My Utile Center

…or Is My Brand Working?

To measure the impact and effectiveness of marketing and branding on the bottom line alone is a mistake. There are far too many facets of the success equation. It is easy to lose enthusiasm and focus if there are no intermediate benchmarks of success for activities that will ultimately affect the bottom line.

The value of reputation, relationships, brand awareness and consumer attitudes related to your business, are impossible to measure just on financial return.

A thorough evaluation of where your business is now and the identification of the most important next goal is a good place to start.

Other measures of ROI are:

-number of leads generated

-total sales revenue generated

-change in awareness of your brand - attention form the media

-change in market share

-change in buying pattern re products, days etc.

-change in intent to buy

-increase in incremental sales revenue

-customer retention

Look for ways to track your progress keeping the end in mind. It is all about prioritizing and being able to identify and sort the factors that are crucial to your success, from the insignifcant details it’s so easy to get caught up in.

It may feel more productive to be doing, but it is actually more constructive to be planning. The odds of achieving marketing success increase exponentially if you are aware of what has succeeded and failed in the past. 80 to 90% of effort is well spent on identification, planning and determining the success metrics, with the balance on execution and assessment.

The owner of a successful business or product is often reported as saying, “It seemed to develop a life of it’s own and just take off.” It could be a lucky break but often it’s the result of years of experience and thought finally put into action.

Nancy Fraser is the President of Nota Bene Consulting a marketing and advertising firm that encourages their clients to “First Ponder, Then Dare”. Sign up for the free ezine at http://www.notable-marketing.com

Small business owners learn many lessons the hard way - through
the school of hard knocks. I recently experienced my own tough
lesson concerning the importance trademarking my business name.
Like many solo-entrepreneurs on a tight budget, the thought of
trademarking my business name was not high on my priority list.
Had I placed more importance on it, I might have saved myself
some anxious moments, not to mention a few hundred dollars in
attorney fees!

As a member of a couple different virtual assistant membership
organizations, I often look with interest at other VA’s business
names and website URL’s. One day I noticed a new member
announcement for one of the groups and saw a listing for VA
Office Solutions. Now this one hit a little too close to home for me - after all, my business name is VA Office Solution. I also noticed that she had a domain name to match.

Have you figured out my first mistake yet? I could have kicked
myself for not purchasing the domain name,
http://www.vaofficesolutions.com, which is so close to my own
domain name of www.vaofficesolution.com. After all, even some of
my own clients inadvertently add an “s” to the end of my business name in correspondence. I certainly didn’t want people to look for my business on the Internet, and mistakenly find this other website! This could potentially be very confusing for both of us, especially considering we both operate similar businesses and conduct our business virtually, working with people all over the country.

Well the first thing I did was a little research on this domain
name. I was able to find the owner and saw that the name had only recently been purchased, and had only been purchased for a one year period. This indicated to me that this was a new business, and she had only just started using this name.

Then next step was to get some legal advice. I had met an
attorney who specializes in trademark law at a networking event
so I gave her a call and asked to meet with her. I learned that I definitely had a good case, as I’d been using the trademark since 2001. Even though I had not formally registered the trademark with the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), I still had first use of the trademark, which gives me certain rights.

After meeting with the attorney, I decided that my first step
should be filing my trademark with the USPTO (http://www.uspto.gov). Now this is something that I could do
myself, without paying an attorney, but taking into consideration my own time constraints and her expertise, I decided to let her handle it for me. Also, since there would need to be a letter drafted to the trademark infringer after my trademark had been filed, I just felt more comfortable letting my attorney draft a letter that would be effective enough to get the infringer to stop using the trademark and take the website down.

So how did it all end? Well I got my trademark registered and we
sent the letter to the trademark infringer. She agreed to stop
using the trademark and took the website down. All in all, the
entire process took about three months. I feel very lucky though, as I was able to find this infringer very soon after she opened her doors for business. By getting it done quickly, it should not have been devastating to her business and did not have an apparent affect on my business.

So what should you consider when deciding if you should trademark your business name? First you should conduct some research to make sure you’re not infringing on someone else’s trademark. You may be forced to stop using it if that’s the case. If you decide to trademark your business name, then you must be prepared to enforce your mark. If you allow others to use the mark, then you can face abandonment and risk losing your own trademark. You should also consider the domain name issue. Do not make the mistake I did and let someone else snatch up a domain name that matches your trademark.

