Who You Are Is More Important Than What You Say

I can hardly believe that I’m saying this. As a messaging expert who makes her living teaching businesses what to say, I would never have thought I’d tell you that your message is less important than anything! However, after speaking at Nasdaq this week, I’m going to have to change my stance.

Crash Course In Celebrity

My media coach Clint Arthur had already drummed the notion of how important visibility was into me when he trained me to do TV appearances 3 years ago. 18 TV appearances and plenty of business growth following that success later, I can definitely agree with him. What reinforced the message that ‘you are more important than your message’ was apparent when I had the privilege of speaking at NASDAQ this week. You know, NASDAQ, the place where the world’s biggest tech companies come to play with their money? Yeah that one. I could feel my personal brand grow and flourish, even prior to coming to this event. I watched eyebrows would go up and admiration enter their voice as I told prospects, organizers and clients where I’d speaking. Apparently Celebrity really does sell!

Nobody Knew

Now the fascinating thing about this newfound celebrity is that nobody once asked me who I was speaking to or what the topic was. Maybe they didn’t really care, but there was just too many congratulations and excitement around my news to believe that. So what is that elusive quality about your brand as a business owner that puts you in the spotlight and makes people want more of you? It’s the fact that you will dare to take the mic in your hand and withstand every eyeball watching and judging you in the room. In fact, the more important the room (NASDAQ), the more impressive the feat.

Message Is Secondary But Still Key

While nobody cancels a meeting with a celebrity (like you become if you take the mic often enough times), it’s critical what you say once you’re in that room. So, the celebrity status gets you the audience and the meeting. The rest is up to your message. And it better be about THEM, your prospect and THEIR pain.
Get out there and become a celebrity in your industry by picking up the mic and the pen and the video recorder as many times as you can and say relevant things about your prospects’ pain and you will quickly see that who you are truly is secondary to having the perfect message.
Want to reposition your messaging to grow your leads? Follow me on Twitter, friend me on Facebook, watch me on YouTubeor connect with me on LinkedIn –and let’s talk