A few weeks back, there was this particular product that I bought. After buying it, I asked myself the reason I bought it and why I bought it from the vendor. After thinking, I realised that it was because of the vendor himself. I made the purchase solely because of how the seller advertised it, how he presented himself, in fact, I actually bought the person behind the product. This same thing happens also to other people. More often than not, people do not patronise a business because they need it, nor because there are no other businesses offering the same services, but because of how the business have appealed to them. This is why you have to market yourself first.
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In the world of today that is full of competition, and is becoming heavily crowded, as a business person, you have to understand that you are the product. You are the person that will be seen first before your product and services are seen. In the place where I lived before, there was this woman who sold fries at the side of the street. Within the neighborhood, a lot of people did the same business. But people would leave those other people and buy from her even from the neighbouring streets. When I took a look at the reason behind it, I discovered that her public relationship was so good. In addition, she also offered the customers extra services like a branded paper bag for those buying in bulk. This sold her to people.
I have seen people who stopped patronising a business, not because their services went bad, nor because they do not need the product, but because of the person behind the business. This is why you have to market yourself first before you market your business. When they accept you, they will not have a problem accepting your product. A lot of people are taught to hide under fancy logos, cool business names, etc. But what they fail to understand is that fancy logos or business name does not build trust. People build trust. When you understand this, you will stop chasing after customers, rather you will start attracting them.
Personal marketing should come first. When you market yourself first, you will build a very powerful asset that entirely belongs to you. You will agree with me that businesses can change, industries can shift, and even products themselves can change. But the reputation you have built, your character, and your personal brand will stick around with you. People would do business with people. That is, they would want to know who runs the show. They want to understand the value of the person behind the brand that they are doing business with.
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It is worthy to note that trust is the ultimate currency. You will be surprised how lots of people are offering the same service that you are offering. But what makes the difference is that no one has exactly your experience, your unique personality, and your specific view of the world. When you focus on marketing yourself, you will eliminate competition. You will understand that you are not to compete with someone, but to become a better version of yourself. You have to understand that becoming a better version of yourself does not mean that you need to be fake or that you should brag. But it means that you should be intentional about how you show up in your business in each passing day.
To achieve this, you have to own your life, own your story, and own your business. You are the one that knows about your business more than everyone else, because the vision is yours. So you have to present yourself the way you would want your business to be accepted. Imagine a business owner who is into selling of cloths, yet he does not wear good clothes, how will he attract the kind of customers he wants? Your are your first point of marketing. You have to sell yourself first, and it will be easy to sell your product. Always have in mind that your values, your message, and even your appearance should align with what your brand represents.
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