In this WyzeCast™ episode, we are thrilled to welcome Farhana Cannon, a seasoned Global Brand Marketing Strategist, to share her invaluable insights on transforming your brand into a premium powerhouse and magnetizing high-value clients.

🌟 Key Takeaways:

1. The Art of Perception: Farhana will delve into the psychology of consumer behavior and explain how crafting a premium image can influence the way clients perceive your brand.

2. Premium Brand Elements: Discover the key elements that elevate your brand to premium status, from top-notch product quality to exceptional customer service.

3. Storytelling Mastery: Learn how to craft a compelling brand narrative that captivates and emotionally resonates with your target audience, making your brand unforgettable.

4. Pricing Strategies: Farhana will discuss pricing tactics that allow you to charge a premium for your products or services without scaring potential clients away.

5. Building Trust and Credibility: Explore strategies for establishing trust and credibility within your industry, making clients choose your brand over competitors.

6. Case Studies and Real-Life Examples: Gain insights from real-world success stories and practical examples of brands that have successfully transitioned into premium status.

7. Q&A Session: Farhana will answer burning questions from our audience, helping you address your unique challenges in positioning your brand as a premium choice.

If you’re looking to take your brand to the next level and attract high-caliber clients, this episode is a must-listen. Tune in and let Farhana Cannon guide you through the transformative journey of positioning yourself as a premium brand in your market. Your brand’s success story begins here! 🔥🎙️

Watch on YouTube – Premieres November 7th, 7 AM ET

Listen on Spotify

Melanie McSally
Welcome to another episode of WyzeCast™, the show that elevates the voices, shines the light, showcases the gifts of our heart-centered guests, and amplifies the positive differences they are making in the world.

I’m excited to bring our next guest to you today. She is a dear friend of mine. She’s a global brand marketing strategist with over 20 years of in-depth marketing experience, working with numerous speakers and coaches as well as lifestyle wellness and luxury brands. But I am actually going to let her tell you all about her business. Instead, I want to tell you about my friend. She’s energetic, passionate and caring. She can light up the room and make everything she does absolutely beautiful, which means she can also make your brand light up a room. She’s a social connector, she’s an intuitive, she’s an avid marathoner, and she travels the world. You need to know two things about traveling with this woman: one, you always need to be camera-ready when you’re out and about, and two, expect to have the most amazing experience. My name is Melanie McSally, your host for today’s episode, and without further adieu, I would like to welcome the beautiful, the kind, the gifted Farhana Cannon. Farhana is joining us from Massachusetts. Welcome Farhana. Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do.

Farhana Cannon
Hi, my name is Farhana Cannon, and I’m a global brand marketing strategist and the founder of iMedia Exposure and The Divine Brand Collective. I help business coaches and wellness brands tell their stories, share their purpose, attract more clients, and grow their sales.

Melanie McSally
Awesome. So, what are some of your top tips for companies to get more leads and grow their sales?

Farhana Cannon
When you’re looking to grow your brand, there are a couple of areas of your marketing that you should check in with to make sure that they’re resonating with your target demographic and aligned with your goals.

So, number one is to take a look at your branding. Is your branding sharing your story, your purpose, and your core values? Is it really connecting with your target audience? What does your aesthetic look like? Does it represent who you are and the feelings you want to create with the people you’re working with? Is it visually appealing? Does it look professional? Do the graphics, webpages, and things you’re using represent a high-caliber client or company? Those are areas where people make judgments in a couple of seconds. Think about websites you have gone on or social media pages that you’ve gone on where, within seconds, you’ve decided to purchase from that person without knowing much about them. People are also doing that when it comes to their first impressions when they’re seeing your brand material as well. So, take a look at your aesthetics and your messaging. Make sure they showcase you as you want to show up, resonate with who you want to connect with, and the feelings you want your target audience to have are represented. Ensure your branding is consistent across all platforms, social media, websites, emails, SMS, events, and event fliers are all in alignment.

Number two, you want to get really clear on who it is that you’re serving. I work with lots of different brands, and sometimes they say, ya, we work with anyone, and we can help anyone. And that’s awesome, and I totally believe that. However, when we are working on our marketing plan, we want to be very clear about who we serve. You can serve multiple people, and they could be slightly different or completely different. I like to set five target demographics or key personas and be very specific about who those people are. Where do you find them? What are their likes and interests? Where do you find them online? Knowing specifics about your target audience will help you when you’re studying ad campaigns or when you’re looking to partner with people. You want to be clear about their problems, how you solve those problems as a brand, how you communicate with them, how often, and where you communicate; each target demographic will be a little different—some like emails, some like text messages, and some like Instagram DM’s. So you want to really be specific on where, how frequently you communicate, and what kinds of things you talk about. People don’t want you to just continuously sell your product or service or just keep talking about the benefits of it. People want to know more about what your brand is about and what you’re committed to. Figure out some of the key pieces of information they are interested in that your brand kind of supports. So when you’re talking about your target, demographic, or ideal client, make sure to be very clear and know how to communicate and continuously communicate with them and create systems so that you stay top of mind.

