Bros 80s hit 'when will I be famous' was the theme tune in my head writing this post. What are you known for? If you asked your customers or social media followers what you’re known for what do you think they’d say? Let’s talk about getting clear on this because it should be pivotal to the content and value you put out in the world and what you do for your clients.
If you know me, you’ll know that I ran a digital agency and I’ve made the pivot to focussing on the bits of my job that I absolutely loved which was solving problems and helping business owners crack the growth code for their business. That’s lead me on this journey to now offering business coaching.
Something amazing happened last week, I met someone new on a networking event - I had’t met them before but they had seen some of my content here and there, LinkedIn possibly. The funny thing is this person started the conversation with “hey, you’re that business growth specialist aren’t you?” I was a little taken back before I managed to respond someone who I’ve known for a little while now from the group stepped in and said “Sian’s a business coach, she’s a coach with a real difference, expertise and an approach like no other coach I’ve met before”. I was pretty blown away.
That experience got me thinking about what specifically are we known for and how do our connections and network talk about us? That’s really important.
Whenever I talk to a new business and I ask them ‘how do you get customers now’. Word of mouth is without a doubt listed as one of the top sources of new business, very scarily sometimes the word of mouth and their network its the only source. So I ask, why then do we not put some focus into working on what we want to be known for?
Articulate your value proposition
I have talked about being able to write a value articulation statement and want to explore the idea of your audience being able to say “oh yes, Sian’s a business growth specialist”. You need to be really good at that, speaking to your ideal buyers and when you get good at it then your audience will have clarity and watch that ‘word of mouth’ have some strategy and some back bone to it.
Let’s explore, and I want you to look at your profiles and go with me on this as we dig in.
If I were to ask two of your recent followers on LinkedIn or Facebook, maybe Instagram wherever it is that you hang out online “what does you do?” what would they say?
What if I asked two of your customers, someone who’ve known you longer - what would they say?
The point is, do you know exactly and specifically what you do and is it clear to your network, audience and your customers? What is the one thing you want to be known for?
You know within yourself what you do, if you’re not so sure and need to work on articulating it that’s ok. You’re in the right place. If you are super clear within yourself, does your audience have just as much clarity?
The thing is, if we are hoping for referrals and word of mouth to work for us then you need to make sure you’re adding value to those people and make it abundantly clear that you do A, B and C or X and Y. You want to be the go-to person for your thing, the thing that’s your jam.
Clarity and consistency are key
Once you have clarity on the things you want to be know for - with me for example, it’s the Growth Code - knowing the business numbers to track, marketing and systems to get and keep more customers and building a business pantheon for repeatable, predictable and scaleable results. So those are the things I try to talk about the most right here on my podcast, on my social media platforms, blogs and articles and in my videos, those are the topics that I create content and courses on.
If you look at my website, it should be clear. If you follow me on Facebook, it should be clear.
For right now you can make your mark for being known for something, it might change and evolve over time but let’s focus on right now, today and what you want to get paid for.
So, what are you known for?
Are you able to say it out loud succinctly without hesitation, without thinking?
This is not easy by the way. I’ve started doing networking events and speaking, when you meet people they often stumble on it or find it hard to say something that isn’t vague.
Although the “what” of my work is being a coach - I’m here to give clients accountability, to give feedback even if it’s not easy and I’m also there to give encouragement, to be a soundboard and help business owners get unstuck, sometimes I work on mindset to help break through barriers. But the “tactical” and “practical” part of what I do is teaching business owners, entrepreneurs and creators the profitable action steps for building a business to help them quit the job they own using online marketing strategies to sell with ease.
This is not just an advert for me by the way, I’m trying to show the differences between the ‘what it is’ and move towards the strategic aspects, maybe it’s your methodologies or the tangible results that you want to be known for from your processes or promise.
If someone said to you “Sian’s a business coach” you might think “hmm oh great another business coach”. But if someone said to you “Sian helps business owners gain an unfair advantage and crack the growth code to getting and keeping more customers in order to build a business that loves them back.” (First, do you take Visa or MasterCard?) But seriously which one would resonate with you and make you want to find out more or meet this Sian person?
I hope that you’re starting to see the point and the power of this. You might be clear on what you do, awesome maybe you can tighten it up a little. But if you don’t have that super clear value articulation statement nailed down yet I want to give you some steps to work on it.
First, get very specific on WHO you help
I talk about this on my ‘Nail Your Niche’ mini training video. There’s a worksheet to help with this value articulation too and I’ll leave a link at the end for you to dig into that. So who do you help?
Dentists or women lawyers or small services based business owners. Get clear on your WHO.
Second, what's your secret sauce?
You can talk about your formula, your special recipe, your methodology. For me, that’s my Growth Code program. This can be your differentiator.
Third, what do you do for these people?
What is the result you get for these people or where do they get to by working with your or buying your product or solution?
We’re all trying to avoid pain, move away from pain or gain something or move towards pleasure. That’s human nature right. So where are your ideal buyers now and where do they want to get to or move towards? Really drilling in on that journey of A to B will help.
Fourth, you're ready to add value and create a content strategy
When you’re really clear on the things you want to be known for, you can then build your content strategy around that. You can talk about other things but weave in and come back to your core. I might have a few podcasts or pieces of content on productivity for example but the topics always come back to being productive in the ways of focussing on the activities that will move the needle in your business.
Fifth, get reviews and testimonials that back up what you want to be known for
When you’ve been getting results, you’ve been talking about the things you want to be famous for, you should start asking your customers for reviews. If you have reviews that back up the things you want to be known for you’re on the right path.
This doesn’t happen instantly. A little bulb won’t go off and shed light on the perfect thing, make a start and know you’ll have to test and tweak.
If you want some more help on this, get in touch and I share resources to get you going. The nail your niche training is available at learnwithsian.co.uk
I really hope you give this a go, it matters and you can put that ‘word of mouth’ strategy into action and go full tilt to create a tribe of people who talk about you, recommend you and help you. Just look around your networking on LinkedIn or think about your family and friends - when we’re looking for a solution to a problem, we often ask our community first and you want to be on peoples’ radar for the right reasons.
