WHY YOU SHOULDN'T POSITION YOURSELF AS A BIG BAD CEO

Morning!Today's email will be unlike any of the last 55 emails I've sent. I really wanted to talk about a strategy that nobody seems to be talking about. There was no specific company I could think of that has nailed this down, so I thought f*ck it, I'll just take a new approach to Growing Viral this week.

I've got an awesome topic for you and it's super relevant at the minute with all this selfie or no selfie talk on LinkedIn - you'll see what I mean. It's an absolute cracker, I hope you enjoy!The agenda:- Why bad brands work- How being an authority doesn't always have to be the goal- Why you should consider looking average

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As you probably know, I've been in the personal branding space for about 2 years now. Which means convincing every man and their dog that they need to be an "Authority in their space" has become a very common activity. However, after starting my agency and finally being in that CEO position, I've had to think long and hard about all this authority stuff and figure out how I could get there myself.

This week I began discussing the topic with my ex-boss and now good friend, Sam Winsbury, and he enlightened me to the idea that being an authority is to some businesses a hindrance more than a help.

Let's get into it...

Being an authority is amazing - for some

First things first, becoming an authority in your space is PRICELESS to most business owners. If you want high-ticket clients you don't really have a choice. They won't work with no slap-dash freelancer-type agencies. They want that established business archetype. They want the big team and the 1 million and 1 briefs and docs all done in Microsoft Word (exclusively). Corporate loves corporate (9 times out of 10).

What people forget though is that every business out there aren't these big corporate organisations and being a big bad CEO doesn't mean your business will be more successful.

Looking like a big bad CEO isn't always the best

It looks great being a big bad CEO. You're PR trained, don't show any emotion, and are impossible to reach. Like I said above, generally, the big bad CEO approach works amazingly for getting high-ticket clients. But that doesn't mean it's the best approach to go with every single time.

Do you think the family bakery wants to message a big bad CEO? Do you think the family vet clinic wants to talk to the big bad CEO? Do you think 1 man band mother who's selling cupcakes online wants to talk to the big bad CEO?The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT X3.

Those people would feel completely out of their depth approaching a big bad CEO (I have no idea where this phrase came from, but I'm liking it). Yet, these people still need marketing, web design, accountants, graphic design work, and more. They're still businesses and they need the same services the 8-figure businesses do too! So who do they turn to?The smiley approachable relatable person that they know.They trust them, they feel comfortable reaching out and their services are within their budget. It's the perfect match.

People forget that high-ticket clients aren't the only clients out there. There are thousands of 6-figure businesses to service too!That being said, the last thing you want to do is try and serve both...

Floating in the middle will kill you

Positioning yourself as the top dog in your space will be great for business. Positioning yourself as the relatable, approachable freelancer type will also be great for business. But, floating in the middle will kill you.

You can't have one foot in and one foot out. Otherwise, you'll catch yourself in a position where the big high-ticket clients won't touch you and the low-ticket clients will think you're too big to even approach you - it's the worst-case scenario.

You've got to pick one (especially when starting out) and double down!

Think Goldilocks

We've all heard the Goldilocks story right? One bowl of porridge is too hot, one too cold, etc etc. Well, it's the same in business, apart from some clients like their porridge hot and others like it cold - it all depends on preference. What you have to do is identify which type of clients you're going after and then understand their preference.If they like their porridge hot, have it steaming when you serve it. Similarly, if they are renowned for having small budgets and a history with freelancers. Position yourself as that approachable, relatable type.

Summary

At the end of the day, it all comes down to what sort of business you are looking to build. Do you want 100 clients all paying £500 per month or do you want 25 paying £2000? Both are perfectly fine and both amount to the same outcome - it just depends on what business/agency you want to build.Some people would disagree and say that it will take a lot more employees, work, overheads etc to service 100 clients rather than 25 paying £2000. In 90% of cases that would probably be true. But if you have killer systems to provide 1 low-cost service it would actually take a lot less effort than to provide a multi-pronged service for 25 clients who are all expecting big outcomes.

Personally, I have been in the dreaded "floating" stage recently. Before starting the business I was more than happy to be the smiley happy-go-lucky Niall on socials. In fact, doing that led to me getting 8 clients by week 2, and 18 by month 4. But the truth is the majority of high-level CEOs would stay well clear of my cheesy grin.

So, as all the great writers recommend, my LinkedIn content from now on is going to be focused on writing for one person - my target clients. For me, that's a high-level respected CEO/CMO that works for a service-based business with 20+ employees. That doesn't mean you'll never see me cheesing on LinkedIn again, but it does mean I have to direct more of my content to the people I want to be reading it. As I said, the last thing you want is to be floating in the abyss where both the low-ticket and high-ticket clients aren't going to touch you.

It might seem ironic saying this after I've harped on for 5 minutes about how it's okay to not be a big bad CEO. But my point here was that it's not about being one thing or another. You don't always need to be this crazy big CEO. You just need to be the person your dream clients want to work with.

If after reading this you're thinking shit, what do I need to do next... Well, here's a step-by-step of everything I just said:1. Pick who you want to service2. Understand their provider preference 3. Position yourself as someone they want to work with

That's it for today, enjoy your Sunday!

— Niall

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