Number three is to be clear about what your offers are. Make sure that people can find all the information about what you’re offering on your website and on your social media. Have people be clear; we think that people are clear because it’s clear to us. However, it might not be clear to them. And so I would suggest that if you’re a small to midsize company with 1, 2, or 3 core offerings, be very clear about those. Some brands do a la carte or customizations depending upon the client, and that’s fine too, but be clear about your offers. If you want to adjust and specialize for a specific client, you’re more than welcome to do so. With those offers, you also want to have a freebie lead magnet, like a lead capture or freebie offer; there are many names for this kind of offer. So, what this can be is, it can be a free workshop, it could be a free guide or ebook. There are many different kinds of free offers, such as a strategy call or a free trial. Now think about all the different free offers you’ve signed up for because it was something of value that you didn’t mind giving your email and phone number to receive because you really wanted that thing. I see people sign up for their newsletter as their freebie. However, that is not the best use of space unless you have a VIP exclusive, super important thing that people want in on because you’ve already built that engagement, traffic, and allure to your brand. If it’s just a regular newsletter, people don’t want more junk mail. So keep your freebie offers very insightful and make sure that it’s something of value that somebody’s going to want to purchase or lead into from your free offer; you want to make sure that those are aligned with your different offers. So if it’s something that is a little piece, a little taste of what it is that you actually offer, so that they’re interested, you hook them in, and they want more, and so then they want to go to that next step.

This leads us to number four, the sales and marketing funnel. This is your strategy for getting people, your target audience, into your funnels by that freebie offer and then creating a system of follow-up. We might think we get somebody on a strategy call or a consultation call, and we’ll follow up with them. But chances are we forget or may not fully leverage that original point of contact with this client because things come up, and we get busy. And so having your sales and marketing funnel with automation with emails, SMS messages, and points of contact could even be Instagram DM’s. The different pieces of content that you’re sending can also be informational, sharing about products and services, or bringing them into your community. There are many different ways to formulate your sales and marketing funnel alongside your marketing plan, including different kinds of outreach. So, number five is your outreach. So that’s getting in front of your ideal client. And you want to do this in multiple different ways.

It’s quite possible that you can use one form of outreach, but I suggest many different kinds of outreach. Create engaging social media content, plan out your content calendar, and make sure what you’re posting on social media is aligned with the content you’re sending out, like your weekly or monthly email blast. Make sure that content is also aligned with the videos, other kinds of content, and things you’re selling. You want to make sure that you’re posting on social media, engaging with people who are engaging with you, and then doing outreach. A little hack is if, say, you post something at 11 o’clock every day, then from 10:30 to 11:30, go on your preferred platform of posting and engagement and start chatting with people that could potentially be your ideal customer. You want to do outreach with ad campaigns to get people into your freebie offers, create partnerships and affiliate marketing, and create a community. You want to leverage the people that collaborate, build community, and get referrals as well. You can get on stages and on podcasts, get in front of your ideal client, wherever they are hanging out; there is no one set way to do it. When I’m suggesting to brands ways to really grow and get more sales and more followers, I have them focus on their branding, making sure it is sharing who they are, telling their story, connecting to their target audience, making sure to stay in communication with them, making sure it serves their needs, and providing them the information that they want and need—creating clear offers and freebie offers to lead people into your sales and marketing funnel. Having sales and marketing funnels that are doing those automations. Creating touch points so that your target audience or the people who are in your lead capture are learning more about you so that they’re incentivized and excited to purchase from you. And then doing outreach, whether it be through social media collaborations, ad campaigns, or referral affiliate networks. These are the key areas; once you’ve mastered these areas, move on and go further in depth in all of the different areas. This is the one top-level key focus if I were to say what you needed to strategize and focus to grow your business.

Melanie McSally
Wow, what a wealth of valuable information in there, Farhana. I love how you touch upon the fact that sales aren’t just based on doing one thing and doing it well. It’s about the flow, right? The flow of all those things, the steps people take when interacting with you. So, your brand needs to be aesthetically aligned with your target demographic so they resonate. Then, you need to provide them with an action to take and make it clear that they should take that action so they know what to do. Then, you need to make that step easy for them to take. In my experience, people leave websites when things become confusing, complicated, or challenging. What are some common mistakes you’ve seen entrepreneurs make that really hold them back from achieving their goals in business?