Be sure to visit the U.S. Patent and Trademark office at
http://www.uspto.gov, and then visit my attorney Heidi Pliam’s
trademark website, Trademark Edge, at http://www.trademarkedge.com. And if you’re looking for a good
trademark attorney, be sure to give Heidi a call! Her contact
information is on the website.

Jean Hanson is a Certified Professional Virtual Assistant.
Discover how partnering with a virtual assistant will give you
more time to do the things you love to do! Visit her at
http://www.vaofficesolution.com. Jean is also the author of the
eBook, Virtualize Your Business -
http://www.virtualizeyourbiz.com

The name of your business is important–it’s one of the first things potential customers know about it. And having unique names for each of your products and services can be a powerful selling tool. One way to make yourself and your business attractive is to have something exclusive and enticing, promising benefits. Good names for your business, products and services can do that. Good names market for you.

Do you have a hard time coming up with names? Perhaps you called your business ABC Enterprises, because you just couldn’t think of anything else. What does that name say about you and what you do? Nothing. Nada. Zip. It doesn’t tell customers why they would want to do business with you, because they have no idea what it is that you do, or who you do it for.

Here’s my favorite way to come up with a name. I call it “Idea Storming.” OK, I just did it to you. Marketing with a name, that is. “Idea Storming” is a name I came up with to describe one of my services. Brainstorming has been done to death. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt from the seminar. Idea Storming puts a slight twist on it. You recognize the concept, but it has a different name, and it ties to my Idea Lady identity. Not a spectacular example, but see how it works?

Anyway, I help my clients to Idea Storm, but here’s how you can do it on your own. Get a piece of paper and a pen. Write down every word or phrase you can think of to describe your business. What do you do? Who are your clients? What results do you get for them? What words would your clients use to describe what you do? How would they describe the feeling they got doing business with you? Why is your business better than others?

Once you’ve got a nice, long list, keep going. Get out your thesaurus (or use the one in your word processor) to come up with words with meanings similar to what you wrote down. Scan books and magazine articles for words and phrases that jump off the page at you. Talk to friends and associates, and get them to Idea Storm with you.

Now, take your list and start combining the words and phrases. Take this word and add it to that one. Use this phrase, but substitute that word. Take pieces of two words and make a brand new word.

I’ve used this method to come up with lots of names and titles over the last few years. This is how I created names such as The Idea Lady, Solo-preneuring, and many more.

Another great benefit of Idea Storming is that even the words and phrases you don’t use in your name can be used in a slogan, on your business cards, in sales letters, in brochures and in other marketing materials.

This technique is simple. But it really works.

Copyright Cathy Stucker. As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker can help you attract customers and make yourself famous with inexpensive and free marketing ideas. Get free tips, articles and more at http://www.IdeaLady.com/.

My first year as a Cyberpreneur was a steeplearning-curve. I was an academic beforestarting an online business, so I had a lot to learn.But even if you were in offline-business before goingonline, you may still have to learn some new skills-online business is a whole new ball-game. Here aresome of the things I learnt in my first year in CyberSpace:

(1) Be careful who you register your domain with.Some domain name registrars make it very difficult tochange your web host.

I registered my first two domains with a registrarthat caused me more headaches than I care to thinkabout.

When I needed to transfer one of my domain names to anew web host, my original email address had changed. Iwas no longer able to send them an email from thataddress and so I couldn’t authenticate my request fordomain transfer.

So I tried to update my personal record with my newemail address. I got a message saying that I couldonly change my email address by sending an email frommy original email address (which no longer existed).

This bureaucratic nightmare went on for 4 weeks. Toadd to my frustration, I was communicating with amachine, not a human being. By the end of that time Ihad no less than 35 computer-generated emails tellingme that my domain could not be transferred.

Finally, I sent my request for domain transfer in a5-page fax, including photocopy of my passport. Theythen sent me an email saying my request for domaintransfer could not be processed because my request wasnot on company letterhead.

So I designed a letterhead and re-submitted the 5-pagefax. Finally, 6 weeks after my first request, my domain wastransferred.

