Newsflash – your customers want YOU.  The real you.  Not the made up, socially acceptable, photo-shopped, watered down, cleaned up version.  YOU with all your ’stuff,’  all your passion, all your thoughts, beliefs, and magic.

But most of us would rather get a root canal done than put our quirky selves out in the public arena.  We have been taught to comply, dress like a professional, go along, get along, and be nice.  (Especially for girls…that nice thing is really pounded in to the female psyche.)

So along comes “Auntie Therese” who is gonna ruffle your feathers by saying that in order to stand apart from the crowd, you have to be unique. The #1 mistake most of us make is that we start out being really passionate, and even obstinate about what we believe, but then somehow create websites that look like a third rate template version with some generic watered down message.  What happens is that  your prospects see the site and go, “huh?”  because they don’t get your energy.  They probably just click away and you have lost the opportunity to be of service to them.

My work (and what makes me the most passionate) is to get my hands on you and your business so I can help you discover the YOU that is going to be out there.  How do I do this?  By asking questions that pull out of you your brilliance.  Here is a list of some of my favorites:

What’s your voice?
What do you love?
What are you passionate about?
What are you taking a stand for your clients for?
What are some of your success stories?
Why are you doing this business?

When I can get my clients opening up to this level of reflection, they are often blown away.  Actually, sometimes they cry because there is a feeling of being more authentic and almost a ‘coming home’ to the dream they had for their business.

Here’s an email I got yesterday from Lisa, who was trying to live into an image of what she thought she should be for her target market.  She specializes in teaching accent reduction to foreign born workers who have language issues which are hindering them in the areas of getting ahead, and communicating on the job.  It’s really important work, and Lisa has a huge passion for it, but was feeling really disconnected because she thought she had to be like “all those accent reduction programs out there” which wasn’t her style.  Just giving her permission to let her personality flow out has been a turning point to her creativity and enthusiasm for the business again.  This is what she wrote—

“I am sitting here working on my publicity letter and my one sheet with tears in my eyes. I am finally getting how to let “me” come through and not just sound like another accent reduction specialist providing my skilled service. I know it still needs work, but it’s coming and it feels so much more “right” than what I’ve been struggling with the last few months. Thank you for taking the time to find me in the business and not just telling me what I needed to do next. I had been secretly worrying that I had made the wrong choice because I couldn’t get as excited about it as I wanted to, but now I see that was mostly due to the “positioning”, since I’m getting all excited just working on these marketing pieces.  Thanks again!  I can’t wait to see where we get over the next few months!” Lisa Scott of http://www.losemyaccent.com

How powerful is that!  Now her website still reflects the old ‘vibe’ because we haven’t completed that part of her coaching, but imagine yourself wondering if you had made the right choice of business, then getting the big juicy red light which said, “YES!!!! You Are On Track.”

There’s nothing better than that as a coach, when I can help someone find their voice and get their brilliance out in the world in a way that allows them to bring all of who they are to the table.

Now it’s your turn!  Let me ask you a few questions…

Are you holding back from being fully expressed in your business?  If yes, what are you afraid of?   What would you have to let go of in order to really put all of you into your work.  I bet it’s a story….something like, “They won’t think I’m professional” or “No one cares if I sing karaoke or home-school my kids….what does that matter.”  Or you may be stuck on, “But what if some people don’t like me or I offend them with what I say?”

Guess what gang – this is where you get to push past your limits.  This is why the entrepreneurial journey is like a spiritual path.  On this journey, you get to bounce into those scared places in you and use courage to come out on the other side more authentic, more expressed, and of more service.  Don’t run away from this!  This is the work we are all here to do.  When I take on a new client, in my mind growing their business is actually secondary.  What’s first – their transformation.  OK, I just came out of the closet on what gives me the most juice.  If I can help you transform thru the process of business development, your family is better off, your life is better off, and everyone around you benefits from the work you have done.

Whew!  Loads to chew on here.  I’d love you to write your comments about how you show up and what tricks you use to stay authentic when it’s tempting to sell out from time to time.

Big blessings my friends!!!

This has got to get the award for the WORST marketing ever.

Reading a bag of epsom salts (don’t ask!) I was surprised from a marketing perspective at what it said -

Epsom Salt – Magnesium Sulfate U.S.P – Natural Mineral

(And here’s where it gets interesting….)

A soaking aid for minor sprains and bruises

A saline laxative for the short term relief of constipation

A plant nutrient for vigorous lawns, flowers, plants, vegetables and trees.

Now I don’t know about you, but I doubt even brilliant marketers like my friend Michele PW or the famous Dan Kennedy could come up with copy for a product that helps with bruises, constipation, and gardening! All the marketing messages I teach about having to have a unified message just get thrown out the window with this thing.

As I re-read this bag of Epsom salts, I had the fantasy that a bunch of marketers were sitting around brainstorming, and finally they said, “What the heck, let’s just throw it all in.  We can’t figure out what to say, so we’ll just list the uses and let it go from there.”

With epsom salts, you pretty much know what you use it for.  And unlike coaching or whatever business you are in, there’s only one variety.  There’s not mint flavored, low fat, west coast, designer salts.  You get one thing.  Where you put it is your own business!  But it makes it easy because there’s only ONE way it’s delivered.

But in your business you don’t have the ability to have a crappy marketing message because you can’t figure out if you work with business owners, or mom’s, or teens, or people in transition.

That’s what this article is about.  Just because Walgreen’s can get away with having a generic product with bad packaging, as a small business owner, you can’t.  Your only choice is to narrow your focus, get crystal clear about who you serve, and what they get, and then go about creating compelling language around that.

So where do you start?

The things you need to be able to clearly articulate are what you do (as in your unique expertise) who you do it for (target market) and what problems you solve for them.  Most people start out as generalists, but the goal is to refine your market, offering and services even tighter as you get more and more sophisticated.  If you are stuck here, grab a mastermind partner or survey some old clients to get more information about how they benefited from working with you.

Why is this important?  Success is about being seen as the foremost expert in your industry.  Because unlike Epsom salts, there’s no one else like you!

Now go out an SHINE!!!!

Blessings!