In her new book, Janey Lee Grace explains why thinking of yourself as a brand can improve your chances of success in achieving your dreams
Are you an expert, teacher, practitioner or have you always wanted to write a book or share your story with a wider audience? I’d wager that a high percentage of people have some kind of longing to make a difference – if you’re reading The Best You, it’s likely you have a consciousness and with that often comes a desire to share a message or help others in some way.
Of course you may have kept that dream hidden, blaming time or circumstances as to why you haven’t yet fulfilled your purpose but the recent passing of Wayne Dyer the best-selling Hay House author was a reminder to many –‘Don’t die with the music still in you’. He certainly did not and his legacy lives on.
Sometimes we have to realise that perfectionism can actually lead to procrastination, sometimes we can be our worst enemies allowing inner talk to take over and tell us …we’ll never have time to complete a book, we’re not good enough to get clients… It took me years to finally get down to writing You are the Brand, I’ve been running training and coaching programmes but because I didn’t have the big publisher lined up for the book I assumed it couldn’t be worth doing. I finally realised my deep rooted fear of failure meant I wasn’t doing it at all! Remember you don’t have to get it right – you just have to get it going!
Marianne Williamson, author of The Age of Miracles said…
‘We are all born carrying a promise –
A promise to make the world better – and there’s
a yearning to make good on that promise that
none of us can suppress forever.’
I believe it’s important for you to see that YOU are a brand in order to be able to become more visible in terms of getting your message out to a wider audience. That’s true whether you run a business or whether you really want to make a difference heading up a community project. This doesn’t compromise on any of your authenticity; it’s simply a way to enable people to know that they have found the right person, the right company or organisation for them. If you have a strong brand promise and people know what you stand for then you will attract the right people for you, those that you can help.
You need to put the ‘You’ back into your business and your life, we all know about the importance of the unique selling point – the USP – it could also be called your PSP – personality selling proposition! Your personal story is your ‘gold’.
The concept of You as the brand can be the stumbling block for many professionals, and yet it’s absolutely key to your moving forward and to your success. For example, practitioners, especially if they use a recognised discipline such as EFT, will often say, ‘Oh it’s not about me, its EFT that’s great!’ That’s true, but there are many EFT specialists and only one YOU! If you are looking to attract more clients and widen your opportunities for your knowledge and passion then you need to market and promote your particular USP.
So let’s look at what that really means – what is it that sets you apart?
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, ‘People do business with those they like, know and trust. Think about that within your own life, do you have a favourite hairdresser? Are you equally happy to go any stylist in that salon? Usually not! Do you go to a different dentist every time? It’s unlikely.
I’d urge you to get in touch with your USP – I call it your YOU-nique brilliance, do a big ‘show-off’ chart and write down everything that’s great about you, it’s critical that you get in touch with all the ‘facets’ of you, imagine yourself as a diamond, which bits are really shining and which bits need a polish! By the way this isn’t an ego trip, it’s about being connected to your authentic self so that you can make the right connections in your work and your life. It’s not vanity – its clarity!
Special offer
You can get a free audio masterclass module with your copy of my brand new book You are the Brand – PR secrets to fast-track your visibility and skyrocket your success, £12 (Filament Publishing) if you order from www.janeyleegrace.com/book-offer
