Latest / Talk Copy to Me | Content + Copywriting Podcast / Being Choosable Without a USP with Belinda Weaver

Transcript

Being Choosable Without a USP with Belinda Weaver · Talk Copy to Me | Content + Copywriting Podcast

• 0:00
  All right, Belinda, does everyone have to have this like perfect identifier personality thing that separates them from their competitors in order to be successful in Easy answer.
• 0:13
  Absolutely not.
• 0:14
  And you know, that's the, yeah, move on.
• 0:17
  End of episode.
• 0:18
  Thanks for listening, everyone.
• 0:21
  I mean, wouldn't that be wonderful to have you Always a pleasure.
• 0:25
  Always a pleasure.
• 0:26
  I mean, wouldn't it be nice if we could all really clearly say, this is what makes me different to everyone else in the market.
• 0:34
  But I, I don't know that And I certainly didn't know it when I started out, like I might, I actually have a clearer idea now because I've, you know, I've been in business for 14 years as a copywriter and a copy coach.
• 0:48
  And over those years, I've started to discover what makes my little nook of the internet.
• 0:56
  Kind of unique to me, my vibe.
• 0:58
  But do I think I'm the only person with a nook like mine in the whole entire world?
• 1:04
  Absolutely not.
• 1:05
  And, you know, it's just one of those sticking points when you start out in business because we're told, you need a USP, that Unique Selling Proposition.
• 1:13
  And unless you have it, Mm you're not really going to make it.
• 1:17
  And it's just such a sticking point.
• 1:19
  I see so many people just go, until I figure this out.
• 1:24
  I can't make it and it's just not true.
• 1:27
  For the people who might be listening and they're like, I think I know what you mean.
• 1:31
  Can you define what a USP would be for our audience?
• 1:34
  What we're, what we're talking about that you don't necessarily So this is, you know, it's Marketing 101.
• 1:39
  , it's taught in all the old Kotler and Keller marketing books, , from university, this idea that you have a statement of, of what you do and who you do it for and what you do that's different or unique.
• 1:56
  To everyone else in the market.
• 1:57
  And it's that thing that actually makes you a good choice.
• 2:01
  And it's called a unique, selling proposition, a unique, , selling statement, like there's lots of names for it.
• 2:07
  Often we hear about it as an elevator pitch.
• 2:10
  In that, in the time it takes you to write a short elevator ride, you can say what you do, who you do it for, and why you're different.
• 2:19
  And that's great.
• 2:21
  But I, as I said, I know when you're starting out, like for me as a copywriter, I was figuring out how to write copy.
• 2:28
  I was figuring out how to run a business watching like small business webinars in my lunch hour at my full time job.
• 2:35
  There's so much to learn to then look around and go, what am I doing?
• 2:40
  What framework do I have?
• 2:42
  What signature kind of thing makes me different to every other person in the marketplace?
• 2:47
  To do that in your first year or so, it's overwhelming.
• 2:51
  And I think it's almost to the point where people think.
• 2:55
  I'm not cut out for this.
• 2:56
  Like I haven't got what it takes to even move forward.
• 3:01
  And so for me, I just sidestepped the question.
• 3:05
  I was like, I'm not going to worry about this.
• 3:07
  I haven't got an answer.
• 3:08
  I'm just going to keep moving forward.
• 3:09
  Cause I don't not want to go back to that job.
• 3:12
  So I'm just going to keep moving forward and I'm sure I'll figure it out at some point..
• 3:17
  I love how you started with the like, bringing up college textbooks, right?
• 3:20
  Because it goes way back before the internet of marketing, you know?
• 3:24
  Like, this is something that people learned when they had their small businesses before there was social media, before there was content marketing.
• 3:31
  And it is something that is still preached over and over again.
• 3:34
  And you know, I I definitely want to state there's nothing wrong with a USP.
• 3:39
  A USP is an excellent thing to have Mm hmm.
• 3:43
  The problem where I think it gets complicated, especially for people who would be listening to this podcast, is It's easy for marketers to understand USPs, to um, maybe like pull out the threads of what someone else's USP may be, or build those, like the foundation for it.
• 4:00
  It is not so easy for the small business owner to just suddenly have this like marketing expertise that they can understand how to differentiate themselves from their peers.
• 4:10
  Yeah, like you mentioned, when you start a business, you're expected not only to be like the product producer or service provider that you are, you're also expected to be the accountant, to be the marketer, to be Mm.
• 4:23
  and all these roles that you can't just do so so, you have Yeah.
• 4:29
  So, I think that it's really, , It's a low hanging fruit for a business or marketing coach to try to get their clients to, , claim Yeah.
