I wanted to remove this element from my coaching practice. I wanted to be known for exceptional service, commitment and connection. I wanted to be a place people could come in their warp-speed lives and know they would receive time and attention they deserved.

How we handle “time” is an important part of our personalities. Here are some of ways I play with time to project my brand:

–My website is loaded with information that takes a long time to read. –My website takes a long time to load. We are not in a hurry here. –Each of my Internet courses comes with opportunity for unlimited email with me. Learners are free to respond, react, question and dialogue with me for duration of course. –I answer each email individually. –I don’t use autoresponders anywhere in my practice. –I don’t arbitrarily limit time of coaching session. –I don’t require a contract. The time is open-ended –I don’t ordinarily book clients back-to-back. This isn’t an assembly-line. –I offer Don’t Die at 50 Weekly Organizational Calendar© but wait til you see it. It isn’t talking about “polish your shoes.” –I deliver my ebooks personally, that is by email with a note. Sure this could be an autoresponder thing, but that’s not my style. If someone has courtesy to buy something from me, they deserve courtesy of a personal note.

Everything I produce and way I deliver it is branded.

How about you?

BUSINESSES HAVE PERSONALITIES

Paul Temporal, author of “Advanced Brand Management,” asked people to describe two competing companies’ personalities “as if they were people” and here’s what he got.

People defined Company A as “sophisticated, arrogant, efficient, self-centered, distant and disinterested.” Company B, competitor, they defined as “easy going, modest, helpful, caring, and approachable, and interested.”

Not surprisingly, 95% of people said they’d rather do business with Company B, and, not surprisingly, Company B was way ahead in competition.

START WITH YOUR VALUES & YOUR BELIEFS

When you think about branding your business, sit down and think about what’s important to you and what you want to project. Then make sure everything you do speaks of this. In other words, walk walk, don’t just talk talk

If it’s your intent to treat customers with respect, operationalize term and make sure you’re actually doing it. Respect isn’t a concept; it’s an action.

Modernizing your image (logo, collaterals) “won’t effect a change in brand values,” says Temporal. “The heart of brand remains same – what it stands for or its personality.”

Consumer perceptions of quality, service and other intangibles are your brand, and what keeps them coming back for more. Are you approachable? Are you interested? Do you care? Do your actions show it? Your customers won’t be fooled and they have choices.

* Retirees: emphasizes benefits of generating extra income without schedules or supervision.

3. Establish Yourself As A Specialist

One of most effective ways to beat your competition is to establish yourself as a specialist in a narrowly defined area of your business. Prospective customers perceive a specialist as an expert in their field - someone with special insight who can to help them in a specific area.

You do not have to abandon your current marketing to establish yourself as a specialist. Just select a unique product you offer or a service you perform especially well and emphasize it in your marketing. Include testimonials from customers and endorsements from other experts to prove you are one of best.

Tip: A service business that specializes can often charge a higher fee. Customers or clients expect to pay more for specialized service. Some will even consider your higher fee as evidence you are ultimate expert.

You will have competitors as long as you are in business. But these 3 ways of positioning yourself will minimize their impact and allow you to generate sales with little or no competition.

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses just like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information: mailto:BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: Postcards Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV