Giving up too much too soon

It's been like a first date that I let move in right after he paid the check. Oopsie! My marketing consultants tell me that I need to save my big reveal for much, much later.

So I'll be paring down on what I show you as I move through this rebranding process. I don't want to give up too much information too soon. I'm told it's not supposed to make sense to the "outsider," which is why you'd be confused by the phrasing at this point. The information and statements that occur in the early phases of branding are more like the discovery phase in a trial. You don't yet know the extent of what all this information means. You're still digging and gleaning and uncovering. It's all just a big pile of facts and figures, concepts and ideas. It's not supposed to make sense yet.

I hadn't realized that. In fact, I hadn't realized I'm in step 1 of a 20-step process. Oh my!

But I get it. It's just like when I'm writing a short story, or anything especially personal. I learned early on not to show this writing to anyone else too soon. They're not privy to what I know and want to tell. They'll bring their own stuff in where it doesn't belong. And then I'll get confused. That's exactly what happened in this case.

So, if there's a lesson to learn about the rebranding, or branding, process in general, it's this: don't give up too much information too soon to potential clients. Let the information materialize, gell and take its proper form.

Lesson learned.

Have you ever been in a situation where you gave up too much too soon? Did it change the way you thought or felt about something, to the detriment of your own personal growth? If so, was it hard for you to reel yourself back in? 



 

More on the branding experience

My position statement:

Jackie Dishner is a motivational speaker, writer and author who inspires you with tales of her authentic life adventures.

This is what we came up with as a position statement. What does this say to you? Do you buy it, get it, understand what you might expect from me? Would you want to know more.

The consultants I'm working with helped me come up with this statement; it's what I'd say to you in a networking situation. It would be my elevator speech.

Your thoughts?

Authentic life adventures

Still working on the brand. Not easy work. And it's time-consuming, which, sorry to say, takes me away from the blog. In a meeting this week with my branding/marketing partners, this phrase came up:

authentic life adventures

They want me to use it in my positioning statement. I can do that. It very closely resembles what I write and speak about--and gives me a focus. But I'm curious to know if this is something other people want. So I'd like to know from you: what does the phrase mean to you? Do you want to learn more about authentic life adventures? Do you think you experience them? Would you want someone to share theirs with you? Do you relate in some way to this phrase?

I know it's a lot of questions, but I could use your input as I try to figure out what I'm really all about so I can sell it to the world. Remember, I'm working on creating a movement. I want to make positive impact on the world, and if I can do that through my authentic life adventures, I really want to narrow the focus and get started.

So, please tell me what this phrase means to you?

Thank you for your input.

When one brand equals more than one you

As I go through my branding process, educating myself on what message and image I want to share with the world, I realize my eclectic interests (writing, speaking, mountain biking) can prove to be a challenge.

What's new?

That's what we do here. We talk about life challenges and how to overcome them. Nothing, I realize, is undoable, unshakeable or unfixable. So I'm in the midst of figuring out how to combine all of my career interests (mountain biking as a career only in the way in which it helped create my BIKE philosophy) into one logo, one motto, one identity. And I know it's possible. I'm just not yet sure how to do it effectively.

I'm working and believing in the combo meal. I don't want to be supersized. But I want you to know if you get the writer, you get the speaker--and you get the mountain biker, too. I'm all of those rolled into one person, one personality, one woman.

But sometimes, it makes life confusing. Have you ever felt like this, as if you're being pulled in so many directions, that your skills far outnumber the time you have to use them, to make them worthwhile.

This past year, I must confess, I had to let the speaker part of me go. She had to go sit over there while the writer in me worked on her book over here. I let her out a few times, but now she's got some catching up to do. And the new author needs a rest.

Does that mean it's about balance? I think maybe it is. Each of the three interests I mentioned are interests I continue to enjoy. I don't want to give any of them up. I do want to know how to help them all work together cohesively. So that's what I hope the branding process will create--one person, one image, one logo.

If you're undergoing your own branding process, what challenges are you facing and what are you doing about it?