To avoid this kind of experience I recommend you useregister.com: http://www.register.com

Using their online Domain Manager, it took me lessthan two minutes to transfer my domain!

(2) A slow-loading index page is still one of themain reasons that online businesses lose customers.

Surveys show that the average surfer will wait no morethan 8 seconds for a web page to load before movingonto another website. So ‘load-time’ is a vitalconsideration when you choose a web host.

Below is a website that allows you to check the load-timeof a web host:http://www.hostpulse.com/app/networktools/ping.asp

(3) Once you’ve designed your home page and uploadedit to your server space, check to see what it lookslike to other people. What you’re seeing may not bewhat other people are seeing.

I once designed a home page I was very proud of - Ihad added a piece of javascript that gave the day anddate.

Then one day I checked my home page at Anybrowser.com.I was horrified to see that my home page was invisibleexcept for my company logo and the navigation bar. Fortwo weeks it had been virtually blank to mostvisitors! So take a minute and look at your websitethrough your visitors’ browser:http://www.anybrowser.com/siteviewer.html

(4) If a customer asks you for a refund, give it tothem immediately, even if you think it’s unjustified.You’ll be out of pocket by a few dollars, but yourname and your integrity will be intact. Your good nameis perhaps your most precious commodity on theInternet. Remember these words from Shakespeare:

“Who steals my purse steals trash;

’tis something, nothing;

‘Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him,

And makes me poor indeed.”

(Othello, Act III. Scene III.)

(5) Reply to emails quickly. Nothing impresses memore on the Internet than a rapid response to abusiness enquiry. Try and respond within 2 hours, orat least within 24 hours.

(6) Never reply angrily to abusive emails or flames.People who send flames want you to reply, but there isnothing to be gained by replying. An abusive email canbe very disturbing, but the best thing to do is ignoreit. Better still delete it - that way you remove itfrom your life and you remove the temptation to reply.

(7) Lastly, never give up. Most successes are due tosheer persistence:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of

persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common

than unsuccessful men of talent. Genius will not; the

world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and

determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan, ‘press

on’ has solved, and always will solve, the problems of

the human race.” (Calvin Coolidge)

————————————————————
Michael Southon has been writing for the Internet for over 3
years. He has shown hundreds of webmasters how to use this
simple technique to build a successful online business. Click
here to find out more: http://ezine-writer.com/
————————————————————

Ever see an amazing band perform and wonder why you’ve never heard of them
before? Ever see an astonishing artist on the street and wonder why isn’t their work
isnt in a gallery? Ever see an astounding independent film and wonder why people
all over the world don’t know about it?

Me too!

It breaks my heart to know that there are musicians, painters, sculptors, and
filmmakers everywhere starving. Starving… for their art.

Why is a branding expert like me, who mostly deals with entrepreneurs and small
business owners, addressing musicians, artists, and filmmakers? It’s simple. Artists
are the ultimate entrepreneurs.

Think about it. Some create products and look for a market; others look at a market
and create products. Every entrepreneur starts the same way! It’s the notion of
business that often trips artists up.

Creating any piece of music, art, or film, is like creating a product. I’m not
suggesting that all products, art-based or otherwise, are equal. We all know a good
product, or painting, or film or vacuum cleaner when we experience it. Its just with
some artists, imaginary barriers get created. These illusive barriers can keep them
from creating the very success they want.

All creators have the same goals: to make a good product that is useful or
meaningful, have it well liked by many people and to be paid portionally to the
market they reach. Who doesn’t want that? Making music, paintings, sculptures,
photography or film should be addressed like any business with the same attention
to the big picture, IF you want to make a great living from it. But something often
holds artistic creators back from making a great living from their art.

As usual fear is the culprit.

Artists sometimes fear that if they develop the recognition and financial success that
comes from branding from them ’selves’, their peers will think that they’ve ’sold-out’
if they ‘make it’. Fellow starving artists might say that on the surface, but what they
are really saying is that they are envious of the success that you have created. It’s
far easier to put down someone else’s success than to make it them self. What’s
more important: what your peers think OR having your ‘art’ enjoyed by as many
people as possible and having the financial freedom that comes along with it?