• 4:40
  However, for the people who are claiming their USP, it's an immense pressure to not only hang your flag and say, this is what I do, but then immediately Dictate to the world exactly Yes.
• 4:54
  exactly what makes you an ideal choice, when you don't even know what makes you an ideal choice until you start Yes.
• 5:02
  A I think that's kind of why I have always, I see a ton of value in USPs, and I do think elevator pitch wise, it is incredibly important to be clear hundred percent.
• 5:16
  who you want to work with, even if that's a wider audience, you know, or what you do, because when you're not clear, it leads for a lot of problems with like, you work with, or the type of work you produce, but, you know, there's, there's that slight differentiator where it's like the USP, influences the elevator pitch.
• 5:35
  But, uh, You don't need a USP in order to be clear on Yeah, exactly.
• 5:41
  And there's plenty of pieces that you can start with, like start with what you know, what you do and who you do it for.
• 5:47
  And just like you said, you can start broad and it becomes more and more refined.
• 5:51
  But you've gotta start working with people, you've gotta start running your business to get a feel for what you do that might be different.
• 6:00
  It, like, it If you know it instantly, fantastic.
• 6:04
  But for me, it's something that has evolved over years of doing the work.
• 6:10
  But for people who get stuck, like I need all three bits of this statement, who I work for, what I do, and what makes me different.
• 6:18
  And if, unless I have all three, Yeah.
• 6:20
  may as well pack it in.
• 6:22
  That's what we're speaking to.
• 6:23
  Mm hmm, totally.
• 6:24
  And I, I would say, even in my own experience, I think this is something my clients have helped me figure out,, they may have said something like, Oh, well, I hired you because of X, Y, Z.
• 6:34
  , and that's how I was able to say, like, Okay, Erin, that was so obvious.
• 6:39
  I don't know how you didn't pick up on that yourself, but I think it's, it's usually our own expertise that is obvious to us is what's so easy to ignore.
• 6:50
  Because to us, it's like, well, I did that, sure, right?
• 6:53
  Like, a silly example, I have my MFA in creative writing.
• 6:56
  , I wrote books, I have many memoirs, I wrote books for clients, I came into the marketing world, started in content, moved into both copy and content.
• 7:07
  That all sounds like a normal ish transition, but my mind had separated my MFA from my work in the marketing world.
• 7:15
  And so many of my clients would be like, well, your background in storytelling.
• 7:19
  And I'm like, yeah, that makes a lot of sense, right?
• 7:21
  Like, I literally have a degree in this that I paid a lot of money for, but my mind was just like, It's natural to write.
• 7:29
  It's natural to edit.
• 7:31
  So I didn't necessarily line up that being part of something that, , makes me stand out Yeah.
• 7:38
  I don't think it's the hugest USP that I have.
• 7:41
  , which maybe that's part of our conversation a little bit\ I know in my work as a copywriter, going, All right, walk me through how you deliver your thing.
• 7:51
  Like, what's the first step?
• 7:52
  And then what?
• 7:52
  And they would mention something and skip over it.
• 7:55
  And I'd be like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
• 7:57
  You do what now?
• 7:58
  And they'd be like, , you know, it's just what we do.
• 8:01
  And that's the kind of thing having an outside perspective can really help because we do get too close to our work.
• 8:07
  And we think the amazing things that we do are just what everyone else does.
• 8:14
  And it's not necessarily so.
• 8:16
  , so sitting down and actually looking at your business and asking yourself some of the things that we're going to be talking about.
• 8:24
  Cause I bet some people listening are like, well, if I'm not talking about what makes me different and unique, what the hell am I talking about to make me someone that a client wants to hire?
• 8:36
  So making some time for this can really help.
• 8:39
  Yeah, and I think it just, you know, it gives you your own clarity.
• 8:42
  You know, there's the benefit of the marketing, of just having that idea of like, well, this is what I say and how I present myself.
• 8:48
  But then there's the benefit of business owning, right?
• 8:50
  Where you're able to, like, more clearly identify the services that work well.
• 8:55
  The ones that you feel comfortable promoting and things like that, because you get that clarity from doing this work.
• 9:02
  You know, and, you know, it can grow over time of running your business.
• 9:05
  But so we, so, so that we Yeah.
• 9:07
  far.
• 9:08
  I know that you're telling us from the beginning, we don't need a USP.
• 9:12
  Yet so many people preach the USP.
• 9:17
  So I guess maybe why are you suggesting that knowing, you know, what makes you different or differentiates you isn't the key to getting hired or getting booked in your And, Yes.
• 9:31
  having something that makes you unique and different, knowing what, can make your own little corner so special is something worth working towards.
