3 signs that you’re ready to invest in professional branding
BRANDING TIPS
So, how do you know when you're ready to invest in professional branding?
#1 - You’re done with DIY
You’ve DIY’d your brand for the last little while, and you’re ready to say buh-bye to those freebie design templates and take it to the next level.
I know the feeling. You start a business and the last thing you want to do is create a brand identity. I mean, you’ve got loads of administrative set-up work to do, all those cold-calls and emails to send, and you’ve got to get your hands on your first paying client.
The business start-up to-do list is overwhelming, to say the least. So what do you do? You take matters into your own hands and start DIY-ing it.
Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of great templates out there that you can use to create a brand identity design on your own. But the problem is that you’re not looking to blend into the thousands of other businesses out there. You know that what you offer is unique, nobody does what you do, the way you do, and you want to stand out from the pack.
So why are you using those freebie templates off of Canva or Wix that blends your business into looking like all of the other businesses out there?
What you offer is unique and valuable. If you’re ready to stand out and create something custom that’s going to position you as a leader in your customer’s eyes and not just blend into the rest of the pack, then it’s time to start thinking about investing in a professional branding expert.
#2 - YOU’RE HOLDING BACK ON PROMOTING YOUR BUSINESS
Your business is collecting dust because you’re embarrassed to share it with the world.
Allow me to paint the picture for you, because I know you’ve been there.
You’ve set up your business. You have your first prospective client on a sales call. They’re pretty excited about what you have to offer so you start creating a proposal for them. It’s a premium offer and you’re asking for a BIG investment.
The offer is incredible. Your services are incredible. You know you can deliver exactly what this client needs. But, the visuals? They’re all over the place and looking a little cheap. So, now you start worrying about how the heck you’re going to sell in this premium offer.
You sit on your laptop and start fiddling with the graphics in Canva, or your free trial version of Photoshop. “If I switch my whole colour palette to black and white, will that give off the vibe that I’m expensive and worth it? Will adding a serif font make it look like I’m a bit more professional?” Before you know it, it’s nearly midnight, you’ve been working on the proposal for hours and your 5-figure proposal is looking like your 11-year old niece put it together for a school project.
You grow more frustrated with yourself and start wondering if you’re cut out for this whole business thing after all. So you close your laptop, head to bed, and make a plan to send the proposal in the morning. But you don’t. You’re embarrassed about your brand so you let a few days pass by.
Finally, you muster up the courage to hit the send button on that proposal. But it’s a few days late as you spent your entire weekend worrying and playing around with the designs. You wait for a response from that client that seemed so eager to hop on the phone with you, but there are crickets. Yikes, they’ve ghosted you.
You start to believe that maybe your services are cheap, you’re not worth it, and should start charging less. Your DIY-branding approach just gave you a massive sucker-punch to the gut. You ask yourself, were all those hours you spent designing on Canva worth it?
Newsflash: You are worth it and what you offer is 100% worth it. You just have yet to create a brand that clearly communicates your worth yet.
#3 - YOU’RE READY TO BUILD A LOYAL AUDIENCE
You’re ready to connect your brand to the target audience you’ve been dreaming about. The ones that trust you, believe in you, and pay you what you deserve.
Maybe you invested in a friend to create a logo for you a couple of years ago. But, the problem was that they only created a logo. Not a thoughtful, strategic approach to your brand that communicates your message clearly.
The truth is that your brand is more than a logo design. It’s also more than making things look “pretty”. A successful brand includes a strategic visual identity system that connects and communicates with your target audience.
You’re ready to invest in a professional branding expert that takes your amazing story, unique messaging, killer offer and creates a strategy that clearly communicates and connects with your dream audience. You know, the ones that are ready to pay you what you deserve without any hesitations?
They exist, I promise you. You just haven’t given your brand a fair chance to attract them yet.
Ready to start clearly communicating your worth and attracting your dream client?
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