Farhana Cannon
Some mistakes that I see entrepreneurs making is they think they can do it all, but that does not actually save money because you’re spending all of this time, effort, energy, and resources actually learning how to do something that you may not be interested in or you may really kind of hate. Things like that are better just to outsource. Spend your time and focus on working with your clients and the things that you love doing. Outsource what you don’t love, what you’re not great at, that you don’t understand, or maybe just doesn’t come naturally to you.

Being in the community, you may think, oh, well, they’re a competitor, or I don’t want them to take my business, but, quite frankly, there is enough business to go around. If we collaborate, connect, and support one another, we can definitely have a greater impact and make more of a difference. By collaborating, you’re now leveraging your network as well as somebody else’s, and you’re both rising ships. I really love the idea of collaborating. Your clients will need various things. When people work with me, they need marketing, but then there are even areas of marketing that they need that I don’t focus on, so if somebody needs SEO, or if they need complex automation built out, or an app created, there are certain things that I have resources for, such as Melanie at WyzeTribe®, I refer all automation and the technical builds out; her and her team are really great for that and so we partner and refer business to one another. It just makes sense; I try to stay in my lane, focus on what I love doing and what I’m great at, and then partner with other people. Then there are other areas of business that my clients are all brands, and so they may need an accountant, or they may need a lawyer, or whatever it is that they need. So, I have connected with lots of different resources, and I love having this community because these are people that I trust and refer business to and who are also referring business back to me. And so I think that number one is thinking you need to do it all alone, whether it be like the actual doing all of the staff, or the actual, like working part, like having that community is super beneficial.

Another thing is doing too much. So they just go hard in one area but don’t focus on how everything connects to your marketing plan. So, for example, I know somebody that goes super hard on social media, Instagram in particular, and then I’m like, okay, so are you making money? Are people signing up? They said, “Well, nobody clicks on my website or signs up for anything.” I went and investigated and saw, okay, well, what they’re clicking on, there’s not really anything for them to buy, or that’s not really clear what the offer is. This can happen when brands do not see their marketing plan as a comprehensive strategy with many different components that need to be sorted for their business to grow. If you’re going to go hard on one thing, make sure that the next step in your process is going to lead to an actual sale. Don’t leave people guessing. Don’t require your target audience to figure it out. You need to have quick snapshots to actually grab and capture that lead. Another thing I see is people not really giving people an opportunity to give them money. Whenever I talk to anybody, I tell them to make sure it’s easy for people to give you money on any platform. You can go onto my website and find many ways to purchase and give me money; I think that is a very important factor. For many entrepreneurs, it may be difficult to actually sign up for a call to get going or get started unless it’s a product-based company.

Another thing that I see as missing is just being very clear about what your gifts are. I mean, even in marketing, there are so many components. I don’t really focus on all of the components. I’m really good at creating strategic marketing plans that are comprehensive, organized, and detailed. I’m really good at helping others create their plan. So, I create this plan that’s aligned, breaks things down, and has people create a structure so they can focus on their business step-by-step. I’m really great at branding and that static. So make sure your messaging resonates, and it connects with your audience, and looks professional. I see entrepreneurs doing those things that are probably creating more stress than they’re worth.

Melanie McSally
I couldn’t agree more. Be a chief executive officer, not a chief everything officer. I like to attribute this concept to a buffet versus a steakhouse; the quality of your steak at a buffet is not going to be the same as what you’ll get at a steakhouse. This is not to knock buffets, but buffets focus on having a variety of food for an affordable price. However, a steak house is focused on giving you the best quality steak cooked in the most excellent way possible. So Farhana, what do you think your superpower as a business owner is? And why should all entrepreneurs know what their superpower is?

Farhana Cannon
My background is in fashion merchandising management. I used to go to runway shows in New York City, and one of my superpowers was to look at a runway show of maybe 30 pieces and pick which items I thought were going to be in the windows at Bergdorf and Saks and all of the high-end department stores. And so, and I was normally right, and it was like my superpower. I would go to these fashion shows or watch them online. Then I would forecast them all out, and then I would go down Fifth Avenue in New York and look at the windows and be like, okay, I picked these items from the Paris Fashion Week, and these are the couple items that I picked to be best sellers, and I would think, yep, my superpower is working. So, I’m really good at creating aesthetics, and I like making people feel something from that aesthetic. So, I know my superpower is creating comprehensive and step-by-step strategies, extracting information from people, creating branding, storytelling, emotion-evoking, and creating content calendars that tell your story. Coming from magazines and being a stylist in New York City, I have lots of experience with creating content and making things look good, exciting, interesting, and good. As an entrepreneur, figure out your magic, focus, stay in that lane, and try not to do everything for everyone. I feel like that’s kind of the secret: share your magic and your gifts, be clear about them, and stay in your lane.