Another fear that may prevent artists from taking their craft mainstream is that they
think that they will lose control of it by becoming a business and, heaven forbid, a
BIG business at that. Just like the art you make, what your business becomes is in
your control. If you develop your brand based on your vision of it from the start, you
protect it from becoming something else. Business is not bad -people that run
them can make bad decisions. The power of your business is always in your hands.

The largest fear for some artists is that the very nature of getting paid, and paid
well, for their art will change it. This will then set in motion the loss of creative
connection with the ‘art’ itself. I would argue that those that get lost were not very
centered on their purpose and passion in
the first place.

It’s odd to think that financial freedom, the freedom to do whatever you want, could
cause one to lose their way. In one of our workshops, we were fortunate to have a
successful artist who was ready to take his brand to the next level. When I asked
him what does he do, he answered, ‘Whatever I want.’ Who doesn’t want that?!

With the money you get from branding your craft, you can set up systems so that it
doesn’t interfere with your focus; donate to causes, invest in real estate, create
other products/partnerships. You can even hire the people to manage it all.
Leaving you free to… create.

The bottom line is simple, everyone has control over what they do and what they
manifest, it’s just that most people haven’t been shown how. Commitment to your
‘art’ does not preclude your ability to make money from it. In fact, the more
financial freedom you create for yourself, the more art you can create. A branding
mindset is taking that control into your own hands and owning the future. And it
must truly start from the inside -from your innate talent and your grand vision for
your art. Branding your art comes down to your commitment to yourself and to the
art itself. Branding is not only slogans and TV ads; it’s the power to be who you are
and communicating it to everyone proudly.

The definition of artist:

1. somebody who creates art

2. somebody who does something with great skill and creativity

3. somebody who is very good at doing something

Nowhere does it say you have to starve to make good art or good products.
Remember that the next time a musician, or painter, or sculptor, or filmmaker you
know breaks through to success. Ask yourself, what are you really committed to?
Don’t cheat the world of your gift. Developing a
brand mindset with integrity from the inside out is guaranteed to reach more
people. Period.

If you do something that you really love, you’re really good at it, and people pay you
to keep doing it, then branding it is not selling out, it’s selling in… to you!

Written by Kim Castle, the Co-founder of BrandU the home of only step-by-
step process for developing your business as a brand from the inside out!

To get information on upcoming BrandU one-day workshops: http://
www.whybrandu.com/Public/events/workshop/index.cfm?semID=13

Get your Why You?!(sm) monthly ezine for easy-to-read tips and informative
insights on branding. To subscribe: http://www.whybrandu.com/

“BrandU Big Business Success No Matter Your Size”

Everything you do is linked directly to your Personal Brand. As entrepreneurs
and small business owners, we have a distinct advantage that larger companies
do not. When it comes to our brands, we have the ability to get very
personal.

Larger companies strive to establish a relationship with their target audience
by making their brand feel more personal or relatable. This is one of the
reasons why spokespeople are such a commodity - larger companies piggy
back off of the relationship an audience has with that spokesperson. Those
experiences are then tied directly to their product or service thanks to the
Personal Brand draw of their spokesperson.

Take Tiger Woods for example. W hen he is hired by Nike to represent their
latest ad campaign, the mere image of him stands for perseverance,
determination and overall excellence. Nike benefits from those perceptions
simply by having Tigers brand lined up with theirs.

You don’t have to take such expensive measures, as a small business owner,
because you have the ideal spokesperson to represent your brand - YOU!

With that said, there are 7 keys (the 7 C’s) your brand must possesses to
establish that personal touch, and ultimate loyal following, with your target
audience. They are:

Character: Everything begins and ends with you. Your character is
at the heart of your brand. As you develop your Personal Brand, if you discover
that your character shows up in a less than favorable way, use this as an
opportunity to grow. Without a strong character, the remaining six success
principles won’t matter to anyone.

Commitment: Not surprisingly, when others see that you are a
committed individual, they will join in helping you achieve your goals. We are
attracted to people that follow-through on their word and have a “no matter
what” attitude. When you are committed, you deliver on your promise and
show the value of your Personal Brand. Great brands are built on this C - make
yours one of those brands.

Confidence: You’ll find confidence at the backbone of self-esteem.
It is our confidence that makes us unstoppable and drives us forward. Let’s
not confuse confidence with arrogance, which is a sign of insecurity or poor
social skills. True confidence knows no limitations and strives for solutions.
How are you acting on this key in your every day life?

