People Buy People, Not Brands.

This newsletter is a bit of a light one, prior to the Christmas break... and as most businesses will be considering their strategy for next year, I wanted to throw this out there.

I was reading an article on Forbes that states that returning again for about the 5th year running, short form video is going to be a top 5 'must have' for businesses both big and small in the coming year.

Time is precious. It's finite. And arguably the most important thing to hold on to, as a business owner, family member, and as a human.

So we won't normally risk watching anything longer than a few minutes maximum on a social media channel without knowing that the value will be there for us... but latest research shows you have 3-5 seconds to convince viewers to stay with you, even on a short video.

So we know short form video is the way forward, we know we've got to be compelling from the off... but what else do the big brands miss?

People.

When you become a large enterprise entity, by and on large, your top leaders, your top personalities, become hidden behind a veil. You become a faceless giant who operates from behind a brand.

This is the single biggest advantage that smaller businesses have.

You are built around a core of expertise. You had the motivation, enthusiasm, and credibility to start a business doing what you do best.

We know from neuroscience and behavioural science that we, as humans, crave similarity with others... we gravitate towards that. When we find we're similar to someone else, we start to view them as one of our own... we start to believe them.

And that's key to converting them into a customer, when the time is right. It's also key to being able to charge more for our services and products, get more repeat business, and key to creating loyal raving fans who will bring our products and services with them to whatever company they are working at.

But it's also uncomfortable for many. It's awkward. You feel self conscious. You feel like an imposter.

That's good.

Because it means you're genuine, raw, and understand the importance of what you're setting out on.

People will connect with you on an emotional level - something the brands really struggle with. You've almost certainly heard the phrase "People don't remember what they're told, they remember how they feel" ?

So get out in front of them, and show them who you are. That doesn't mean you need to talk features and benefits all day every day. It means they need to know WHO you are, WHY you do what you do, WHY you're an expert, WHAT your credibility is based on, and what you DON'T do, DON'T represent, and DON'T believe.

Once you've unlocked all of that, you'll find a few things:

1) Your sales pipeline will be smaller

No more tyre kickers.

They've found out all they need to know, and gone away.

2) Your sales pipeline will be faster

People will have built trust with you before they've even gotten to meet you. They're much further down the funnel before they need to interact with you - so your videos have had a one to many relationship, and also made you more efficient.

3) Your win rate will be higher

Because of (1) and (2) - your pipeline will be full of much more qualified leads, who trust you more than they ever have anyone else. They believe in you, your process, and your value.

Anyone want to achieve 1,2 and 3 for 2024?

Thought so!

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