• 9:41
  But it's just not the be all and end all.
• 9:43
  And it's something you shouldn't let get you stuck in the beginning.
• 9:47
  So what I've, what I've always done with my own business and with copywriting clients is this idea of choosability because when we go to hire someone We're looking for a couple of things.
• 10:02
  We're looking for someone who can actually solve the problem that we have.
• 10:06
  We're looking for someone who has solved it for other people.
• 10:10
  And we're looking for someone that we're going to kind of vibe with or align with.
• 10:15
  And that's how we choose someone.
• 10:17
  So, knowing that, I came up with this idea of being choosable.
• 10:22
  Being the person that people choose.
• 10:24
  Because when I'm also looking to hire someone, I don't want to search the whole internet.
• 10:29
  I don't necessarily want to put some terms into Google and then have to go through all those results on the top 10 and figure out who's going to be the best choice for me.
• 10:40
  It's time consuming.
• 10:41
  We're all looking for little shortcuts you're not making a spreadsheet of like, Oh! first name, last name, business location, you know, uh, college experience, price point, differentiators No.
• 10:54
  services when you're Absolutely not.
• 10:56
  Yeah.
• 10:57
  I haven't got time for that.
• 10:59
  I haven't got the time.
• 11:00
  I haven't got the energy.
• 11:01
  I'm running my business around young kids.
• 11:04
  There is too much else to be done.
• 11:06
  And so it's just important to know that when you're in air quotes competing, you're not competing with everyone who's in the same industry with you.
• 11:13
  You're kind of competing with people who happen to be in the same space that the person is looking at at the same time.
• 11:20
  But there's a couple of key things that they're looking to check a box off.
• 11:23
  that can make you hmm.
• 11:25
  the most choosable option.
• 11:27
  And so it's really easy then to start going, all right, well, firstly, I'm going to share stories about my passion and my purpose, because I want to work with someone who loves what they do.
• 11:39
  So share stories about how you got started and why you got started and your favorite bits of the day and what you love about the work that you do, because that enthusiasm is a key selling point.
• 11:53
  And then you can also talk about, , things like your process, like how you actually work, because that makes people feel safe.
• 12:03
  Like if you give me the next couple of steps, that's immediately quelling some anxious, risk averse side of me.
• 12:12
  So there's your passion and your purpose.
• 12:14
  There's your process, sharing lots of proof as well.
• 12:20
  That's really beneficial.
• 12:21
  That ticks the have you done it for someone else?
• 12:24
  And it's not just testimonials, but there's Guarantees and awards you have and media signs and anything like that This is where people get a little gun shy because they're like it's bragging It's marketing and it's actually making you a more choosable option and then We're also talking about the pain points of our audience So that they know you get them.
• 12:50
  So we're already have lots of things to talk about in our marketing.
• 12:54
  Lots of things to showcase that actually have nothing to do with how we're different.
• 13:00
  It have everything to do with meeting our potential clients and customers where they're at and explaining how we can help them.
• 13:09
  Now the final piece of the piece is the personality piece.
• 13:15
  And that kind of is where everyone is unique because we're our own selves.
• 13:20
  And I always encourage people like lean in to what you love and put it out there because the fact that, I mean, I love Dr.
• 13:29
  Who.
• 13:30
  I talked about Dr.
• 13:31
  Who all the time.
• 13:32
  I also have pugs.
• 13:33
  I have kids and you know, I get to pick and choose how much of my personal life I put out there.
• 13:39
  But all these little things that showcase so What I'm like and who I am are like little Velcro hooks.
• 13:48
  And if we imagine Velcro going together, the right fit is just perfectly sticky.
• 13:55
  And that's really what we're trying to create.
• 13:57
  So there's some things that people need to see to make sure you're a credible choice.
• 14:03
  And that's your, that you know about their pain points, that you can demonstrate the proof that you have passion and purpose for what you do, that you have a strong process.
• 14:12
  That's easy to talk about because that's all you.
• 14:16
  But then there's that next piece of going, are we going to vibe?
• 14:20
  Is what's important to you important to me too?
• 14:22
  Because often that's actually the decider and that can trump price and availability and a lot of other things that we think are the most important pieces.
• 14:34
  Yeah, I talk about this a couple times in the podcast, but what had actually made me decide to start a podcast was doing client interviews with some of my clients and I asked them, like, Why did you choose me over someone else?
• 14:47
  And every single one of them.
• 14:49
  Which I think was what was most shocking because I didn't expect this answer.
• 14:53
  They all said it was because once we got on our discovery call, they decided that they liked me and could trust me because of like the vibe that Boom.
