I always love the fresh start of a new year.
Last week I left you with a little cliffhanger.
We looked at how I originally came up with the name “Vocal Impact Productions” eleven years ago, why it was the right fit at the time, and why it’s time to shed that skin to grow into a new vision heading into the future.
So today, both here and in this week’s podcast episode I want to do two things:
First, I want to share the brand-communication lessons I personally learned along the way.
And second – of course – I’ll share the new branding that came as the result of this discovery journey, in hopes that it will give you some food for thought and self-reflection on your own personal or company brand.
Simply put, there were four core brand-messaging lessons I have learned along the way.
1.“What got you here won’t get you there.” – As Marshall Goldsmith’s famous book indicates right in the title, it’s crucial to realize when original goals, reasons, and methods are no longer suitable for the current state of affairs, or future goals and ambitions.
The original focus on “Vocal Impact,” while once a powerful differentiator, a decade later has become a limitation. As one client described my work, “It’s about so much more than language; it’s about strategy!” A new brand needed to be able to reflect that expanded value proposition.
2.What keywords or framings does your target audience value, and more importantly, which are they willing to invest in?
Entering into the coaching and consulting world from an academic/research background 15 years ago, my descriptions of my services weren’t hitting home. Over the years, I learned the (now obvious) terms like leadership, executive presence, and succession planning, all of which are commonly (financially) supported areas for development.
3.How do your clients and fans describe your value?
Even though I help clients define their value as part of my job, it’s still hard for me to crystallize my own core value proposition sometimes. Listening to how others have described my work over the years has yielded some extremely valuable and pithy take-aways, e.g.:
a. “You’re an influence coach.”
b. “It’s about strategy!”
c. “You get rid of the ‘mist’ …that obscures what I’m trying to say”
d. “(you’ve been) instrumental in a couple of promotions… as I navigate my personal brand”
e. “It’s so much more than vocal impact.”
4.Success leaves clues: what’s working for other leaders in that space? Looking at modern thought leaders in leadership-related fields, such as Brené Brown, Simon Sinek, Marshall Goldsmith and others, one pattern was evident:
When the individual IS the brand, no matter how many people are working for him/her, the name of the person IS the name of the company and the website.
That’s why now – as you’ve probably deduced – the name “Vocal Impact Productions” is going away, and I’m owning my name for all its value. My new website is https://laurasicola.com, which is why I have asked you to whitelist laura@laurasicola.com in previous messages.
And of course, at the top of this newsletter you saw my fun new logo (special thanks to Kathy Moncelsi at Little Chisel Designs for her talent and patience in coming to this awesome new look.)
One little extra detail you may have noticed in the logo is the pair of descriptors at the bottom: “Linguist / Strategist”. They serve to highlight a core differentiator, in background and approach, between me and other executive coaches (who are free to represent themselves any way they choose.)
As today is the first day of the launch, there are sure to be little glitches and edits to the website, so please feel free to bring them to my attention and help us through those initial “growing pains.”
Rest assured, the one thing that has NOT changed is my commitment to helping you master the Three Cs so that you can
- Command the room
- Connect with the audience, and
- Close the deal
In any context!
And to kick off the new year with some fuel to that mastery, you can also tune in to a great conversation I had with Karan Rhodes, on the “Lead at the Top of Your Game” podcast.
Some highlights of our conversation include:
1.What challenges hinder leaders from enhancing their effectiveness in their roles?
2.How impactful is storytelling in constructing a robust leadership brand and being perceived as a go-to expert?
3.What five speech pitfalls may undermine authority or influence during a presentation?
4.How relevant is the inclusion of humor or laughter in presentations?
5.What's the critical advice for regaining control of a presentation amidst challenges or tough questions?
Other listening/watching platform links to Karan’s show are available here.
