It is not about you when you think about marketing and branding your work. I’ve said that line so many times I probably sound like a broken record.
A question was raised recently by one of my clients during her intense coaching session.
She said, I get all that but when does ‘me’ come into play in all of this?
It’s a valid question. After all, it is called Personal Branding. One could ask:
Why is Songy harping on so much about the ‘people I seek to serve’ and when do I get to work on my story and my brand?
By and large, we know our story intimately and often we fall victim to the thinking that everyone would surely want what we have to offer. After all, what we do is worthwhile and done with a noble mission and purpose.
What we realise, often after several failed attempts with our ventures, is that not everyone wants what we offer. And even the people who want what we offer may not be the kind of people we want to sell to. It is what experts call ‘product-market fit’. Just the way a tailor has to know the customer’s measurements to fit the garment she is making, we need to know quite a bit about our customers first.
So I get that you understand all that. How about the ‘me’ component? Where does that fit?
Your story matters when you relate to your customers. It’s your story that connects. Not your thing that you sell or do. It’s our shared humanness that acts as the glue.
But that doesn’t happen before you know your people. Sure, it’s always exciting to dig into the ‘origin story’ but the story will only resonate with people you carefully select and understand.
We share our stories with intention and the spirit of contribution. We don’t do that to reveal our vulnerabilities unnecessarily but rather to move the people we seek to serve and make a genuine connection.
It’s the connection that builds trust. And trust may well lead us toward doing more of what we want to do.
My story matters but not before I understand the contribution I wish to make for you and others.
