Our New World

The world as each of us knows it and relates to it has changed radically in the past few years.  When it comes to standing out and being noticed, in whatever it is that we do, technology has gone a long way towards levelling the playing field.  This is exciting because new opportunities are opening up, while in other ways it can be overwhelming when there appears to be so many people clamouring for a finite amount of attention.

What’s the Answer?

The answer is personal branding.  Take a look at any of the successful people in your niche or more generally whom you admire.  What do they stand for, what do they represent?  Chances are you won’t have to think long for the answer because their personal brand is crystal clear and out there for everyone to see, everyone who matters that is.  Why do people think of them as the ‘go to’ person in their niche, the thought leader, the memorable person, the power connector?  What is it that they offer?  Why do they stand out?

Who’s Standing Out?

These are the people who have their personal brand nailed.  And simply put, that means their purpose, their values, their personality, their pitch and the people they serve/entertain/help/inspire are in complete alignment.  They elicit an emotional response that creates first a connection, then a relationship, loyalty, support, backing and even love. ‘I love that guy’. ‘Isn’t she the best?’ ‘You must call him’.

Getting Noticed WILL Give you an Edge

It doesn’t matter what kind of work you do. It’s your personal brand that will give you the edge over the competition, build your network and have people coming to you with opportunities because you’re the person they trust, like and admire. You know what promise you can offer, you communicate that promise and you deliver on it. That’s the power of personal branding.

Want To Know More?

I’m thrilled that my new book, BRANDED YOU – How To Stand Out in Business and Achieve Greater Profitability and Success is about to be published.

Here’s a link to Part 1 of the book – it’s free, so if you’d like to know more about the importance of personal branding and how you can be branded too, then I’d be delighted if you downloaded the first couple of chapters.

Listen in to Industry Angel Podcast – More on Personal Branding

I was thrilled to be interviewed by Ian Farrar, the host of the Industry Angel Podcast.  In the interview (it’s about 45 mins) we talk all about personal branding.  Here’s the link if you’d like to listen in.

Our podcast interview is up on Ian’s website , iTunes and Stitcher now.

If you do listen in, I’d be REALLY grateful if you’d log into iTunes to give Ian a testimonial on the podcast as he’s keen for his Industry Angel Podcast to serve a greater audience, and it will only get noticed if we give testimonials.  Please help him out.

ACTION:  What’s the one thing that stops or worries you about building your own personal brand?  Let’s get the conversation going – please leave a comment below.  I’d love to know your thoughts.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Have you ever wondered why in business some people stand taller and stronger, and have more impact, influence and success than others?

I guarantee you’ve noticed those people.

They capture their market, time after time.

They get media exposure.

They appear to have a successful business.

They have a big community following them.

And they have people wanting to associate and do business with them too.

Whatever they touch seems to turn to gold.

Their profile and success makes you feel green with envy.

And intuitively, you know their technical or business skills aren’t any better than yours.

Do you know those types of people in business?

You might be asking, ‘Why them and not me?’

Well, it can be you!

It’s all about personal branding.  Those people have worked out how to take what they know and use it to build their personal profile so they get noticed.

Personal branding is one of the topics I coach business people on…. It’s such an important issue now, in the online (digital) and offline worlds we live in.

Would you like to learn more about personal branding?

I’ve created a free YouTube video series just for you, to help you learn more about what personal branding is all about.

Please click the image below to see the first video – it’s not very long.  There are 9 short videos in the series.

As my friend, Kevin Roberts, global executive chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi, says:

‘No business is irreplaceable, but we MUST become irresistible’.

I hope these free videos help you to think more about your personal brand and how you can develop and use it stand out and tall in your market niche.

I’d love to know your thoughts on personal branding.  How about leaving a comment under the video on YouTube?  I read every one of them.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Right now I have a fair number of business people talking to me about growing their businesses.  Some are one person businesses or solopreneurs who want to take the next step on their business journey, and others are businesses that are reasonable in size already, and the owners really want to leap ahead.

It’s really thrilling and exciting for me when I hear this.

In fact, I’m speaking at a conference in London on Thursday to health and wellbeing professionals and the topic the organisers have asked me to speak about is just that:  Business Growth.  I can’t wait to share my knowledge and experience with the delegates.

Where are you at on your business journey?

Are you happy with how your business is progressing?

Would you like to get a little or a lot bigger?

