5 Ways to Level Up Your Brand as a Coach & Consultant
You’ve been in business for a while now, and are getting clients and consistent traffic, but they’re not always the dream client.
You might ask, “what do I need to do to get noticed by my IDEAL dream clients?”
I get it! I’ve been there too! I asked the same questions. I’ve spent many hours googling what my competition was doing, but because it wasn’t authentic, my efforts fell flat every single time.
What if I told you that the key to getting noticed is creating a strong brand identity? Yes! Your brand image is everything when it comes to standing out as a coach or consultant.
Even if you’ve already created a brand, realigning your goals and strategy to create a solid and consistent image will set you apart from others in your industry, and attract your true ideal client.
Your brand identity doesn’t end at your website and logo. It encompasses everything your audience sees, touches, and interacts with. It includes your colors, fonts, your collateral, social media image, email newsletter, and more. It even includes the behind-the-scenes client processes and branded thank you pages!
With these five tips, you’ll feel empowered to level up your rebrand that’ll allow you to show up confidently as the expert you are, increase your credibility, and gain the attention of your ideal client.
1. Redefine your ideal client.
I love the quote, "If you're speaking to everyone then you're speaking to no one." So true! When you started your business, you may have kept your ideal client pretty general. And that’s okay, but now you’re moving into a new space and it’s time to reevaluate who it is you want to work with.
Getting specific about your ideal client is your opportunity to talk to the people you truly want to serve. Get to know them, who they are, what they like, and what keeps them up at night. You'll gain their attention and trust when you know exactly what they need and how to serve them.
So let’s run through how we’ll discover your new dream client. We can start by imagining the exact person you want to work with. Not the person you’ve been working with or the person you know you can attract right now, but the DREAM client.
Let’s get very specific by giving them a name and a persona. Start by asking yourself the following questions about them and create their story.
WHO ARE THEY?
This is totally up to you! This is your chance to be very specific about who truly lights you up! Who would be a dream to work with? Maybe it’s an expanded version of your current clients or an entirely new person. Here are a few starter questions you want to answer:
What’s their gender?
How old are they?
What’s their income?
What is their immediate family situation?
Where do they live?
WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?
Once you’ve covered the basic demographic information, you’ll want to dig deeper to get to the heart of your ideal client. What’s their personality like? What do they love? What are their hobbies? We’ll want to look at their work. What kind of job does your ideal client have and what is their work-life like? To go even further, it’s crucial to answer the following questions:
What’s important to them?
What are their biggest pain points?
What are their dreams? Biggest goals?
WHY?
Let’s dig even deeper beyond the “what”, and start asking “why?”. Ask “why” to each of the questions above. Why do they like a certain hobby? Why do they purchase from certain brands? Why is that dream important to them? Uncovering the “why” will lead us to their core values and the emotion behind their decisions. This is gold! Keep asking why!
Take note of the words and feelings that come up from this exercise. That emotion is how you’ll build a deeper connection with your ideal client. They’ll view you as someone who cares about and understands their needs.
WHERE ARE THEY?
Now let’s determine where your ideal client hangs out. What platforms are they on online? Are they on social media? Are they within your network or a new audience?
It’s time to go to where they are and join the conversation. When you position yourself as the expert for this exact person in the exact place they hang out, you’ll become the go-to solution for your industry. Talk about being at the right place at the right time!
2. Re-establish your mission & vision.
Imagine you’re at a networking event, and someone you don’t know approaches you.
You begin with some casual small talk discussing traffic and today’s weather.
And then it comes.
The question you’ve been dreading.
They ask, “so… what do you do?”
Your heart begins beating out of your chest, and your palms sweat.
You know what you do, of course, but because of the disconnect with your brand, you’re not sure if you tell them what you do now, what you want to be doing, or who you want to serve!
Your mind scrambles to find the right words! Before you know it, you start to ramble and lose the attention of this poor human being.
Does this sound familiar?
This is why it’s important to re-establish a clear mission and vision for your business. They’re guideposts to who you are and where you’re headed, and must always be kept up to date. When you’re clear about where you’re going and what you want to accomplish, you’ll be able to communicate this to your ideal client.
When you aren’t clear, it’ll be hard to communicate with your audience what you do and what you’re about.
When they don’t understand how you can help them, you’ll lose their trust, they won’t purchase from you, and they won’t be able to refer you to their network. More importantly, your ideal client won’t connect with you, even though you may be the answer they're looking for.