Competence: Being competent is more than just knowing a skill.
True competence comes from having failed, dusted yourself off and tried
again. Competence is what separates the amateurs from the professionals.
The more competent you become, the more competence you will project
through your Personal Brand and the more loyal your brand following.

Consistency: We respect those that show us consistency through
their actions. A great idea not followed through on is fleeting. Consistency
takes continuous effort. Without consistency, your efforts are diluted over time
and ineffective. If you are inconsistent in how you communicate your Personal
Brand, your brand will confuse and eventually loose interest in the eyes of your
target audience.

Creativity: Life doesn’t offer us a blueprint for success, which means
we must ignite our creativity to achieve. Those that are creative live out of
their imaginations. As life evolves, and thankfully it does, the creative are in
great demand because they are always seeking out solutions to new
challenges. How about you? Are you seeking out new solutions or are you
stuck in what was?

Courage:
Courage looks fear in the eye and laughs. It sees only what is possible.
Getting clear on your brand attributes means revealing yourself - flaws and all.
It takes courage to recognize that sometimes, you must let go of who you were
in order to become who you were meant to be. Personal power and courage go
hand in hand - I believe they are one in the same.

© 2006 - Liz Pabon. All rights reserved.

About the author: Liz Pabon is a Personal Brand and Image
Management Strategist. Liz publishes a monthly eZine entitled Keys to
Success providing personal brand success strategies that work! Register
for your subscription at http://www.head2toeconsulting.com.

If you’d like to learn how to have a breakthrough in your business by
developing your unique personal brand, contact Liz at 916-788-2962 or email
her at lizp@head2toeconsulting.com.

When not coaching her clients or presenting Small Business Branding
Intensives, Liz enjoys family time with her husband and four “fur kids” in
Rocklin, California.

If asked to rank their current and future needs, many managers of non-profit
organizations would likely place branding at the bottom of the list. If asked why,
some might reply: “I can’t afford to undertake a major branding effort right now.”
That’s the wrong answer. In today’s competitive funding environment branding, or
communicating the character or purpose of an organization, is more important than
ever.

Developing or revamping a non-profit’s brand can have many benefits. Some of the
most significant include increased donations and membership. Given this, can any
non-profit afford not to do it? Following are five reasons why branding just can’t
wait.

Reason #1: Branding Instills Discipline

Any branding effort should begin with a careful analysis of whether an
organization’s mission is truly aligned with its activities. Is the organization
delivering on its promises? If it isn’t, it has a big problem. Non-profits that have
strong brands do what they say and say what they do. A branding effort can help a
wayward organization correct its course.

Reason #2: Effective Branding Improves Clarity

Potential funders and members are more willing to donate time and money to
organizations they understand and support. A non-profit with a strong brand will
have an easier time communicating its mission and value.

Reason #3: Branding Increases Quality

Organizations with weak brands often deliver poor service. Those that provide high
quality products and services have strong brands and intense customer loyalty.
Undergoing a branding effort can force a non-profit to carefully evaluate the quality
of its offerings and improve where necessary.

Reason #4: Branding Can Motivate Staff and Volunteers

Staff and volunteers that identify with and support an organization’s mission are
more motivated and engaged. Organizations with strong brands are in a better
position to inspire and activate these important human resources.

Reason #5: Branding Benefits A Non-Profit’s Constituents

A non-profit’s constituents can only benefit from an organization that has a clear
mission, high-quality service and motivated staff or volunteers. This is the
number-one reason organizations should consider undertaking a branding effort.

Clearly branding is critically important. Non-profits can’t afford to neglect this
important activity if they want to ensure they are operating and communicating as
efficiently and clearly as possible.

(c) Fard Johnmar

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare
marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides
innovative products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit
organizations. Envision Solutions’ goal is to make our clients more efficient
and successful. For more information about how Envision Solutions can help
you, please visit http://www.envisionsolutionsnow.com.

Branding, branding, branding. About every fifth newsletter or article I see online or in business journals has some spin on branding. How important it is. How it is a piece of intellectual property that must be leveraged and protected. How it must be invested in–this assertion (surprise) is from branding consultants who invite you to hire them to “do” you. I am so tired of hearing about how lofty and complex branding is.