• 15:00
  and that I was, you know, confident and that I knew what I was talking about.
• 15:04
  And that's why I was like, okay, well now if I'm going to actually market my business, , I have to think about where I'm going to invest my time because I'm already writing a ton . And that's why I decided, I chose podcasting over YouTube because I had very small children and looked like a yeah.
• 15:20
  mom.
• 15:21
  Mm hmm.
• 15:22
  Ha ha ha ha ha! an easier, and I joke about that, but it really just was an easier step into content creation.
• 15:33
  I could show up, literally with baby spit up on my shoulders, talking to a microphone, and wing it.
• 15:39
  , but I started it because I knew people needed to Yeah.
• 15:42
  better.
• 15:42
  So I didn't have to worry about these big differentiators and how I, like, talked about awards I had won, or the type of clients that I work with, which I could have done, but it wasn't as easy for me because , just like for my clients, boasting doesn't come as natural to me as it may come to other people, and I think that's why I have a lot of empathy for the clients who Mmm.
• 16:03
  talk about their big, you know, expertise or wins that they've experienced, because I get what that's like, but I think that when, when I'm When you're listening to this, and you're hearing that there are these options, right?
• 16:17
  Like, there's many different things that you can talk about that does kind of build this Yes.
• 16:22
  Mmm it, to lean into what feels hmm.
• 16:26
  right?
• 16:27
  So, if it feels natural for you to, like, talk about this detailed process that you've created, lean into that, go heavy on that, because there are so many people who are desperate for, like, a service provider or, you know, product producer or creator that does have a very detailed process versus someone that might like share more personality things, right?
• 16:51
  So I think Yeah.
• 16:52
  well is just knowing what you're the most And that will, what we're talking about here is making, shining a spotlight on things that are like a beacon to the right people.
• 17:02
  Not all the people, not all the customers, but the customers who were like, yes, you're the person I've been looking for and I want to move ahead.
• 17:11
  And it's just knowing that, you know, everyone's looking for shortcuts.
• 17:16
  to reduce the decision making fatigue.
• 17:19
  And I know as a mom, there's just some days where I'm like, I just don't want to make any more decisions.
• 17:24
  , and so we think every day, and I think of it like this, like I have, I'm looking for a service provider.
• 17:30
  I have all the tabs open and I'm looking for reasons to close the tab and I'm like you're not telling me anything about your process Close the tab.
• 17:39
  You're not showing any personality at all.
• 17:41
  So I don't know if we're gonna connect There's not one single thing that I'm vibing with.
• 17:46
  Close the tab.
• 17:47
  You're not speaking to the challenges I don't feel like you really get me.
• 17:50
  Close the tab.
• 17:52
  And so all of those things are happening in split seconds.
• 17:56
  And what that means is if you're talking about why you love your work, you're an open tab.
• 18:02
  What, how you work, you stay open.
• 18:06
  And you show it like, I love knitting and Dr.
• 18:08
  Who, and I have a pug and whatever that is for you.
• 18:12
  Even if it's just in a small moment, that could be the thing where someone goes, Oh, open tab.
• 18:18
  You're the last tab standing.
• 18:20
  Totally.
• 18:20
  And, before you had said something about check boxes, because that's how I always explain, like, a website page to my client.
• 18:26
  That their audience comes to their website, and as they scroll from the top to the bottom, they are checking a box at every Yes.
• 18:35
  point.
• 18:35
  And boxes are things that are about them as well as about you.
• 18:41
  So, homepage, for example, am I in the right place?
• 18:44
  Like, that's the question they're asking.
• 18:46
  So it's every time they work down that page, they'll say like, Oh, yes, I like that individual.
• 18:51
  Or, Oh, yeah, they do offer full day service.
• 18:53
  Oh, oh, they do have elopements.
• 18:55
  Mm hmm.
• 18:56
  is, they are going to check boxes.
• 18:59
  It may happen that there's one box that they don't check, but the one underneath that, need to check to continue to keep going.
• 19:07
  So it's like, you know, where we mentioned tabs and websites, but this same exact thing goes to any marketing asset, like social media, for example.
• 19:17
  I would say, although there's no quite stat or research on this, that it's easier for people to connect on social for those, Small Mm hmm.
• 19:27
  points.
• 19:27
  Like, for example, Belinda, if you mentioned that you love knitting, I'd be like, well, I love knitting, too.
• 19:33
  Although, I only know how to make, like, long, rectangular, too, yeah, that's all I can do.
• 19:39
  You, like, I can make little, like, doll pillows and doll blankets for my kids all day, any day, but Do not ask me to make, like, booties or slippers or anything because it's never going to happen.
