15 Tips For Building The Confidence To Be The Brand
23 Jul
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Grow Your Expertise, Inspiration

15 Tips For Building The Confidence To Be The Brand

So, you’ve taken that leap and built a business. First, congratulations. Not many people have the mental and emotional fortitude to pull off what you did. 

But…

Being an entrepreneur comes with a unique set of stressors.

While you’re steadily growing, it’s common to worry that you’re not getting the traction you need to really take off. 

As brilliant as many business owners may be, many lack the confidence to fully show up as the face of their brand. But confidence is a key component of success in business. The more confident you are, the more people will be attracted to your brand and want to learn more about you.

15 Tips For Building The Confidence

These 15 tips will help you build the confidence to become the brand so you can attract more prospects and scale to the next level. 

1. Know Your Brand 

You can’t begin to show up in a way that inspires others to follow if you aren’t clear on who you are and where your brand is going. Start by defining your purpose. What are you here to do? Who are you here to serve? How do you want to make people feel? 

When you know that, you can begin to embody the real essence of your brand. 

2. Do What You Say You’re Going To Do 

Nobody likes flakiness—especially in business. Whether it’s working 1:1 with a client or something you push out on social media, hold yourself accountable for the things you say. People will begin to associate that respect they have for you with your overall brand. 

3. Get Clear On Your Values & Beliefs 

This is a crucial step. Values and beliefs are so important to the foundation of who you are and what your brand stands for. They need to be deeply ingrained in your messaging and interaction with others. 

4. Share Your Story

In uncovering your values, belief and mission, start to weave a story about your experience in relation to those—and then share it! Especially if it’s messy, real, and shows your audience that you know first-hand what they’re going through. 

5. Use Your Voice 

Social media makes it easier than ever for brands to have a distinct voice. Make it a priority to be active on your favorite platforms and speak up about the things that matter to you. Don’t be afraid to show multiple facets of your personality, even if they don’t relate directly to your brand. 

6. Show Enthusiasm

There’s nothing as contagious as enthusiasm. If you’re excited about something, show it. Chances are, you’ll attract some people who are just as excited about it as you. 

7. Share Your Passions 

Don’t keep your interests to yourself — share them with the world. Be open and honest about what you’re into so your audience can get to know you better. 

8. Get Visible and STAY Visible 

So many founders and CEOs love to hide behind their businesses. But if you want people to trust you enough to buy from you, you have to be willing to come out and show your face every now and again. 

9. While We’re Talking About Visibility…Keep A Visible List Of Accomplishments 

Sometimes, we forget how awesome we are. Displaying a list of all the things you’re proud of will come in handy when you’re feeling down and insecure. 

10. Practice Positive Affirmations 

Positive affirmations are the new “fake it till you make it.” Write down a few things you hope to be and repeat them to yourself every day as reminders of where you want your brand to go. 

11. Be Consistent  

While you’re an ever-evolving human, it’s important to keep your brand consistent. Some change every now and then is great, but try to stick to some consistent themes so people know what to expect from you. 

12. Get Vulnerable

One of the best ways to connect with your audience is to show them that you’re human. Businesses need not be totally above board and professional all the time. Get real every once in a while so you can connect with your audience on a deeper level. 

13. Stop Falling For The Comparison Trap

It’s so easy to get caught up in where you are now and compare yourself to other people. But when you start going down that Instagram rabbit hole, remember that no one can do it like you—because there’s no one like you. 

14. Be Kind To Yourself

Putting yourself out there is hard, and it’s not always going to feel good. When you’re feeling insecure, practice self-compassion and give yourself a little break. 

15. Stay Authentic & Transparent

And finally, build your brand based on the person you authentically are—and don’t let anyone tell you that’s not enough.

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​​If you want help increasing your confidence so you can elevate your brand, click here to learn more about working with Alison Todd. 

The Art of Confidence
22 Jul
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Entrepreneurship

The Art of Confidence

Let’s face it: it takes confidence to run a business. You can’t sell your products and services only half-heartedly believing in yourself. Garnering a client list and succeeding in your market takes self-assurance in order to fully develop into the complete professional you know you can be. 

But confidence isn’t always easy to grasp. It can be incredibly difficult, regardless if you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, beginner businessperson, or failed executive. With that in mind, I’ve gathered some easy tricks to bolster your confidence so that you can be the best business owner you can be–and then some. 