This is one of the sacred cows of marketing that needs to be defrocked, at least as far as service firms are concerned. Branding is important, yes. It is essential for a product firm, especially one selling consumer products, where even the way the item is packaged is part of the brand. And it is also important for a service firm, but in this case it can be greatly simplified.

As a provider of intangibles, you need to pay attention to “proxies,” those things that will convey the nature of your company’s services to your audiences in lieu of the services themselves. These proxies comprise your brand. Your company’s name, your logo, and your characteristic color palette all serve as proxies, and are all part of your brand. It is important to pay attention to these items and to take care in their creation. Once they are created, however, your activity is purely tactical: Make sure that they get used consistently and accurately in every audience-facing activity you take part in.

By far the most powerful and important proxy for your brand as a service firm, and one that must be regularly managed, is your “voice.” By this I mean the quality and style of the content of your collaterals–the words in your web site, your brochures, your e-mails, and any other communication that comes from your company.

Review your web site, your brochures, white papers, articles, newsletters, or whatever else you make available to your clients and prospects. Do you have a consistent voice in all of your marketing collaterals? If so, is it the right voice for your company? Does it convey the personality and values of the firm as well as the quality of its offerings?

If your voice really is accurate and represents your firm’s personality, here is another key question: Do your audiences hear you correctly? The way you will know the answer to this question is to gauge the response. This might be through inquiries from your site, leads generated at events, or the ease (or difficulty) you experience in moving through the sales cycle. Find ways to measure the effectiveness of your words so that you can see if you are being heard correctly.

If your voice is attracting the right leads and greasing the wheels for your sales, you’ve got it right. If, however, you are not getting the kind of response you seek from your target market, perhaps you aren’t talking right. Review the words that represent your firm, wherever they reside, and consider making some changes to the way you “speak.”

Your voice is the most powerful aspect of your service firm’s brand. Concentrate on getting it right, and then keeping it right, and your brand will be on the mark.

Trish Lambert, president of 4-R Marketing LLC (http://www.4rmarketing.com), is an experienced marketing consultant and creator of the 4-R Marketing Model for service businesses. Very much a “non-conformist” in the marketing world, Trish creates campaigns and programs that make sense for her clients, that can be clearly measured, and that produce the targeted results.

Today’s competitive marketplace for consulting services is no longer responsive to the marketing strategies that worked in the past. The services you provide should speak volumes about your consulting business. Think about what happens when you hear phrases such as “the ultimate driving machine,” “don’t leave home without it,” and “just do it.” Chances are good that you can immediately associate them with BMW, American Express, and Nike. These companies have mastered “brand brilliance.” Brand your consulting brilliance because the future of your business depends on it.

There’s an old adage, “Perception is reality.” Simply stated, the perception of a brand lies in its ability to influence a client’s behavior. When you have successfully branded your business, in the client’s eye there is no service in the marketplace quite like your service.

All consulting businesses should have a distinct, sustainable, and competitive advantage to differentiate their services from the competition. I call this process of identifying your advantage “Brand Your Consulting Brilliance.”

Here are six simple steps to brand and differentiate your
services in the new economy.

1. Think client focus first.
The client’s reality: Consulting businesses exist to serve clients. Develop a client visitation calendar and schedule in-person visits. Look the client in the eye and say, “I am here to serve you.” Follow up and follow through on all client-related matters in a timely manner.

Create a client questionnaire so clients can rate the performance of your services. You want them to tell you how you’re doing and what you can do to serve them better. It’s also a way to discover what challenges they are currently facing. Be relentless in your client retention efforts.

2. Discover a distinct advantage that will set you apart from competitors.
Start by articulating your “unique marketing proposition,” a statement of all of the qualities and characteristics that set your services apart in the marketplace. Analyze your services: What skills and services do we provide that are distinctive, measurable, and add value? Which of our past successes can we leverage in the marketplace? And don’t forget to ask colleagues what they see as your competitive strengths.

Communicate these messages reinforcing your unique marketing proposition anytime you have an opportunity to write or speak about your consulting firm and what you have to offer to prospective clients.