• 19:50
  But, like, that maybe would spark my interest as a random audience member to have that first initial connection.
• 19:57
  And then the more and more I learn, maybe you're talking about process again, or you're talking about, or I'm seeing your passion as a service provider.
• 20:05
  I could either.
• 20:06
  Become a client or a purchase from you, or if I'm not necessarily your ideal customer, I could be a cheerleader for you and be like, Oh, but have you checked out 100%.
• 20:16
  do this, right?
• 20:17
  Go check them out to someone that is in my network because you've built up those things that make you stand out to me as That, that is it.
• 20:26
  That is exactly it.
• 20:28
  And so when we're feeling resistant, we have these low hanging fruit of the things in our business that we can shine a spotlight on and talk about.
• 20:35
  It's nice and easy, but often it's the personality piece that exactly it can spark.
• 20:42
  an interaction that leads to work or it leads to a referral.
• 20:46
  It might not lead to anywhere except finding a business bestie online.
• 20:51
  Um, and that's what we all, we all need as well, but it's just, you don't have to be different in order to be really choosable to your ideal client.
• 21:02
  It's easier to beat yourself up about not understanding what your USP is and then stay in this mind frame of like, Why can't I figure it out how to market myself?
• 21:12
  Or why can't I figure out like, what, like I should be focusing on about Yeah.
• 21:17
  But when we look at being choosable from the angle of all these, these P's that you're giving us, You know, with passion, purpose, process, proof, pain points, personality, When we look at those things, It doesn't so much just become about us anymore, right?
• 21:35
  So like, any marketer would tell you that , you need to involve your audience.
• 21:39
  You need to talk about their needs and bring them into the conversation to be successful.
• 21:44
  So if we're looking at this one thing of like getting hired, getting found, getting noticed, If you start to include them by like showing your personality, showing your process, inviting them in on the conversation, it's suddenly Yeah.
• 22:00
  It's about you and them.
• 22:02
  So I think there's that other linking is it's that, you know, if you're frustrated and you're worried about your own marketing and how to stand out and everything is circled around you, you can push that to the side and be like, Alright, like, how do I involve my Yeah.
• 22:17
  here?
• 22:17
  And there's lots of And I think that we can talk about that and shine a spotlight on that create connection points.
• 22:24
  And, and that's, that's the spark.
• 22:27
  It's the domino that leads to better things.
• 22:31
  And you know, the more you're in business as well, like you said earlier, the more we're in business.
• 22:36
  The more we're working with clients, the more we're learning about why people are choosing us.
• 22:40
  When we're asking our clients, when we're doing voice of customer research and things like that, that's when we can really go, Oh, this is actually why people choose me.
• 22:52
  This is why I'm different.
• 22:54
  This is why I'm unique in air quotes.
• 22:58
  I just really resist that word because none of us are really unique.
• 23:02
  There's so many people in the world, but that doesn't mean we're not a great choice.
• 23:06
  , but it can evolve and it means not getting stuck in the beginning and starting to just be awesome and showcase that as much as possible, what we are doing, not what we haven't figured out.
• 23:20
  Yeah, you know, Ashley Chanel was on my podcast for the social media series I did, like, over a year ago.
• 23:26
  And I forget exactly what she said, but she brought up, which, you know, I've heard this by, from other people before, too, but she brought up the idea that, like, as a service provider, you cannot service everyone.
• 23:37
  You cannot service everyone in your own country.
• 23:40
  You cannot service anyone, like using America as an example, in your own state.
• 23:44
  You cannot service everyone in your own town, because you do not have the ability to work with that many people.
• 23:50
  You know, like, as a copywriter, I'm not, well, I don't even know how many people live in the town I am, but I grew up in a city of over 90, 000 Yeah.
• 23:59
  Mm.
• 24:01
  or one fourth, I could never Service all of those people in a year or multiple years.
• 24:08
  So, there's the idea of taking the pressure off of yourself when it comes to marketing to understand that, one, how many people do you need to work with to run a successful business?
• 24:20
  And two, by showcasing yourself in different ways.
• 24:24
  your purpose, talking, being passionate about it, showing process.
• 24:28
  All of these little things, you're going to attract the people, like you mentioned, to be more of a Velcro fit.
• 24:34
  So I don't have to attract everyone in my state, and I don't have to try to make myself the right service provider for all of those people.
• 24:46
  You know, another thing I really love, and I talk about a lot in this podcast, is SEO.
• 24:50
  Super passionate about it.
• 24:52
  Yet.
• 24:54
  Even with SEO, you want to do these things.
• 24:56
  You want to showcase your personality.