Want more profitability in your business?

I coach my clients around the 8 Circles of Business Excellence.  Focus on 8 circles in your business, and you’ll definitely grow as you’d like to.

I’m getting used to videoing….

As you may recall, I’ve created my own YouTube channel, Adèle McLay TV, where I post free videos on topics related to business, personal branding, and personal growth.

If you’d like to know more about the 8 Circles of Business Excellence and how they apply to your business then I invite you to watch my videos on Business Excellence.

There are nine short videos in total, starting with me answering the question, ‘What is Business Excellence?’ in video 1.

I’d be thrilled if you took a moment to watch this video (you can click the image below to see it).

I hope it serves you as you think about the possibility of growing your business.

If you like the video, I’d be hugely grateful if you left a comment on YouTube for me.  I read them all.

You can watch all 9 of the Business Excellence videos from my YouTube channel. They should follow one after the other.

I hope in some way, big or small, my video series supports you to achieve your goals in your business.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Have you ever wondered what it means to live an extraordinary life?

Is an extraordinary life the same as success in life?

I was a business woman in NZ with all the trappings of success as I defined it at that time:  money, sports car, fantastic wardrobe of clothes, expensive jewellery (until it was ALL stolen in 2005 – but that’s a story for another day), a million dollar house, international travel… you get the idea.

I’d set up my own consulting practice in 1994 that at its peak had 20 staff located in 2 offices.  We supported NZ’s biggest and best corporates, public sector entities and charities to be more successful for their stakeholders.  It was a multi-million dollar turnover business.

Ohhhh, the challenges

Owning my own company wasn’t without challenge.  We had all the usual ups and downs of business….

Not enough cash – especially at month end when bills and salaries were due.

Not enough clients then too many clients – the usual feast and famine in business.

High performing staff and low performing staff.

You name it, I had to deal with it.

Persistence and resilience were my middle names.

June 2002 – and my world changed

Yes, in June 2002 my world changed – in a good and unexpected way.

Would you like to hear the rest of the story? 

I’ve recently taken to creating my own YouTube channel (finally :)) and I’ve told the story of this chapter in my life in a video.

I’d be sooo thrilled if you clicked on the image below to hear what happened next.

I’d be doubly thrilled if you’d leave a comment on my YouTube channel telling me what you think.

So, what happens in my story? Please click the link in the photo to find out.

I’m hoping my story will inspire you in your business and life.

Thank you so much in advance for watching the video.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

Customers are the life blood of all businesses. Without them they fail. Failed businesses close, livelihoods are lost, staff lose jobs, and dreams are shattered.

Why then do so many businesses forget the golden rule?

Customers Matter!

I’ve recently had some pretty average customer experiences and it made me grumpy (and it takes quite a lot for me to get annoyed as a customer).

Perhaps thankfully for the businesses in question I held my tongue, but as a business growth consultant and coach, I was tempted to remind them of the importance of their customers to the success of their businesses.

They need us more than we need them.

As customers, most of the time we have options. We can take our money elsewhere.

Business is competitive

Business has never been more competitive, and so we MUST ALWAYS ensure our customers matter and that they marvel over their experience with us.

Importantly, hopefully they will return as customers and recommend us. We’re doing a great job when that happens.

Here’s a lovely quote by someone unknown, but popularised by Mahatma Ghandhi a long time ago.

Personally, I think these sentiments are still VERY relevant today.

What do you think?

Let’s ensure we treasure our customers. We won’t know their importance until they’re not there any longer.

Thank you

Thank you for being a part of my community. I am really grateful. You are a customer to me and I want the experience you have with me and my work to be extraordinary.

I’d love to know how I can better serve you to guide you to achieve the extraordinary in your business and life – as you define it. If there are ways I can support you, please let me know.

QUESTION:  What the best customer experience you’ve ever had? Let’s celebrate the businesses that love their customers. I’d be thrilled to hear your stories. Please click the link to leave a comment.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

I first found this quote almost 30 years ago… forgot about it, and recently found it again.

It was relevant then and still is now, don’t you think?

Would you add anything to it?  Would you change it in any way?

I’d add the following:

My 6 most important words:   Thank you. I am very grateful.

My 3 most important words:    I LOVE You.

We forget how important words are.  They can elevate or deflate us – and others.  Let’s choose our words carefully.  Let’s focus on elevating ourselves and others.

