Effortless Networking

Taglines, to me, are very similar to the 30-second pitches. Both are about “telegraphing” your message to your audience — quickly, precisely, and memorably.

So here is a guest article about taglines. The same principles behind creating taglines can help you create your 30-second pitch.

Enjoy!

The Trouble With Taglines: Why This Catchy Phrase Can Lead You Astray and What You Can Do About It
by Kim Castle, BrandU®

One of the most powerful components of a brand’s message is the summation of a brand’s position in the marketplace, the promise it offers, and the value it means to your customers; wrap that in a catchy turn of phrase in as few words as possible and you have yourself a tagline. The trouble is… you need a great tagline to penetrate the overwhelmed mind of your customer and set up permanent residence in their psyche.

The trouble is… a great one is hard to create.

In a sense… taglines are magically delicious.

WHAT MAKES THEM SO GOOD

In a nutshell, taglines are an evocative and inspiring call to action that is specific to a specific business and sets a foundational tone for the business or product. They take away all guessing from your customer’s minds.

Web usability expert and author of Don’t Make Me Think, A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability says, “nothing beats a good tagline” even on the web.

Typically they take one of eight forms:

1. An imperative call to action: Just do it.™ (Nike)
2. An emotive call-to-action: When you care enough to send the best. (Hallmark)
3. Link a product feature with an abstract need: A diamond is forever.™ (DeBeers)
4. Single word benefits: Live. Love. Eat™ (Wolfgang Puck)
5. A direct tie to brand experience: You’re in Good Hands With Allstate™ (Allstate Insurance)
6. A promise: When it absolutely has to be there overnight.™ (FedEx)
7. The pain of not using the product: Because so much is riding on your tires. (Michelin)
8. A clever tie to the name: Every kiss begins with Kay. (Kay Jewelers)

However, just knowing a form does not make the magic. The form is just an empty shell without first defining the meaning of the words you actual use.

You also need a decision process to determine which form works best for your business.

Want to know the secret?

The magic is not in the actual words. It’s in a process to arrive at those words and put them in the right order.

Most business owners rush to craft the clever words before they even define the words and what they mean. It’s like wondering what kind of camera you should take with you to Mars when you haven’t even designed the rocket ship to get you there.

The lack of a process keeps business owners guessing for their tagline ‘out there’ in creative land.

In my near two decades in the brand business, I have developed a skill for writing these illusive creatures. Not just because I’m a brilliant copywriter. Not just because I’m clever— although several years as a stand-up comic surely helps.

My ability to craft the perfect unique tagline for a business is because I am able dive into the heart of a brand and bring up the gold. I’m able because of the heart of the brand is in it’s core values and core promises which is derived in the language portion of the brand creation process in Stage Two of BrandU® aptly called Brand Power™.

Here are examples of recent taglines I have created for clients once they have gone through the branding process. (Note these taglines are legally protected by copyright by each client.)

Together making thirst history.™
(Water 4 Life brings great water to the people that don’t have it.)

Bringing Out the Real You.™
(The Reveal System is a natural way to lose weight fast.)

Scientific Keys for Living Well.™
(The Feng Shui Advantage uses the ancient Chinese science of energy.)

Clarity All the Way to the Bank.™
(BrandU® is a process to develop business ideas into a money-making marketable brand.)

Notice these tagline they communicate more — they have a deeper resonance.

The reason: each word has a precise reason for being used and the process to arrive at those words addresses the four-dimensions of being human.

Sound complicated? It’s not. It’s a process.

So… the next time you find yourself looking ‘out there’ for the catchy summation of your brand’s position, promise, and value… stop. Remember your customers and multi-million dollar business deserve more than just a guess. You deserve clarity all the way to the bank.™

© Castle Montone, Limited

Author and BrandU co-creator, Kim Castle teaches entrepreneurs and small business owners how to turn their business ideas into a moneymaking marketable brand — from idea, to brand, to market. If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank™, get your FREE branding tips now at www.whybrandu.com.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Jeremy’s success story — how he generates new business primarily through word-of-mouth referrals.

This week, let me share Sandy’s success story.

Sandy Dellinger is my hair stylist. One of her other clients referred Sandy to me.

And the main reason I asked this person who her hair stylist was, was because she had such a nice haircut!

Sandy and Jeremy have 3 things in common:

1. Neither of them “network”, yet both generate new business primarily through referrals.
2. Both let their work speak for themselves.
3. Both have very happy clients that refer new people to them.

Here’s Sandy’s perspective about why she is successful:

Most of my clients are referred to me by my very loyal clientèle.

I offer a referral discount to my clients who send me a new person.

Word of mouth is the most effective advertisement. Very satisfied customers are very attractive people, and every unique hair style is my advertisement of my skill.

Here’s Sandy’s real secret:

I go back to Sandy because she not only gives me a good haircut, she also makes me feel special.

For instance, recently Sandy watched a TV show just to examine a haircut from various angles — because she thought that style would look good on me!

If you’re in the Lancaster, PA area and want Sandy to style your hair, you can contact her at 717-299-1313.

And my closing question for you is this:
What do you do to make your clients or customers feel special?

“[My biggest networking challenge is] starting! I think not having a good ice breaker outside of “Hello, my name is…” gets pretty boring and routine. Also how do I make an impression that leads to a sincere building professional relationship?”

Last week I wrote about what it takes to easily start conversations with anyone.

This week let’s consider how to make an initial impression that paves the way to building a long-term, sincere professional relationship.

Here’s the “secret”:

• first discover a shared interest
• then agree that you do in fact have this common interest.

After all, what would be the foundation or basis for the relationship, if you didn’t have any common interests?

So when you think you might want to build a strong professional relationship with someone, start by considering these questions:

1. Why do you want to build a professional relationship with this person?
2. Why might the other person want to build a relationship with you?
3. How did you come to this conclusion? Based on what?

Your responses to these questions will help you engage in a productive conversation with this person on this topic.

You’ll be able to better explain to the other person why you’re interested in building a long-term working relationship. This helps the other person get a clearer sense of where you’re coming from.

You’ll also be able to talk about why the other person may want to consider such a relationship as well. Who knows? You might even bring up things he or she had not considered.

And if you are sincere about what you’re saying, your sincerity will naturally come through.

Try it. See how it works out for you.

(FYI, more on this topic is covered in module 3 of the Effortless Networking home-study program. To find out how to get a complimentary copy of this program, click here.)

“[My biggest networking challenge is] starting conversations with all levels of people, from Ministers, Chief Executives down.”

I recently had a conversation with someone about exactly this topic!

She said she felt intimidated talking with people more knowledgeable than her.

But in social situations, she didn’t have a problem starting conversations with people.

“What’s the difference?” I asked.

It turns out that in social contexts, this person starts talking with people about topics that are of interest to her.

In this case, it doesn’t matter if the other person is more knowledgeable about it or not. In fact, more knowledgeable is probably better, since she is curious about the topic and wants to know more!

In business contexts, she assumes that the topic of conversation must be business related.

And often, she is among people who are specialists or experts in their field. Given her assumption that she must talk about work-related stuff, she feels tongue-tied.

After all, what could she possibly say to a lawyer about law that won’t make her look and feel inadequate?

So I asked her, “How did you come up with this assumption that you should only talk about business related stuff in business contexts? And is it valid?”

She looked at me for a while. Then she sat back, looking relieved!

If starting conversations with people is a challenge for you, what assumptions are you making about such conversations?

More on this topic is covered in module 2 of the Effortless Networking home-study program. To find out how to get a complimentary copy of this program, click here.