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E-ssential
Message # 047:
Are You Stuck In The Anonymity Trap?
In preparation for a workshop I was delivering in Denmark last week, I researched a number of my client's competitors from a messaging standpoint.
I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was anyway. Every single company I looked at had the same faceless, antiseptic corporate-speak. They were all saying the same thing, in pretty much the same way.
According to the authors of Why business people speak like idiots, they had all fallen into the 'anonymity trap'. (This is a book I wish I had written -- I highly recommend it.)
What most people have forgotten, according to the three authors, 'is that your personality is the thing that helped you make friends, find a date, get a mate, and probably even get a job.'
If you want to have a strong brand personality, then you need a personality -- regardless of whether you're in charge of sales & marketing for a worldwide conglomerate or you're an independent consultant or coach hoping that your clients will remember you amidst the millions of other people who claim to do the same thing that you do.
Fortunately, you already have one. All you need to do is let it show.
Now, I know it might be scary, but you can start by showing some emotion -- the stronger the better. Next time you speak to a prospect or address a large audience, try something like this (related to your business, of course): "I hate it when I buy an expensive product only to find out it does 50% of what it's supposed to do..."
In business, people are so used to insipid, nicey-nice, so-called 'professional' statements that anyone who shows any passion or strong feeling really commands attention. Showing strong emotion also proves that you're a real, live human being -- not a bad thing when you want to connect with other real, live human beings.
Again, let me quote from the book: 'It may take some work to create an original message, to make people smile, or to stop running your life through your email inbox, but if you want to escape the anonymity trap, that's where you have to start.'
I couldn't have said it better myself.
FYI
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If you're a consultant, advisor, independent professional or emerging company who is tired of pushing so hard to get sales – and you're ready to learn a better way to differentiate, position and brand yourself, we can help. As expert copywriters, we can help you get the clarity you need and the business you want. That's what the Essential Message is all about. For information about our workshops, coaching, copywriting and consulting services, or booking me to speak at your event, please call 416 534-4766 or link to www.EssentialMessage.com.
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