All Posts by Lauren

You might think that using your own name to brand your business is a no brainer.

Although it appears to be a simple solution, in the long term, using your own name is a much more difficult way to create a meaningful brand.

What about Lorna Jane, Donald Trump, Pete Evans or Coco Channel, I hear you say?

Of course it has been done and there are well known 'name based' brands, but what may seem an easy way out at first, could create a rod for your own back.

You see, the human brain ‘sees’ brands with emotion and attaches these to a memory in order to recognise and recall a brand when the need arises.

When you use your name as your brand name, any emotional connection is based on your personal behaviour rather than on a meaningful brand story.

In this disruptive and distracting World, it's vital that your personal brand stands out in order for your ideal prospects not only to see you, but to have a real reason to choose you.

You can make yourself visible using social media, speaking at events, running webinars or workshops and of course writing a book. These tactics are all important, but in order to really stand out, and to do it confidently and consistently, your personal brand needs to have a rock solid foundation.

Social media marketing may be sexy but email marketing is likely to get you more bang for your buck.

Not only is email a more active channel, compared to social media, where your message is sent and responded to compared to something that sits there waiting to be clicked on, a recent report in Chief Marketer indicated that it’s a channel with the most economical conversions, where the average email marketing campaign raises $40 for every $1 spent.

In contrast to the eye-candy of moving images and sound broadcast on Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter, email has some limitations in the creativity department, but it can be more specifically personalised to your target audience than social media, making it better way to engage. Communicating with an audience using their name, geographic location at the best time of day for them to open your message, massively increases open and click through rates.

It has long been suggested that men and women have different brains, but a recent study of over 1,400 brain scans reveals there really isn't such a thing as a distinctly male or female brain.

In fact, brains are visually the same and it’s impossible to tell the difference between a male and female brain from an MRI scan. But we do know that men and women use their cerebrum differently, especially when it comes to communication.

If you are a business, life or sports coach or mentor here is my latest article in Coaching Life Magazine, with some interesting insight from elite athletes and coaches along with tips on how to best coach the female and male brain.

Click on the image below to read more:

The fear of rejection could be stopping you from asking the all-important questions that may convert a positive prospect into a raving fan client.

However you really shouldn't worry about it, because hardly anyone actually ever says the word “No”...humans are far too polite for that!

They say No using excuses...I don't have the time, I haven't got the money, I can do it myself, I'll just leave it for now...

Your personal brand is not about what you know, it's about how much you know about your ideal client and how to ask the right questions to overcome barriers.

Read more in my latest article in Sales Mastery Magazine - Click the image below: 

One of the special treats we experienced while in Chiang Mai was afternoon tea at Dhara Dhevi, a luxury resort set in 60 acres with architecture based on the historic Lanna Kingdom and some of the world's most beautiful accommodation.

For all appearances it looks authentically Thai with peaked roofs, teak panels and a traditional Wat and gardens We felt like we were stepping back in time, exploring a beautifully restored ancient venue with an historic past. It was actually built in 2009, highlighting the fact that appearances can be deceiving and when it comes to branding it’s all about how you make people feel.

The Dhara Dhevi Macaroons are famous in Chiang Mai and you can buy them in a number of shops around the city, but to really experience this brand you need to go there and immerse yourself in the experience of a high tea.

Of course there were personal branding lessons aplenty at Dhara Dhevi

Here are some delectable Personal Branding treats to help you sweeten up your brand and become irresistible to your ideal prospects:

A recent examination of Amazons catalogue indicated there are over 1.8 million business books available, with 22,161 new books added just in the last 90 days.

But how many of them get read?

According to Amazon 2015 sales data, on average 37 business books are sold each day. But they lag far behind the massive fiction book sales (634 sales per day) and rank 8th in non-fiction sales, well behind teen & young adult, religion & spirituality, children’s books and biographies.

CLick image to view larger size

Of course business books are not always written to be sold. Many are used to provide profile for the author, to add credibility to their credentials.

The e-book has become the modern day business card, and it definitely helps to launch a personal brand when you have a book to your name. It’s just that not all business books are created equal, probably because it’s just a bit too easy to produce one.
So why do so many business books never see the light of day?