Fake it ‘Til You Make It

This may seem facetious to suggest but…it’s actually true. You’ve probably heard the rhetoric, “think it and it’ll be true” time and time again, well the same goes for confidence. If you work hard enough to project a confident mentality, you will eventually become the confidence you’re putting out there. And everyone you meet who seems completely self-confident? They’re doing the same thing!

With a positive mindset, daily affirmations, and a confident persona, you can become exactly the person you want to be by reprogramming your own brain.

Dress for Success

A big part of “fake it ‘til you make it” includes the way you present yourself. Have you ever dressed to the nines and walked into somewhere knowing how powerful you looked and people treated you exactly like that? 

There’s a reason: when you know you look good, you just end up feeling good, which results in natural feelings of confidence. 

Follow Other Successful Businesses for Motivation–But Avoid Comparisons

Follow other businesses in your market or industry and be inspired! It’s good business sense to know what your competition is up to, and knowing that you’re helping level the playing field for your business can lead to further confidence in yourself as a business owner.

However an easy pitfall to fall into is comparing your progress to that of others–stop it! Other businesses can have drastically different resources, budgets, and goals than you, even if you’re looking to them for inspiration–trust in your own journey and avoid any negative self-talk. You’ll get where you need to be.

Take Care of Your Body.

Mental and physical health is directly related to your sense of confidence. If you’re tired, stressed, anxious, or sick, you can’t work to your greatest ability–you know it and your clients will know it. By honoring your limits and respecting your body with good fuel, daily exercise, hydration, and sleep you can maintain your daily schedule and meet your own expectations for success. 

Believe in Yourself

When you start your business, you may face a ton of people telling you that you can’t do it–that you can’t succeed. Well, I’m here to tell you that the quickest way to failing is by believing these people: only you get to decide whether you fail or not. By believing in yourself, your brand, and your products, you can be self-confident enough to achieve all of your goals and more.

Confidence May Start With a C, But it Begins With You

Self-confidence isn’t something that can be bought or given to you by someone else–you alone control your own sense of confidence. But I believe in you, and I know that you can too. The art of confidence isn’t some mysterious gift passed down amongst those deemed worthy–it’s a skill that can be honed day in and day out. 

I know you can do it, and with my help we can get you there even faster. 

The Perfect Hire Checklist
21 Jul
Business Coach, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Expertise, Interview

The Perfect Hire Checklist

After weeks or even months of searching for someone to fill your business’s open position, you finally did it: you found the perfect hire. Your company’s hiring managers deserve a sigh of relief–but the journey isn’t over yet. 

Statistically speaking, 31% of new hires will quit a new job within the first 6 months simply because of a poor onboarding experience. In today’s market, your business can’t afford to NOT have an efficient, well-thought-out onboarding process that will ensure the security of your new hire. 

Read on for Allison Todd’s perfect hire checklist.

What is a New Hire Checklist?

A new hire checklist is what the best companies employ to ensure their new hire’s first days, weeks, and months go smoothly. It’s a designated list of activities and tasks that an HR manager should complete before and after a new employee joins your company. 

Following this checklist ensures a smooth merger between your business and the new hire, which will generally result in a long-term relationship between the two–barring any other complications. 

These checklists are a wonderful, dynamic tool that helps every new employee settle into their new work environment–and they’re important for HR managers as well. 

Companies are incredibly complex these days, and checklists ensure that nothing slips through the cracks–you don’t want your new employee wandering around the office on their first day, unsure of what to do or where the bathroom even is. Checklists also ensure that every member of your new hire’s team has had the same onboarding experience, this way everyone they’ll be working with is on the same page.

New Hire Checklist

Let’s be honest–hiring a new employee isn’t cheap, and it’s especially difficult if you’re a small business competing with larger corporations who have much deeper budgetary pockets. Between recruiting fees and advertising for candidates amongst all else, a company can’t afford to lose a new hire within the first few months. 

Yes–some employees will leave because the company may just not be a good fit for them, but you can do your best to make sure that the atmosphere of your office is warm, welcoming, and ready for your new hire.

Some of these steps may differ depending on your company’s rules and regulations, but the general checklist should go as such

1. The first step is to submit a job requisition form to your HR department to make the hire official.

2. Then you should complete a background check and father other important documents from the employee, such as direct deposit forms, I-9 information, W-5 information and others.

