Thanks for tuning into the Scale Your Small Business Podcast with your host, Jillian Foldstrom. Our guest today is AJ Vaden, who was recently named one of the top five personal branding speakers of 2019. She is the co-founder and CEO of Brand Builders Group, an international speaker, a million-dollar consultant, and the host of The Influential Personal Brand Podcast.
Diving in, it’s important to recognize if you’re talking to the right group of people. Data can help, AJ says, but it’s really a personal question. Ask yourself who you want to serve, who you want to reach. It has nothing to do with what the economy is doing, or what the market is saying, or what your competitors are doing.
You are best positioned to serve the person you once were, AJ says. Where do you have a personal affinity? What types of customers do you feel naturally drawn to? Typically, you need to know the demographic specifics, but those are general. Think about who your work is built for. It’s a person, not a group of people. What does this person care about? What are their fears? What keeps them up at night? What are their passions? What are their dreams? What questions do they have? What are they searching for? The more products and services you have, the different your audience is, but your message is consistent. Your audience can evolve and change and mature, but there is a shared set of values that AJ and her clients share.
AJ doesn’t believe in competitors. She believes what makes us truly unique are our personal experiences, our personal expertise, our personal values, missions, and beliefs. No one in the world has those same personal experiences and knows exactly what’s important to them. Consider what your alliances are. Celebrate each other’s differences and not try to absorb every single client, but instead share them.
It’s about finding your uniqueness. First, what problem do you solve? That is the number one key to building a best-selling brand is becoming known and becoming synonymous with a problem that you solve for your audience. It’s one word that you’re paired with. Then, what are you passionate about? What fills you up? Next, what is your expertise? Pair that with what your first-hand experience is. Finally, what would people buy from you? This is paired with what business we want to be in.
AJ and her team conducted a study run by an independent Ph.D researching firm to find out how personal brands impact America today. They found 74% of Americans said that they are more likely to trust someone who has an established personal brand. It’s not a celebrity. It’s not an influencer. It’s not someone who has a book or a podcast. Americans said that they thought at the end of the day, a personal brand is simply someone whom they recognize. The three most significant or credible titles that people said they deem as most credible and most trustworthy were CEO, owner, and expert. The most impactful and most significant thing in influencing purchase decisions are third-party testimonials from your clients.
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