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In many situations, sitting down is a position of weakness, but not always. Here are two scenarios where taking a seat means you keep your influence. When you feel you are more important than the person greeting you. I know that sounds bad, but it is true. If someone comes to greet you and you are already seated. You stand to meet them as a sign of respect. If you don’t feel respect is needed, there is no need to stand. When someone wants to talk business. Many times we feel like we have to be top dog or should I say “talk dog” to win a business negotiation. And yes, biologically, the bigger opponent wins, but not always. If you are already seated, staying seated is “standing” your ground. Also, if you can have the other person “come down to your level” by sitting next to you- you have the upper hand. It is in these situations where the knowing intention is way more valuable than getting trapped in the standard societal protocol.

I love summer because, like the holidays, many people stop thinking about business. And while they are off playing, this is the perfect opportunity to uplevel your brand. Rolling in on my 25th birthday working with brands next month, there are a few common areas that most people let slip by yet create the greatest impact. And the funny thing is that these areas are super simple to execute; we just get overwhelmed, throw up our hands and say, “Forget about it.” 1.Uplevel your customer experience Let’s get real. There is no brand out there that has the perfect customer experience. From before, during, or after the sale- there are ways to make the relationships with our audiences more on point. Here are the most common areas people miss the details on: Languaging. Be consistent with your tone and terms. If you are playful in person, write and post with playful wit. If you refer to your clients with a special term of endearment (I call my community my clan), use such language throughout. High Touch Point. We live in the day and age that we are being sold automated over the interaction. The truth is no one wants the automated “canned” response. No one wants your 5 step system. Your audience wants you. They want a personal connection and interaction. So make that happen consistently throughout your process. Don’t Be Obsessed With The Sale. Yes, you are a business which means you need to make money but don’t be solely focused on the transaction. And it is far too easy to drop any connection or interaction with a customer as soon as their money is in your hand. And you know from personal experience that no one likes to feel they are desired solely for their money. Your customers want the relationship, and honestly, you do too. Create customer experiences that work for you and your audience. Think of the details of the relationships. And be cool. 2.Uplevel Your Visuals Please hear me (and I mean hear me as if I am one of those Discover credit card actresses) “Visuals Matter, People!!!” Your visuals, from your website to your Facebook lives to your social media posts to your business cards- your visuals matter. Invest time into making them interesting and on brand. The brand does NOT mean the same colors, always with your logo on it or some other kitschy element. On-brand visuals are all about capturing the feeling and tone of your brand. Here are a few ways to uplevel your brand visuals: Stock Photos Matter. Free stock photos look like free stock photos, and the first ones you see are usually the most overused. Take time and build stock photo galleries filled with pics that reflect what you are about. Choose pictures in which the look, tone, and feel of the stock pictures are in alignment with your custom brand pictures. Good Audio and Lighting Are Key. When it comes to pictures and videos for your website, social media, or for any reason, make sure to have your lighting and audio on point. Be Expressive (aka don’t edit yourself). Far too often, we edit ourselves and don’t even know it. Though self-editing is crucial, editing your voice, sense of humor, or world perspective is detrimental to your brand’s success. So share your unique perspectives with your audience. 3.Uplevel Your Offer. You know it, and I know it, over time, what we offer eventually just feels flat. It either isn’t as in-depth and complete as it could be, or there is another problem that could be solved. Think about it this way, could your offer be: Expanded. After a while of offering one service or product, there is that next level that we begin to naturally offer our clients. For example, after many years of just offering branding services, the needs of my clients meant that I started to help them more and more find and execute marketing services. These “new” services that came about organically could be new known revenue streams for you. Better Defined. Many times defining and sharing all the transformational and sometimes logistical details of what you and or your product provide get lost in translation along the way. You skip over keeping values because they are commonplace to you. Invite a fresh perspective to share the “what” and “why” that makes your brand great. New Opportunity. Entrepreneurs go two ways: too many ideas or fear of all ideas. And though both can be negative, don’t let the fear and risk of a new opportunity stop you from expanding your reach. While others get lost in the nostalgia of the summer months or the overwhelm of the kids being home- use this opportunity to uplevel your game and your brand’s ultimate success.

Have you noticed that everything is a negotiation? At least people feel that way. Let’s negotiate the price, relationship, deliverables, timeframe, and scope- things that make absolutely no sense people feel are negotiable. Some things are simply nonnegotiable Here is how to create the “nonnegotiable” influence without ever having to say it. Stand your ground literally. The simple act of standing gives you your greatest strength, and it shows. Keep your voice on an even keel. When we are nervous, we tend to raise our vocal tones, and that raised tone at the end of thought can turn the statement into a question open for discussion. Be head-on. Whether it is video conferencing or in person, face the other person and the situation head-on. Stay open. When we are nervous, we tend to put barriers, a purse, notebook, or table, between ourselves and the other person. Being bare in this situation shows strength and unapologetic nature. So remove the barriers. Wear black. Or any dark color for that matter. In Western society, the darker the color, the more professional the person or situation is viewed. If you don’t want to negotiate, you don’t have to.