3. Next, review the basic schedule and duties of their new role: this helps set expectations for both you and your new hire. 

4. After your new hire reviews their role, the next step is to give them a tour of your facilities. This should include where the bathrooms are, the kitchen, their office, and other places that they’ll be using.

5. Introducing them to their new team members should follow.

6. The next step should be ensuring that their work station is completely set up for them, and they have all of the necessary tools for their role, including badges, office supplies and more. 

7. Next begins the actual training process, this can take a couple days, weeks, or even months. Make sure to be clear about their duties and check in for feedback–making your new hire feel heard can help them feel welcome. 

Takeaways

At the end of the day, a new hire may not stick around–that’s the job market these days. There’s opportunity behind every door, and candidates are lucky to have many choices to pick from. However, to keep your business’s competitive edge in the face of all these choices, employing a perfect hire checklist can instill confidence in any new employee that your business is right for them. 

Sales Language Profile Picker
19 Jul
Business Coach, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business, Marketing

Sales Language Profile Picker

We’ve all been there: you’re walking by a random company’s booth at the mall or you picked up a call from a telemarketer. They didn’t allow you to speak, they didn’t hear your questions, and they didn’t manage to convince you that their product could actually help you.

Whatever way you came into contact with a salesman, it couldn’t have been more obvious that they were just after your money. 

This is the product of poor sales language. When a sales professional stops employing a solid sales language profile, the prospective client ends up feeling like a walking checkbook.

Correct sales language will excite the customer about the topic at hand, highlight how the product is useful to them, and lead to the closing of a sale. In this article I’ll be discussing some simple but powerful words to turn your prospect into a sale. 

What is Sales Language?

Sales language is actually pretty straightforward in definition — these are the words we choose specifically in the context of marketing and making a sale. They’re meant to communicate the selling points of your services, company, or products in such a way that the customer is persuaded to make a purchase.

With that end goal in mind, this language teaches how specific words can elicit ideal behaviors in prospects, such as getting a listener to open up and let their guard down.

Sales language acknowledges that every word a sales professional chooses can trigger a specific feeling or emotion and it’s the salesperson’s job to carefully select the correct words to maximize their messages.

What Should I Add to My Sales Language Vocabulary?

Once a sales professional has acknowledged the power of communication, their next step should be upgrading their vocabulary to include words and phrases that help create positive associations with the brands and products. These words and phrases include the following.

Give customers a clear reason to care about your pitch.

Offering a concise reason why a customer should choose your product or service over the competition’s products, leaves your prospects with an explicit detail worth remembering as they evaluate products from other vendors. 

Highlight any possibilities of loss aversion.

Loss aversion refers to the principle that customers will act in a manner that prioritizes maintaining or acquiring more things. Examples of using this idea in a sales pitch includes emphasizing that your services will lower a bill that a customer has or that they’ll otherwise avoid losing revenue by working with you. 

Don’t be afraid of “because”.

By giving your customers a reason why your product or service is necessary and/or excellent (i.e. giving them a “you need this, because…”) you’re providing them with distinct reasons why their use of your product will serve them in the future. By associating certain results with your product the buyers will understand that your products can help them achieve their goals. 

Build trust by admitting when you don’t know something.

Any salesperson will tell you that a lie is a slippery slope with customers–even if it’s tiny, any lie can call into question everything else you’ve said, putting your company and your products at risk.

By admitting when you don’t know something and then seeking out the answer, you’re showing your customer that they can trust you–and that they can trust you to go the extra mile. 

Imagine your way into a sale.

Asking your clients to imagine what they could do with your products or services is a great way to distill a firm understanding of your offering. By imagining their life with the product this also reinforces the product’s utility in their individual lives.

Create gentle urgency.

This can be tricky–pushing that your prospect needs your services can result in your efforts coming off stale and forced. When speaking with a customer, it’s a good idea to imply that they could have an immediate impact now, but they’re not totally lost without your product right this second.

Don’t Sleep on Sales Language

Sales language is going to be different across all markets and industries–but by focusing on your target audience and how to really connect with them, you’re ensuring impactful sales pitches for the rest of your career.

What is Business Coaching and Why Do I Need it?
04 Jun
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Entrepreneurship, Grow Your Business

What is Business Coaching and Why Do I Need it?

As a business owner, you’ve been looking at your business in the same way since its inception—from the inside. It’s easy to get tunnel vision and miss issues that could be keeping your business from reaching its highest potential. Often, an outside perspective of your business can help you establish a clear vision of where you are, where you want to be, and how you can get there.

