To build and grow your successful service or consultancy-based business, you want to attract a steady stream of your ideal clients – so you can generate regular revenue and also so you can do your best work, and enjoy doing it every day.
The question is, how do you stand out from the crowd and get these ideal clients to pick you? The answer is to build a brand story that they can relate to.
Why you need to build a consistent brand story
People do business with people. Nowhere is that more true that in a business where you’re providing one-to-one services and consultancy. People are buying your expertise. They’re essentially buying into you and everything you stand for. They want to get to know, like and trust you, before they’ll do business with you. You need to do everything you can to help them do this. Building a brand story they can relate to is the key.
What is a brand story?
Your brand story reveals the human face behind your business Click To Tweet It makes an emotional and rational connection with your potential clients. It sets out why they should work with you, including:
- Why you’re in business
- What your business stands for
- How you help people
- What makes you different.
If you’ve ever sat down to write your website and not had a clue what to write, it’s probably because you haven’t mapped out your brand story. Once you do, you’ll be amazed how everything else slots into place. Not just what to say on your website but how to write your social media profiles, what to say at networking events, even what to blog about.
Building your brand story is not as daunting as you may think. Here are six simple steps you can follow.
1. Reconnect with your passion and purpose
I’m guessing you set up a business based on something you love doing, as well as something you’re very good at. But when was the last time you took time to reflect on this? It’s time to remind yourself of your ‘why’.
Being clear and passionate on why you do what you do not only gives you the drive and determination to succeed, it also helps your ideal clients want to work with you. There’s something irresistible about someone who’s not just an expert in what they do but also clearly loves their subject.
2. Get clear on what your business stands for
Your ideal clients are looking for someone they know, like and trust to work with. People that share their values. People like them. We often think about our values when we start out in business but forget to check back on them regularly.
Having clear values helps you to:
- Stand out from your competitors
- Connect with your ideal clients, while turning away the ones you won’t enjoy working with so much
- Shape your brand – the look you choose, the language you use and the experience you want clients to have when they work with you.
Values also help you to sense check everything you do in your business, from taking on new projects to selecting the right team members, associates and suppliers. If something doesn’t feel right to you, it’s probably not in line with your values.
3. Decide who your dream client is
You’ve probably already heard lots of advice about selecting your ideal client. There’s a good reason for this and I can’t stress enough how important it is to be really clear who you want to work with.
It is however one of the hardest things you’ll have to do in business. It can be so tempting, especially when you’re starting out and you’re multi-talented, to want to help everyone in all the ways that your fabulous expertise enables you too. You fear you’ll miss out on exciting opportunities and, worse still, that you’ll turn away vital paying clients.
The problem is that, if you try to appeal to everyone, you won’t actually stand out to anyone. You’ll get distracted by every shiny, new opportunity that comes your way and you won’t have the focus you need to grow your business.
Once you can visualise one very distinct person you want to work with, you can articulate clearly on your website exactly how you can help them.
4. Be yourself
Building your brand story gives you total freedom to express your personality Click To Tweet This is both exciting and scary, especially if you’ve spent a long time in the corporate world living someone else’s brand.
Truly being yourself is your key to attracting your best clients. You are what makes your business unique. Have the courage to express your personality in every element of your brand story from how you dress and how you write and speak, through to the colours and design of your website and logo.
Everything should tell the story “This is who I am and this is what it’s like to work with me”.
5. Share your own journey
Your ideal clients are looking for something in your journey that they can relate to. Every leader and entrepreneur has a personal story to share that helps to make their brand story unique. It could be anything from your career journey to how you overcame adversity or how you were inspired to start up your business. If you’ve faced the same challenges as your clients and come out the other side, tell that story. It will not only give them hope for the future, it will also position you as the person that can help them achieve the results they want.
Pick the most relevant parts of your back story and build them into your brand story to make that personal connection.
6. It’s not all about you!
Your brand story is not all about you. There are other people in your business that your ideal clients want to get to know – your team members and associates and, most importantly, your existing clients.
Share all the great examples of how you’ve already helped people. Show the challenges people were facing, how your products and services provided the solution and the outcome that your clients got.
Your ideal clients want to recognise themselves in these case studies. Remember to showcase clients that fit your ideal profile to they can see how you’ve already helped people just like them.
Now it’s time to put your brand story into action…
Building your brand story gives you a planned and strategic approach to attracting and working with more of your ideal clients.
Once you’ve worked through these steps you’ll be ready to start creating your overall story, which you can then translate into:
- Your website, including:
- Your homepage
- About page
- Services or Work with me
- Case studies and testimonials
- Social media profiles and posts
- Your editorial calendar and blog posts
- Networking pitches
- Speaking engagements
- Every single time your speak and write about your business.
Good luck and let me know how you get on. If you’ve got a question or a comment, please pop it in the comments box below.