LET’S BREAK DOWN YOUR MISSION AND VISION.
These terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a simple difference that can set clear intentions for your business.
The mission statement guides how you operate and interact with your client. It sets a clear framework for how you do business, defines your objective, and states how you’ll reach them.
The vision statement describes the desired future position of your business. It’s an anchoring statement for your long-term, future goals.
Think of it this way, your mission statement inspires, while your vision statement aspires.
Here is an example from Nike:
Nike's mission is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
While its vision statement is “to remain the most authentic, connected, and distinctive brand.”
Start with nailing down these questions to create your mission and vision statements:
What do you do and how do you do it?
What services do you offer?
Who do you serve?
Why are you in business?
What do you value?
Jot down your ideas into concise statements, and be ready to communicate this confidently to anyone on any platform!
3. Communicate your authentic story.
Over the years, I realized that people just want to do business with other people. We all want to be seen, heard, and validated.
I’ve learned to tell people my story to form genuine connections and relationships. And the more open I was, the more connected I became with my clients on a deeper level.
Projects became easier because I was working with my ideal client and designing to their core values. Those genuine relationships and A+ designs have turned into repeat clients and glowing referrals.
Once you have an idea of your ideal client, mission, and vision, you can Infuse your authentic story. This is where we communicate our "why” -- why you started this business, what means the most to you about your work, and why supporting your ideal client is so important. This is where we lead and inspire with personality and emotion, appeal to our clients, and communicate our unique gifts.
LET’S DEFINE YOUR WHY.
In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek states:
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
As you’ve grown over the years, you have gained so much experience that comes with personal triumphs, amazing wins, and struggles you had to overcome. That becomes the foundation of your story.
Why are you in business? What has made this experience worth the struggle? What were the defining moments of your journey? Letting your ideal clients in ”behind the scene” creates connection and relatability.
What unique qualities about you or your business do you currently or would like to incorporate? Maybe you took an unconventional path to start your business. Maybe your “what” and your story are unique. This leads to how you can uniquely serve your audience. Maybe your unconventional career has given you a unique skill set that can lead your client to success. Let’s jot those points down too!
Remember that emotion we uncovered when defining our new ideal client? This is where we get to use them! It’s essential to define your “why” so you can connect with their dreams and desires and serve them by providing the exact support or solutions. You've found your sweet spot when your why and your ideal client’s desires merge.
4. Elevate your visual branding.
Let me tell you a secret; there’s no right or wrong way to determine your style.
Where I see many coaches and consultants go wrong is not creating a style that’s authentic to them.
When you started your business, you had a certain look and feel in mind, but now that you’ve been doing this for a while, your style and tastes have changed… A LOT!
Your current branding may not fit with who you once were!
The key to standing out as a coach and consultant is creating a visual brand that is unique and authentic to you! It’s so evident to your audience when you’re trying to look like someone you’re not.
So now that we know who you’re talking to, we’ve defined your mission and vision and crafted your authentic story, we can now create a true visual representation of your brand.
The prior steps have positioned you to create a consistent look, feeling, and tone that’ll resonate with your ideal client and speak to your message.
YOUR BRAND VOICE AND TONE.
Establish your brand’s voice and tone as you determine your new style. Is your brand classic or modern? Luxury or affordable? Calm versus animated? What will resonate with your new ideal client? What language speaks to your ideal client?
Here are a few examples to consider:
Formal or Casual
Young or Mature
Raw or Refined
Playful or Serious
Simple or Ornate
You can select multiple descriptive words, but ensure they are cohesive and logical for your brand.
5. Consistent brand image.
Now that we’ve come up with words that describe the tone of your brand, we’ll now use those to create or redesign your brand image and visual elements.
Each part of your brand should align with the tone you selected. That includes your logo, images, copy, social media, email newsletters, and anything your client touches and interacts with. This creates a consistent identity for your audience to resonate with and ultimately gain trust.
Take a look at your existing branding. Does each piece align with your tone and the feeling you want your audience to feel when they interact with the brand? If so, great! If not, where are there opportunities to refresh your brand touchpoints?
These steps are vital in creating a stand-out brand that grabs the attention of your ideal, dream clients.
As the face of your business, your brand image is a reflection of you. Take the time to realign your brand, goals, and who you want to work with, and you’ll see the benefits. The right people will be seeking YOU.
Looking for ways to refresh your branding now? Let’s start with your website! Download my FREE GUIDE to learn My 5 Strategies to Instanlty Elevate Your Web Design.
