may want to choose to do a sort of guru-based brand or Charisma-based brand and brand it around you. And you are the leader in that kind of thing. However, my experience is it’s only scalable up to a point, so you will start growing your business and you will get to a point where, because your brand is based on you, you’re going to max out in your time or your energy or your effort. And in order to go further, you’re going to have to pivot to probably a results-based brand. So it’s fine to use your charisma, but putting the brand around your charisma, just know that it has a scaling limit.

Gene (13:17):
And I think the other thing that is important to recognize inside of that, Pamela is most of the people that I think about who have really successful Charisma-based brands, you know, someone like Dave Ramsey, didn’t start out as a charisma brand. It started out as a results brand and because the result was so successful and the community grew around it, he slowly grew into a position of having that teacher and guru status inside of that community and is now the focal point of the branding and how they approach that sort of thing. But it is so much harder, even if you are going to do a charisma brace band to start from that particular place, because you’re only building on that and nothing elsewhere the results are so much more easier to communicate, even if you’re heading in that direction.

The Key Questions To See If A Rebrand Is Right For You

Pamela (14:04):
Right. So which leads us into the third point, which is that if you’re trying to figure out how to brand in particular, then consider the idea that a results-based brand will work better in general for almost everybody. And particularly when you’re putting your business out online, people are looking for results, not for, as you said, a particular person or necessarily a particular method. So if you’re just saying, Hmm, I don’t know what I should choose, go with a results brand to as the default. So let’s talk about the key questions you need to ask to see if a rebrand right now is a good idea. Because as you’re thinking about, well, you know, I’m not sure what result I want, and, but I work with people with a bunch of different problems. A brand result that you choose is not necessarily based on numbers.

Pamela (15:02):
It’s not, well, you know, I had 10 people in the last year come to me for this and 12 people come to me for this other thing. So I have to choose the one that 12 people came to me for. No, that’s not true. You could choose a result that you’d only helped a couple of people with, but it was a result that you really wanted to focus on. Now, often when we teach, how do you choose a result? How do you focus your brand? We’ll look at where you came from your, what I call career capital, what your past is and things like that. But a brand result is simply a choice. So to see if a rebrand is good for you, first question to ask is, do people know what I do? Or are you one of those mysterious people where, Oh, I just, I love Jenny.

Pamela (15:47):
I don’t really know what she does, but it’s really cool. Or can they, can they describe what you do? A second question to ask is, am I attracting clients from my marketing? So when I go out and share what I do with people, when I put things on social media, when I write blogs and emails, do people come into my business from those marketing efforts? In other words, is my message clear enough. And if it’s not probably rebrand is a good choice. And the third question is, can I explain my transformation in one sentence? That’s understandable to a ten-year-old because if I can’t, unless, as you said earlier, Gene you’re marketing to the tribe, then you’re not just probably pushing away her ideal clients. You’re also pushing away any potential referral partners, because someone can’t refer you to their sister, if they don’t know what you do, even though their sister might. So getting your transformation and your brand and your message very, very clear for the general populace is such a great,

Gene (16:59):
Good idea. I think that’s really important, Pamela, because when we are communicating about the work that we do, I think I’m a very effective communicator. And I think when I’m explaining something, I think I’m going A, B, C, D. And in actuality, what I’m probably doing to the general population is I’m going a D L S V because I’m making a huge number of assumptions. And when we’re working with our clients and I’m talking about wrecking marketing, copy the idea that the moment I feel like I’m, overexplaining myself, I’m probably 80% of the way of explaining it to a general population. And so, even though it feels like we’re over simplifying and distilling it down, it’s not that we’re oversimplifying it. What we’re doing is we’re communicating, like Pamela said, in a way that the general population understands. And for most of us, we spend so much time inside of our work inside of our modality, inside of our process, we don’t realize the amount of shortcuts that we are using to describe our work, because it’s obvious to ourselves what we’re doing, but it’s not obvious to those outside of us. So it might feel like you’re saying things that are really dumbed down way, but it’s important that we do it crisp.

Pamela (18:09):
And next week, we’ll take another look at branding, in particular, branding mistakes that people make.

Gene (18:16):
You are in a situation that as you’ve heard the conversation that we’ve been having today, where you’re struggling to figure out the type of branding that works for you, or how you can articulate that results brand, that is perfect for you. We’d like to give you an opportunity to talk to one of our coaches, absolutely free. All you need to do is go to BookMyBreakthroughCall.com. That’s BookMyBreakthroughCall.com, get on the calendar of one of our coaches so they can help you to figure out the best way for you to brand yourself and present yourself. So your ideal clients are excited to have a conversation with you. If you enjoyed the conversation we had today, we’d really encourage you to share it with a friend. You might know another small business owner out there who would really benefit from a conversation about how they can communicate more clearly.

Gene (19:03):
Please pass the episode along if you haven’t done so already, we’d also encourage you to follow or subscribe to the show. You can do that in Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Audible, all you need to do is click the Follow or Subscribe button, turn on those notifications. And if you have a question or comment or a topic that you’d like us to cover at some point in the future, feel free to reach out. We can be reached at AttractClientsOnline.com. That’s AttractClientsOnline.com, click on that contact button and let us know how we can help you in an episode, in the future. For ‘A Profitable Impact,’ I’m Gene Monterastelli until next time, I hope you have an impactful week.

Want to know more about how to attract your ideal clients online?

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ABOUT THE PODCAST

Building a business as a coach or expert is challenging, especially if you’re trying to find your clients online.

Join business coach and online marketing expert Pamela Bruner as she uncovers the secrets of successful transformational businesses. If you want to make a difference in people’s lives, expand your reach, and attract high-paying clients, you’ll love this show!