False advertising and over-promising can destroy your reputation and your business at the mere click of a button in today’s fast-paced social media world. You have to be impeccable with your word in life and especially in business.
If you’ve been following me for a while you know that one of my goals this year is to help more small business owners master their message so they can grow income and raise their impact as well as their influence.
If you participated in my recent challenge on the topic you know that one of the things I talked about was coming from a place of AUTHENTICITY when you put your message out there.
We all start right where we are at and at this point we all have a certain level of expertise that we have accumulated through our professional experience, schooling or personal self-development.
The truth is you need to be at least a few steps ahead of those who you are trying to help with your product or service and if you have not mastered something yet (there is nothing wrong with it by the way) don’t tell people in your message that you have.
For example:
If you claim to be an Amazon Bestselling Author, your book better come up when people search for it.
Word of mouth spreads fast especially on the internet and you want to be able to confidently stand behind your message.
Among other things PEOPLE BUY CONFIDENCE and they pay you to DELIVER the value you have promised in your advertising.
This is how you build a reputation as an expert in your field.
This is how positive word of mouth spreads and people start to come knocking on your door.
On the flip side, word of mouth can also destroy a business if it can’t deliver on the promise made. Over-promising is a recipe for disaster. Let me give you an example:
I work in Hollywood and it’s been a common practice to cut trailers so they show the best moments of a film to get people into the theaters.
Well, nowadays when the movie does not deliver on what the trailer promised, word of mouth spreads like wildfire because everybody tweets about it and tells their friends to not waste their money going to see it.
And then the movie dies a slow and painful death at the box office.
Small businesses face the same. In this day and age word spreads fast and it can take years to rebuild a reputation.
That’s why it’s so important that you get really clear on your skill set BEFORE you put your offer together and start creating your marketing message.
You want to be absolutely certain about your STRENGTHS and also about your WEAKNESSES, in other words the areas where you still need to grow or where you might need the help of an expert to fill any gaps.
And you want to make sure that in your message you stay truthful in your promise of what you can deliver.
When you come from this place of authenticity, it will pay huge dividends in terms of growing your income, your impact and your influence.
If you want to learn more, for a limited time you can get lifetime access to this 7-part video series on the topic [at no cost to you] simply by clicking this link.
Simona Ksoll is a brand marketing strategist and business mentor positioning coaches and entrepreneurs to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Follow her on Facebook and LinkedIn and join her private Facebook Community.