QUESTION:  What are your favourite words in life?  Mine are:  I LOVE You.  How about telling me yours in the comments box below?  I’d love to know.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.

The price a business owner establishes for the sale of their products and services is arguably one of the most important business decisions they make.

And yet, pricing is one of the most feared elements in managing a business.

One of the many conversations I have with business owners is related to pricing, and those discussions often start with me saying, “Your prices are too low.”  They look at me in shock and respond with all the reasons why they cannot raise their prices:

• I’ve lost jobs because I was too expensive.
• I’m more expensive than some of my competitors.
• I’m barely making enough profit as it is, and I can’t afford to lose customers by raising prices.
• You have got to be joking— put my prices up in this depressed market?

Responses like that generally demonstrate that those business owners don’t understand the impact pricing has on a customer’s perception of their business and its branding in the market.

Here are three reasons why you must never compete on price:

1.  Perception – you’ll be seen as a ‘low-end’ player

If your prices are too low, your market will label you a low-end player and you’ll attract bargain hunters who’ll invariably try to get you to discount your products even further.

2.  No or little customer loyalty

Lower prices also make it unlikely your business will build long-term relationships with such customers, who by their very nature will shop around to get the best prices on a product or service, not staying loyal to any one business.

3.  Get better quality customers with higher prices

Higher pricing raises customers’ expectations.  If you constantly deliver on those expectations, your business will usually enjoy customer loyalty, and you’ll attract better quality customers who are willing to pay more for quality customer service.

The BIG question is….. Are you branded?

I hope so.  What does your business, your brand, stand for?

What is the promise you make to your customers?

Branding is about building a relationship with your customers, while living up to your promise.

Ordinary to Extraordinary

A brand can turn something that is pedestrian, homogenous or ordinary into something that is unique and that stands out from the crowd.  Something that is extraordinary.

A strong brand builds respect, loyalty and retention, and allows you to set your pricing strategy accordingly.

What do the experts say?

Dr Michael LeBoeuf, international business consultant, focuses a lot of his work on how to win customers and keep them.  He has created a matrix based on extensive research on why customers leave a business.

Why customers leave a business

• Perceived Indifference      – 68%
• Unresolved Conflict           – 14%
• Get a Better Deal/Pricing –  9%
• Influenced Away                –  5%
• Move Away                         –  3%
• Die/Insolvent                    –  1%

Based on that research, of those customers who leave a business, only 9 percent leave due to pricing, whereas 82 percent of customers leave because they are not treated as special or there is an unresolved conflict.  In essence, they leave due to a lack of customer service.

The key to business success….

Therefore, the key to success is concentrating on the customer value proposition you deliver to your customers.

It’s about going beyond the call of duty to provide value and service.  It’s about creating customer cheerleaders, people who will be loyal to your business for a long time and at the same time will refer their family and friends.

Pricing is strategic

Pricing is not an arbitrary decision; all businesses should have a pricing strategy.

When determining your pricing strategy, the key is to know your proposition for your customers and price according to that, rather than pitching your business against your competition and attempting to undercut them to win more customers.

Never compete on price 

It’s worth repeating.  NEVER COMPETE ON PRICE.  That’s a business decision that will see you, your business, and your staff and suppliers lose in the end.  Why?  Because if you are prepared to discount your price once, you will do it again and again!

At the beginning, in order to maintain your profits, you can create increased operational efficiency to compensate for reducing your prices.

If you continue to reduce your prices, then eventually you will need to reduce your staff numbers or their pay (or both), and no doubt you’ll also be asking your suppliers to reduce their prices to you.

Do that for long enough, then your staff can’t afford to work for you and your suppliers won’t be able to afford to supply you, so you won’t have a business.  It is a lose/lose business strategy.

Become branded

A brand is a differentiator.

A brand is a promise.

A brand is an experience.

A brand can move a business or a person from the ocean of obscurity and ordinariness to the river of relevance and riches.  A brand can help you achieve the extraordinary – as you define it!

QUESTION:  What are the biggest worries or fears you have when thinking about pricing and/or branding?  Leave a comment below.  C’mon, let’s get the conversation going.

Would some guidance from me be helpful to you? If so, please arrange a free 30 mins Skype strategy meeting with me. Here’s my calendar to make an appointment. I’d love to support you in some way to gain ‘seductive clarity’ in any aspect of your business or life.