How Telling Your Story Translates to Sales
31/03/16 How to Brand Your Juju , Uncategorized # , , , ,

How Telling Your Story Translates to Sales

There’s a lot of talk in the branding and business worlds these days about story telling. And every day I read long, involved stories from business owners who lead with their life experiences – who use their own journeys as the basis for presenting their products.

 

And last week, I had an interesting question from a reader:

 

“How does finding a unique story translate into actual sales?”

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27 responses
Are you trying to sell your product? Or the transformation?
28/03/16 Uncategorized # , , , , ,

Are you trying to sell your product? Or the transformation?

I recently had a call with a client who told me she wasn’t sure why someone would buy her art. She felt that she had a beautiful product – art infused with a healing energy. She felt connected to her brand and motivated by the “juju” she’d identified in her brand story. She felt, from the bottom of her soul, that her product would bring something to the buyer.

 

And then she said, “But I’m just not sure if other people will feel the same way. I’m just not sure why they would buy it.”

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8 responses
“Six Figures In Six Months.” Five Words with No Meaning.
24/03/16 Uncategorized # , , , ,

“Six Figures In Six Months.” Five Words with No Meaning.

I live and work on the Internet now. After 25 years of making money offline, the web is my office these days. And I keep my eye on the market leaders, the competition, the movers-and-shakers, and the talkers.

 

And almost every day, I see people make promises about how quickly I can make money on the Internet. Not a single day goes by that a hot-shot doesn’t tell me how I can make $50,000 a month, or a million in my first year, or how I can sign clients up for a $10,000 program with ease.

 

I can only guess that you’re reading these things, too.

 

And I want to take a moment to call “Bullsh** on the “Get-Rich-Quick” lie.

 

Now before you get up in arms and send me examples of people who were $225,000 in credit card debt last year and are currently sipping Mai-Tais in the Bahamas while riding the jet skis they own free-and-clear, I want you to hear me out.

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35 responses
Anatomy of a Good Brand, with Mihai Herman
17/03/16 Personal Juju , Uncategorized # , , ,

Anatomy of a Good Brand, with Mihai Herman

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Mihai Herman sat me down for an interview. Mihai is a business coach for creative entrepreneurs – and he lives in Romania. He’s young. He’s ambitious. He’s a firecracker. He’s got a social following of more than 30,000, and he’s a regular contributor for the Huffington Post. And what I like most about Mihai is that he’s looking to learn and improve every chance he gets.

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How to Handle the Haters? What to Do About Negative Online Reviews and Comments.
14/03/16 How to Brand Your Juju , Personal Juju , Uncategorized # , , , , ,

How to Handle the Haters? What to Do About Negative Online Reviews and Comments.

In my last two blog posts, I introduced you to some friends of mine – business owners who were blown away by a brutal online review from a high profile client. And how this review started a downward spiral for my friends that resulted in them losing enthusiasm for their business, then losing actual business, and then sliding into a dangerous sea of inactivity.

 

In the first post, I addressed the inactivity, and what to do when you feel like doing nothing. (You can find it here.)

 

In the second post, I addressed the issue of how my friends allowed someone or something outside of them to define them — and their brand. (You can find it here.)

 

And in today’s post, I want to address something less emotional, and more pragmatic:

 

How do you deal with critics, angry customers, and haters online?

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4 responses
It’s your brand identity. Who defines it?
10/03/16 Uncategorized # , ,

It’s your brand identity. Who defines it?

Earlier this week, I wrote a blog post about some friends of mine – close friends whom I respect and admire – who fell into a hole when they received a damning review of their services on Yelp by a very powerful client. The hole they fell into was one of inactivity and fear.

 

But it was more than that – they fell into a hole of self-denial. And they created that hole when they allowed their business to be defined –in their own minds – by the opinion of someone else.

 

A full year later, they’re just beginning to crawl out of that hole. And they’re squinting in the bright light of the gorgeous day that’s before them.

 

In my first post, I talked about the inactivity. About HOW to get up and begin again when we feel bruised or crushed, when we feel overwhelmed by the size of our to-do lists, or underwhelmed by our own performances.

 

The answer to inactivity is relatively simple. It’s activity. Of any kind. In order to move forward, we need momentum. And we gain momentum when we’re in motion. You can read about that here.

 

I received an unusually large number of responses to that blog post. I had lots of readers come forward and say that similar things had happened to them – that they’d felt just the way these two talented gentlemen felt when they were attacked with criticism that was brutal at best, and destructive at worst.

 

And I think there are other elements of this story – this whole situation – that are ripe for discussion.

 

Perhaps the biggest issue here is how we allow ourselves, and our businesses, to be defined.

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24 responses
What to Do When You Feel Like Doing Nothing
07/03/16 Uncategorized

What to Do When You Feel Like Doing Nothing

You’ve recently lost a big client or account.

Sales have slowed or stalled completely.

You launched a program or a product and results were disappointing.

You’re reaching out to your audience daily, but there’s little or no feedback.

You’re discouraged or you’ve lost confidence…

 

And here’s what begins to happen:

 

At first it’s a subtle slowing down – and then it becomes avoidance all together.

The work that once inspired you becomes a burden.

You feel guilty and afraid.

You’re not sure what to do, so you do nothing at all.

And things come to an ugly, grinding halt.

You’re not longer in the flow. You’re on the couch.

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26 responses