• 24:58
  Because while I use the example of like, people check boxing down your website, really want people to get excited about this.
• 25:07
  When their audience closes the tab because you want to repel people in your marketing You know, that is the most important thing you can do to be a happy service provider yourself Because you want to work with Velcro clients You don't want to work with Yes.
• 25:21
  A hundred percent.
• 25:22
  And if someone didn't want to work with you because you liked Doctor Who then that's obviously not a client Obviously, right?
• 25:29
  that's a deal breaker.
• 25:31
  Yeah, I've never watched Doctor Who.
• 25:36
  I know exactly what Doctor Who is, but like, that would not be a Velcro moment for me.
• 25:41
  But that does not mean that your, the exactly.
• 25:45
  showing your passion of running your business, wouldn't make me a Velcro No, that's exactly right.
• 25:51
  So, using these things, showing these personality points, may turn some people off, but it will not turn off the right And, and showcasing a range of things.
• 26:04
  So it allows people to go, well the Doctor Who thing, sure, you do you, but the way you explained your process, that makes me feel good.
• 26:13
  Or the fact that you have a pug.
• 26:14
  Yeah, exactly.
• 26:15
  We're talking about dogs.
• 26:16
  Like, the more you dish up and let people see who you are and what you believe in and what you really value, that's actually the, the, the, you create more moments for that Velcro fit.
• 26:31
  Yeah.
• 26:31
  Now, I'd like to talk about the more hesitant clients.
• 26:35
  Service provider or business owner because I see this a lot with my clients where you know it's as you mentioned people are nervous to kind of show that proof or show their expertise or Something different.
• 26:47
  They're nervous to show too much personality because it's just not Mm hmm.
• 26:52
  are maybe a little hesitant on the personal brand They might understand that the importance of it, but they're nervous on how to implement Um, they're like Great advice.
• 27:04
  I would much rather kind of just show up in these little ways than trying to like make this big defining umbrella about my business.
• 27:13
  but they're, they're like, I just don't know how to implement it myself.
• 27:16
  Like, I don't know how to step into these.
• 27:18
  Do you have any suggestions for them to kind of slowly like feel more comfortable about being in all of these peas well, one thing I love to do is,, Brainstorm, like have some brainstorming time where I love a big A3 sheet of paper.
• 27:35
  I love a nice pen and I create my little pea bubbles because, you know, we always hear the marketing peas, but these are different ones.
• 27:42
  It's not about price and product and placement.
• 27:45
  We're talking about passion and process and proof.
• 27:49
  So I, I put them in bubbles and then I just kind of.
• 27:53
  Write down as many things as I can think of.
• 27:55
  And when I do that in a limited time frame, I realise actually I have more to talk about than I thought I did.
• 28:01
  So that, I think that's a really good way to start because there's that often like, what do I even say?
• 28:07
  So have some brainstorming time and write down as many things as you can around those bubbles.
• 28:12
  Look at what you've got.
• 28:14
  One of the things about, you mentioned proof that can be difficult is there's, if you have logos, if you've been in media, if you have accreditation, you can put them on your website.
• 28:26
  It's like a bandaid.
• 28:28
  Put them on your website, then forget about it, right?
• 28:30
  They exist.
• 28:32
  It's useful, but you don't have to keep doing it.
• 28:35
  But there's also things that, , when it comes to personality, Key places that you can work it in.
• 28:41
  There's obviously your about page on your website.
• 28:43
  That's a great place that you can say, this is who I am and this is what I'm like, but it's also in the copy.
• 28:50
  Making sure it sounds like you.
• 28:52
  And this is a point of resistance.
• 28:54
  I think a lot of clients I've worked with have said, but it's not professional.
• 28:58
  I don't want to sound unprofessional.
• 29:00
  And that's an idea we just have to park and go.
• 29:05
  Professional is helping people make, empowering people to make the right decision for them.
• 29:10
  And it might be you, and it might not be.
• 29:12
  Mm-Hmm.
• 29:13
  And so sounding like you and being clear and all that kind of stuff, I think just like loosening up is a key part of it.
• 29:21
  , but also in your social media, I think this is the easiest bit where you might say, this is my dog.
• 29:27
  This is my morning cup of tea.
• 29:30
  And this is me on my walk.
• 29:34
  These might sound like really tedious things and people are like, Oh my God, people don't want to know about that.
• 29:39
  But.
• 29:40
  They do.
• 29:41
  And it's conversation starters where I took, I joke about knowing the perfect Pantone color for tea.
• 29:47
  And so I show, Yeah.
• 29:49
  show my teas and I'm like, nailed it.
• 29:51
  And people who love tea, they get it.