Melanie McSally
I certainly can attest to this superpower. I remember being at an event where the organizer wanted to take a group photo of all the attendees. They gave us t-shirts to wear so we would have a united brand; they wanted us to be in their brand. But these T-shirts, no joke, were the most hideous, bright yellow color, and they were so large, a linebacker could have fit in them, are linebackers big, anyway a big huge man could have fit in this T-shirt. Then the stubborn Irish person in me was like, I’m out; no, thank you. But you turned this shirt into this 80s-rock-off-the-shoulder dress. I was so impressed, and if I’m being honest, I was probably also a little jealous that you could just do this. Okay, so now that we know your superpower, how do you help brands grow? And what are some of the services that you offer? And

Farhana Cannon
I focus on branding, visual storytelling, and messaging, ensuring your aesthetic connects with your target audience and resonates with who you are and the gifts you share in your field. I also focus on creating sales and marketing funnels, on the whole marketing plan. Who you’re targeting, how you’re connecting with them, where are you showing up? Is it going to be social media? What does your content calendar look like for email marketing, events, or collaboration opportunities? We work on being your marketing team and creating your marketing plan that is going to be aligned with your goals. Usually, our goals are to grow sales, build brand awareness, and get more leads and so we create a marketing plan that does all that but in alignment with your offers, who you’re serving, and how you’re connecting. We work out all the little details, creating your website design, email marketing, outreach, setting up your events or your retreats, connecting with different communities, or putting you on stages. So we really work on that connection-building component of your marketing plan, as well as that brand awareness and really setting you up in the market. So people know who you are, what you do, and how they can connect with you.

I also offer a digital marketing course, which is a 10-week course that teaches people how to create their marketing plan. So it has videos, modules, templates, and guides, as long side group, once-a-week coaching sessions with me, and that goes for ten weeks. Anything that I do with my one-on-ones, we kind of go through this in a group setting; you get all the information, and you can do it yourself. So, these are my two key offerings.

I am also a speaker and a trainer. I speak at different events, and I have podcasts. I also have a community, The Divine Brand Collective. It is a membership community that incorporates a networking mastermind that’s all about building relationships, collaborating, bringing referrals, and supporting one another because the road to entrepreneurship is a lonely one at times. And so I’ve created this support system. It also has weekly resources for different workshops in the business and wellness space. Because I believe that our emotional health is important to care for, and without that, we can’t really move forward and succeed in our entrepreneurial journey. So, I’m mixing this wellness component with these business resources to provide a comprehensive community to support us in all areas. It also gives you access to different experts. So maybe there is one area that you need more support. You’ll be allowed to network and meet with these people, ask questions, and attend workshops. We’re also doing Moon ceremonies that will be a bit more casual and more about introspection. We also do wellness retreats that live in different cities across the US and different destinations. So I’m really committed to having people achieve their dreams and elevating the planet’s vibration by having people feel good in their hearts and have access to the resources they need to do what they want and also have that support system.

Melanie McSally
I love that you model what you preach. You have some digital and group offers to serve those demographics that are either new, and perhaps they’ve not yet developed their marketing budget, or for those DIYers that just want to do it themselves. Then you have done-for-you services for those brands that are either more well established and they’re ready to level up their brand or maybe they just have a healthy marketing budget and want some of yours superpowers. So, I know you offer complimentary consultations and a free marketing guide that our listeners can take advantage of. Readers, can click here to take advantage of your gift.

I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to have a recognizable brand. Just think Google, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Coca Cola. As I say these names, I’m sure images are flooding through your brain, appearing in your mind. This is the power of a good brand. Farhana is absolutely brilliant at creating brands in alignment with you and your business and making them stunningly beautiful. So, I encourage you to download this free media guide to get started. Sign up for a complimentary consultation, whatever you feel called to do.

Once again, I want to thank you for being our guest today Farhana. It has been such a delight and honor having you here today, listening to your wisdom, and experiencing your passion for elevating the vibration.

I want to thank our listeners for tuning in. If you like what you’ve heard here today, please do like, share, and comment. We are trying to get WyzeTribe™ to be a hot new release. So if you feel inspired, if you feel moved, if you feel called, if we earned it, please do like, share, and comment. It is free for you to do so and really helps the podcast grow. And we really do love your engagement.

This was another episode of WyzeCast™, the show that elevates the voices, shines the light, showcases the gifts of our heart-centered guests, and amplifies the positive difference they’re making in the world.

If you want to learn more about WyzeCast™, you can visit our wyzecast.com. We dropped ten episodes every month on the 21st, so you can binge-watch or spread them out over the month. Whatever suits your mood and lifestyle.

Once again, my name is Melanie. It has been my pleasure being your host today. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching, thank you for your engagement, and I invite you to come back and join me once again for our next episode of WyzeCast™.