To stand out this way doesn’t mean you need to have a fancy logo or even a cool and quirky business name. The advertising strategies that big brands like Coca-Cola, Mastercard and Ford use aren’t much use in your business. I’m talking about putting more of your beliefs, opinions and personality into your marketing. But why is this so important?

Well, before we buy anything from anyone, we generally go through a clearly defined process of “Know, Like, Trust.” Prospective clients have to get to know, like and trust you before they buy from you. Some clients, if they meet you face to face, will like and trust you almost immediately, but more often than not, this process takes a bit of time. The more personality you put into your marketing, the faster a prospective client will move through the know, like, trust process.

Think about your own buying experiences in the past. If you need some work done in your house, unless it’s an emergency and you need someone double quick, you rarely just phone up a random gas fitter, electrician or decorator, sign up for their service and pay the cash straight away. You first ask for a quote, and then once they come round to your house, you’ll try and suss them out a bit before you buy. Or, you may ask a friend if they know anyone they can recommend, because a recommendation from someone you know means they are more trustworthy.

Any business you can get from word of mouth is great, but you can’t rely on just word of mouth. So, how do you get people to trust you enough to hand over money for your service, even when they have never met you before?

By using your personality, of course!

By putting more of your personality into your marketing, you will attract people who share your values and believe in the same things you do, and eventually want to use your services. It’s a cheesy saying, but you need your prospects to buy into you before they buy from you. And, it’s a lot easier for them to know what it is they are buying into if you are open and honest about who you are and what you are about in all your marketing literature.

There’s a big myth in business that you need to be “professional” all the time. Sadly, most people mistake being professional with being boring. I’m very professional with the coaching and marketing service I deliver, but I’m not afraid to put my personality into everything I do because I know that it helps pull the right kind of clients towards me, and these are the people I want to work with.

Here’s an example for you…

When I wrote my first book on dog training, I put all of my personality into the book, as well as the terrible training mistakes I had made with my own dogs and all of my beliefs about dog training. This immediately made my book different from any of the “politically correct” (boring) dog training books out there. Not many dog trainers approved of it, and many still don’t, but I don’t care because they aren’t the ones who were hiring me and paying me money. So, by being polarizing in my book, I pushed people away from me who were never going to buy my services anyway. It also drew in loads of dog owners who were suffering from the same problems as me. These people loved their dogs dearly, but they were frustrated as hell that their dogs wouldn’t listen to them. These were real people who live their lives the same way as I do.

The point I’m making is, one of the key reasons my business is so successful is because I put my beliefs and my personality front and center. And I try to do this in all my marketing. My podcasts are opinionated and forthright, and my daily emails are the same. I do this for a reason. I don’t want someone who might be considering hiring me to be shocked and appalled by the way I speak when they meet me. And this isn’t me putting on an act. How I’m speaking in this article is how I would talk to you in person.

I don’t expect you to throw this article down and break into a chorus of “I am what I am;” in fact, it may not suit you to be as forward in your business as I am in mine. But even if you don’t want to put your whole self into your marketing, you should still put more of your opinions and beliefs into your marketing for the simple reason that it will make it easier for you to attract the type of clients into your business that you really want to work with.

Is there an issue that affects your prospects’ dogs that they aren’t aware of? Then talk about it in your marketing and you will attract more of the clients who are suffering from that problem. Do you have a specific skillset that suits a certain kind of dog or owner? Then make a point of talking about that in your newsletters, emails and social media posts. Do you have strong feelings about how dogs should be groomed and cared for at home? Then educate your community by creating guides, tip sheets and how-to videos on social media.

Don’t just tell people what to do, tell them WHY you recommend doing it that way. This method of putting your personality into marketing works like gangbusters at repelling the clients that really aren’t a good fit for you and would be better served going somewhere else.

Remember, you can be professional without being boring, and you can use your personality to drive up your profits and enjoy yourself more, all at the same time.

Dom Hodgson is Europe’s leading pet business coach, and is known as the Pet Biz Wiz. His mission is to help pet service providers create superior customer service systems that enable them to build an impactful and profitable pet business. Dom has written over 9 books, and is a much in-demand speaker. You can instantly download a free copy of his latest book “How to Disnify Your Pet Business” by going to www.petbusinessmarketing.com/magic