• 29:55
  That's the point of it.
• 29:56
  I'm also like showcasing, yeah, I go for a walk.
• 29:58
  I have a dog.
• 29:59
  These are parts of my life and maybe we have something in common, but so it could be little images in your social media.
• 30:06
  It could also be when you're sharing.
• 30:09
  like a tip or a post.
• 30:11
  I mean, for example, maybe you love knitting.
• 30:13
  , and I'm like you, I have a limited skill, but great enthusiasm.
• 30:18
  , it might be something you put in a little graphic or you work into like the graphical elements of your marketing.
• 30:25
  But the point is you can give little whistles for the people who know you might make a reference to someone like I'm making Dr.
• 30:33
  Who references.
• 30:34
  If you don't get it, You're not going to miss the big piece, but if you know, you know, and I think the last thing I want to really mention is I think a lot of people hesitate around showing their personality because they feel like they're not fun enough.
• 30:50
  They're not quirky enough.
• 30:51
  They're not big enough.
• 30:52
  They're not because we see these big personalities online.
• 30:56
  I'm like, that's kind of intimidating, but know that there are lots of amazing, quiet people.
• 31:04
  who are attracting fellow introverted, quiet people.
• 31:09
  Like, so whatever your vibe is, whether it's big and loud and quirky, or it's quiet and introverted or somewhere in between, whatever that is, there are people out there who are just like you and who are maybe in kind of intimidated by whatever the other energy is as well.
• 31:29
  So it's really important that you show up.
• 31:32
  And make space for the people who were like, Oh, thank God., a hundred percent, I just want to echo, like, I tell my clients very often that personality is not actually loud.
• 31:43
  You can have a bold personality.
• 31:46
  Present.
• 31:47
  Yep.
• 31:47
  brazen, whatever that word I think it's brazen Okay, thank you.
• 31:51
  I can spell it for you, but I can't say it.
• 31:53
  Okay, so, you don't have to have that loud, obnoxious, in your face personality in order to Hmm.
• 32:01
  Yet, I think that's another thing that's, especially this, past decade, online marketing world has forced upon people to assume that you have to be bold and stand out in order to show personality.
• 32:13
  One, many of my clients, I would actually say, uh, maybe a majority, are not that.
• 32:19
  Yet, they may be more on the professional side.
• 32:22
  I've worked with a lot of coaches, people who come out of the corporate world to start their own business, and in the corporate world they are extremely buttoned up and the idea of showing personality makes Yeah.
• 32:34
  It's vulnerable.
• 32:37
  Right, and it's something that they were never allowed to do.
• 32:39
  Like, their suits were black in the corporate world.
• 32:42
  They did not wear, I mean, this is still a little while in the past now, they didn't Hmm.
• 32:47
  or bright orange suits.
• 32:49
  Like, they showed up to work with a lack of personality, and now we expect them to show up to their business with screaming colors and loud statements.
• 32:58
  And that is as far from the truth I think that you have to be.
• 33:02
  You mentioned it and I want to make sure people understand and like this is like a big bold exclamation point.
• 33:07
  You can have tiny little graphics on your website with like a little like dancing character, right?
• 33:13
  Or like a little like excited emoji face.
• 33:16
  And that could be little tiny pops of graphical Yep.
• 33:21
  That's it!, one of my clients who actually came from a corporate world into coaching, . So, when , she and I made decisions about her website, she specifically said, I want personality, but I want, I still want professional personality.
• 33:35
  I really liked this project and, in her about page, she wanted to put a picture of herself , she's a professional dancer, , just mentioned like that was something she did on her free time but that was about really as far as she wanted to go on personality wise and I She had won awards in it.
• 33:51
  So what we did was use calls to action on all of her pages that were lightly danced Related , they were really fun things in the sense of like, you know, like, let's dance, you know, you want to, want to get on a call, Yeah.
• 34:05
  it was able to not get so forceful in her client's face, but still show up as who she was.
• 34:13
  And so many people commented that they liked I love it.
• 34:17
  Like, again, how many buttons do you have on a page?
• 34:20
  One, Yeah.
• 34:22
  Yeah.
• 34:23
  This is really, people would say, Oh, that was so fun.
• 34:25
  You know, I'm so tired of hearing like, sign up now.
• 34:27
  Like, yeah, I want to dance.
• 34:29
  And that worked so well for her because she never had to force herself to be this Mm hmm.
• 34:36
  It was just those little buttons.
• 34:38
  You know, your case is your example is like little graphics, little emojis, a color choice, anything you'd like to showcase.
• 34:48
  you are, without feeling like you need to force it into this, like, loud personality that and and the right person.