3. Generate publicity.
What others say about your brand is much more powerful and credible than what you can say about it yourself. When it comes to branding your consulting brilliance, favorable publicity in the media or word of mouth is far superior to advertising. So how do you generate the publicity “buzz”? Create a buzz about your brand by being visible: speaking at seminars, publishing a newsletter on your website, participating as a host or guest on television or radio talk shows, writing a column in a reputable trade journal, and networking.

4. Promote a powerful perception of quality in the client’s
mind.
What is quality if not a perception that resides in the mind of the client? You build quality intangibles around trust, reliability, excellent people, and innovative client services. Show clients that you can interpret and process their information to convert it to results oriented solutions. What you say is important, but what you do is even more important for reinforcing their perception of your brand quality.

Keep the lines of communication open. The goal of branding your consulting brilliance is to convince the client that your brand is worth their trust and worth a premium price.

5. Establish your credentials as an industry leader in the field.
Clients like to know they are doing business with an industry leader. Make clients aware of your consulting acumen, presence, and commitment. Know your clients’ businesses inside out - what they do, why they do it, how they do it. Tout your firm’s successful track record of accomplishment in working with companies like theirs.

Build and sustain credibility with clients by strengthening your client relationships, developing a client retention strategy, demonstrating that you value your new clients, and going the extra mile for them.

6. Practice consistency in building your consulting brilliance.
Stay focused on implementing the branding of your consulting brilliance. Keep abreast of marketing trends in your profession and position yourself as a recognized expert. Make the most of your unique marketing proposition. Accelerate and elevate the perceived value of your brand in the marketplace.

In short, to brand your consulting brilliance, know what you have to offer, know how to differentiate it, and know how to market it.

Robert Moment is a best-selling author, business coach,
strategist and the founder of The Moment Group, a consulting firm dedicated to helping small businesses win federal contracts. He just released his new book, It Only Takes a Moment to Score, and recently unveiled Sell Integrity, a small business tool that helps you successfully sell your business idea. Learn more at:
http://www.sellintegrity.com
or email: Robert@sellintegrity.com.

Pressure washing companies often miss what we call ’super niche’ markets, those industries which very much need pressure washing services and are willing to pay top dollar for them. One such industry is the signage business. For a pressure washing company with no relatives or friends in that industry it is hard to break in and get work there, however if you con-brand with an existing company you may find yourself with more work than you can handle and able to bill at very high rates

Having been in the pressure washing industry some 25 plus years, we had always found that hooking up with a local sign company gave us instant credibility in the region and an expanded customer base of new clientele. Must of the new clientele once there cleaning signs had much more to wash also. For instance one time we went to clean a large sign for a sign company at a Lumber Company. Once there the owner was pleased and read the side of the work truck which we had also traded out in services for washing the sign company’s service trucks. The Lumber Company owner had us busy for two-days washing and waxing all his delivery trucks, forklifts, concrete and common area.

Below please find a letter that you can use and modify to fit your own business. Use this technique to alert local sign companies of your ability and willingness to work with them. Think about this and as always; Wash On !

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Dear Signage Contractor,

We know you have a tough job maintaining signs for clients. Our pressure washing company’s industrial division specializes in cleaning signs. We would like to help you and make some money. We’re looking for a win/win situation. We work in two ways:

You give us a list of clients (contact names) of your customers who might be interested in monthly sign washing. In return we will wash your work trucks for free every other week. (Yes, tire dressing too!)

You set up accounts for maintenance of signs, do all the billing and we do the actual sign cleaning while you work on mechanical and emergency calls. We bill you monthly for our washing.

No matter which way you choose, if we work with you, we will only work exclusively with you in your area. No other signage companies. We will also contact many store owners directly to clean their signs. If these stores need new signs or mechanical repairs of old signs, we will refer this work to you.

Sounds good? We thought you would like it. There is a bonus. We already have accounts to clean wheel chairs at hospitals, real estate agents cars, truck fleets, shopping carts at COSTCO, concrete for local property managers, etc. In other words, we know everyone. By giving you leads for new possible clients we can help you. Information sharing, networking, strategic partnerships, whatever you want to call it, it works! We are in it to win it! If you want to join (company name here) “110% Team” call us. If not the dust is free and we’ll even give you a paper plate. (No plastic fork. You can make a taco.)

If you don’t do this, one of your competitors will. That I can personally guarantee.

Thank you in advance,

Name
Owner/Operator

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/