My friend, you need a business coach.

What is Business Coaching?

When you hire a business coach, they will provide you with that outside perspective that your business likely craves. They’re essentially a business mentor who can help you understand how to run your business more efficiently. Regardless of your industry or business size, a business coach is an investment in your future.

And business coaching isn’t one-size-fits-all—your coach will look at your individual strengths, areas of improvement, and goals to help you determine a curated plan. They’ll be there with you every step of the way as you execute the necessary steps to grow your business successfully.

Business Coach Roles and How They Will Help You Succeed

Your business coach will customize their coaching style to your specific needs but there are certain roles that every business coach fulfills. Some of the most important hats that a business coach wears are the following:

Outside Observer

Arguably one of the most important roles of business coaching, your coach will take a close but objective look at your business operations. They’ll identify any areas of concern and reprogram operations and provide you with an actionable plan designed to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Accountability Buddy

Imagine having a professional partner you will check up on you monthly, weekly, or even daily keep you accountable for business tasks? Enter your lifeline: your business coach. Expect them to keep you accountable for commitments that will help your business grow exponentially.

Analyst

Your business coach will monitor or even create KPIs (key performance indicators) for your business. These metrics allow you to track your progress and tangibly measure your business’ success. If you’re a business owner who is hesitant to analyze the metrics of your business (either out of fear or because you’re unsure how to), you can delegate that task to a knowledgeable business coach.

Goal Getter

You have goals, but you might not know how to approach them. Your business coach will prioritize your business aspirations and give you tangible steps to achieve them. Expect a meticulously organized timeline of events and milestones that you’ll work toward together.

Business Coaching is the Secret Sauce

Whether you’re a brand new or long-time business owner, you know that you’re meant for great things. Allow yourself to reach those great heights with the help of a qualified business coach. If you’re ready to become the business owner you’ve always dreamed out, learn more about my coaching options. 

Why is Business Confidence Important
04 Jun
Business Coach, Confidence Culture, Entrepreneurship

Why is Business Confidence Important?

“What’s wrong with being confident?” Absolutely nothing. In fact, confidently running your business is critical to its growth and success. When your confidence is low, you’re less likely to take calculated risks or go after your goals.

So, how do you gain (or regain) the confidence you need to run your business, and why is business confidence so important?

What is Business Confidence?

Business confidence is the mentality of looking forward to an optimistic business future—being confident that your business will succeed. That’s not to say that you can just sit back and dream about a successful business, and it’ll happen, but by having confidence, you’re more likely to ambitiously take the actions required to grow.

Tips to Gain Business Confidence

If you’re determined to find success as a business owner—which I know you are—you’ll need to build and maintain business confidence. It’s not just something you can find once, and you’re done—we all have to work to be confident and nurture it as outside factors change. Here are some powerful ways to build your business confidence:

Have a Game Plan

Without an organized plan, you’re walking around aimlessly. You can’t feel confident in your business because you don’t know what you’re doing! But with a structured plan, it’s easy to feel secure that you’re on the path to success. Make sure your business operations are well-developed and structured. Don’t just keep these plans up in your head—write them down, so you have actionable steps. A business coach can help you develop this game plan if you’re unsure where to start. By visualizing the future of your successful business, it’ll be hard not to be confident.

Be Strategic

Sure, risk-taking is part of being a confident business owner, but you don’t want to just leap whenever an opportunity presents itself. Ensure you’re taking calculated and strategic risks toward your business goals. Get crystal clear on the pros and cons of each decision and have a backup plan to fall back on should anything unfavorable happen.

Enlist Support

Confident business owners don’t do everything alone—they have a strong support network. Make sure you’re working with a strong team of employees who all share your values and vision. Invest in a business manager, accountant, and other professionals who can take tasks off your plate and leave you with peace of mind that all business elements are handled.

And finally, form a network of like-minded business professionals! Bounce ideas off these peers, then share your wins and challenges with them. They’ll likely want to do the same with you, so it’s a win-win for everyone. Business owners always want to help each other out.

Takeaways

With all the uncertainty surrounding running a business, it can be challenging to ride the waves confidently. But with a detailed game plan and qualified support, you can build confidence in business. So, roll your shoulders back and bring that chin up, business owner, because you are meant for big things.

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