• 34:54
  I looked at that between those two, between two coaches, which is the professional coach I'm going to choose.
• 35:00
  There's just something a little bit different.
• 35:02
  She's letting a little freak flag fly.
• 35:04
  I'm a little peek into my life, a little peek into who I am and the right people are like, I'm vibing with that.
• 35:11
  That's who I want.
• 35:12
  Mm hmm.
• 35:14
  And the copy, to add to that, showed all of her proof.
• 35:17
  All of the, like, extremely, like, Fortune 50 places that she's worked for, how long she's worked there.
• 35:24
  It showed her process, because she has been, this is something she's been doing.
• 35:28
  So the proof was there.
• 35:29
  All of that, like, Mm hmm.
• 35:31
  was there.
• 35:33
  And it was just this touch point of, like, you know, This is who I am, you know, and it was allowing them to make that choice easier.
• 35:39
  And again, if someone came to her site and they didn't like that, like, let's dance button and they clicked off, great! Because if they were that upset about something tiny, they wouldn't have been a good fit, regardless, A hundred percent.
• 35:53
  So, I, I just think there's, I, I, I think if there's one, maybe this is part of my USP.
• 35:59
  Uh, if there's one thing that I'm passionate about, it's always like, I hate when people talk about personality, cause they often don't mean personality.
• 36:06
  They often mean like, be Um, in your marketing, and it's like, well that's not their yeah, though.
• 36:12
  Like, their personality is, and then watching, you know, Doctor Who.
• 36:15
  Like, why would they all of a sudden start like, throwing confetti at the screen every 12 seconds?
• 36:21
  It's like, that's just.
• 36:22
  It's not gonna And it's just, it's permission to lean into what you love.
• 36:27
  Permission to lean into what you're good at.
• 36:30
  Permission to lean into what, who you are, but also to take that extra step and shine a spotlight on it because that is the bit that helps people find you and go, she's the one.
• 36:44
  This is the one.
• 36:45
  This is the one I've been looking for.
• 36:48
  Totally.
• 36:49
  And actually that leads me to my final point that I wanted to make, which I think kind of like nicely ties this episode up with a little bow is, you know, the title of this is about choosability.
• 36:59
  That's what we've talked about, like how to be choosable.
• 37:02
  And if anything, we're talking about it from the framework of how to make sales, like, you know, like how to, , you know, Get people to purchase from you, how to write the services and do services for them.
• 37:14
  But we forget that being choosable is also many other Yes.
• 37:22
  on their Instagram stories that I've connected with, and we've chatted that that then have come on this podcast or that I have referred out because we do different things.
• 37:33
  You know, anyone, like, for example, if anyone's putting like a picture of themself in an ice cream cone, I'm going to be like, hold up.
• 37:39
  What flavor ice cream is that?
• 37:41
  And, and choosability is so many other things that could lead to clients, but it's guesting experiences.
• 37:48
  It's like maybe joining masterminds with like, like minded people.
• 37:52
  It's becoming friends, like you mentioned.
• 37:55
  And all of those.
• 37:56
  Have the power to lead to sales, but sometimes can be more powerful than sales.
• 38:02
  So I think, you know, like, love people to look at this idea of choosability and, and all of the P's that you've shared with us and think like, where can this show up addition to just making sales and getting new Yeah, absolutely.
• 38:17
  And you know, to, to loop back to the beginning, having that unique differentiator, that unique selling proposition is amazing.
• 38:25
  But if that's what's keeping you stuck, know that there are so many other ways you can shine a spotlight on how amazing you are.
• 38:33
  That will be the beacon to pull people to you.
• 38:36
  The kind of people who are like, yes, I'm here for it.
• 38:40
  No, no convincing required.
• 38:42
  When do we start?
• 38:44
  totally.
• 38:45
  Well, I, exactly.
• 38:47
  And I was going to say, if we're talking, when do we start?
• 38:49
  And you're listening to this, go make a social post with that cup of tea, that ice cream cone, that from the beach, whatever the heck it is, is your thing.
• 39:01
  And talk about how that's your personality.
• 39:03
  Tag me and Belinda so we Yes, please.
• 39:06
  on this, like, claim, claiming your space, because, you know, I know that it could be a little nerve wracking to implement new things like showcasing personality or even proof, right?
• 39:16
  And process.
• 39:17
  So if you need that extra support, like we will gladly cheer you on, online, Yes, please.
• 39:23
  us and, and Yeah, a hundred percent.
• 39:27
  All right, Belinda, thank you so much for being here today.
• 39:30
  I think this is such an important conversation and I'm just really glad that we Yeah.
• 39:33
  Thank you for adding all that you did.