Being nervous happens. Nervous to close the deal, take the stage, meet the future step kids- being nervous is part of life. But you don’t have to let your sweaty palms, wobbly knees, and butterfly-feeling stomach control you. The biological response to being nervous is our fight or flight mode in overdrive. Too much adrenaline flooding our system that it has no idea what to do with it all, and because you aren’t running for your life away from a mountain lion- your body rids itself in sweats, shakes, and the occasional pukes. All of these things create poor nonverbal communication skills. But when you begin to feel the signs of extreme nervousness, consider the following solutions: Move. If it is running a marathon or walking across the stage. Just move. Hold your core in. By holding your abdominal muscles in, you are allowing yourself to stand up as straight as possible, which means you can breathe, but you are also bringing more blood flow to the area. Pause and be in the moment. Our nervousness comes from us thinking about the future. Stop. Take a breath and enjoy the people and experience at hand. When you learn what combination works best for controlling your nervousness, you will have your nonverbal communication and influence back on track.

The art of influence is more of an energy and perception than anything else. We often talk about influence concerning others, but what about ourselves? The truth is you influence yourself more than anyone else. What you say about yourself, beliefs, how you move and do- you are setting yourself up for your future life. No matter if that is one filled with adventures and victories or mediocrity and drama- what you say, do, think, and feel right now is creating your future life. You are influencing yourself. Pretty scary and pretty fabulous too. How do you influence yourself for the better? Watch the self-talk. Be conscious about the self-talk that automatically plays inside your head. This inner critic may seem harmless, but it wields great power over nonverbal communication. As we all know, if “we feel fat,” we go around “acting” that way. Rituals. Rituals may feel ol’ school, but brains love them. Rituals set our mind, body, spirit, and mindset up for success. Create a morning ritual, work ritual, end of the day ritual before the big sales meeting ritual. Rituals, when consistently acted out, prime us for success. Get dressed. Yes, your clothes matter! Use your clothes as visual cues to you and the people around you about your actions. Take off your gym clothes and put on your work clothes. The idea of ‘dressing for success” isn’t just a great tagline. It’s the truth. Take back the power of influence in your life. It is a responsibility that will reap huge rewards.

Working with businesses over the last 20 years, it's easy to see how people discount their instincts. We discount our instinct, especially in situations like a business where we don't feel secure in our knowledge. Honestly, we want to put the onus and the ownership of what we do on somebody else because of our insecurities, yet our instinct is truly where our intelligence is at. Your intelligence is something that no one else, no expert out there, can duplicate. Far too often, we go down the wrong path in life and business simply because we allow and assume someone else's intelligence is better than our own. We discount our instinct because it doesn't make sense, or who are we, or any of the other social stories based around a false sense of humility. The truth is that our instinct is our intelligence. Our instinct shows us the right path. We would achieve more in life if we trusted our gut than somebody else. How can you get in tune with your instinct? Pause. We have to pause. We have to stop moving so quickly in life. It is hard to listen to that still, small voice inside you if you're going a million miles an hour. If you have all this outside information coming in at you, you must be able to pause and have space for yourself to know how to learn and discern your instinct. When you understand that, then you can begin to understand and hear that instinct calling. Overcoming Logic. Sometimes though, even though you hear the instinct calling, you still ignore it because it's not logical. Here's the thing. None of this in life is planned or logical. No one truly knows what they're doing. Yes, there are guidelines and social stories, but the truth is your road is truly your distinct road. Only you will truly know the best way of doing it. So even if logic doesn't say that's the right path, if in your heart of hearts you know this is what you're supposed to be doing. Do it. Even if it's the wrong decision, at least you can't regret it because you at least chose it. Choose. When you put the onus on somebody else, you do what they say, and if it doesn't work out, two things happen. You become the victim because you say it's all their fault because you don't choose. It's harder for you to hear that still, small voice and remember what needed to be done in the first place. So then, you get lost, and you get yourself completely confused about what's going on. Gut Before Science When it comes to understanding, your instinct is to acknowledge that science does not understand everything. Understand that a higher power beautifully and wonderfully makes you with your heart, gut, and mind all working together for our greater good. Trust the fact that you were born on this planet. Born into the country, the family, and the situation you currently have. it is all going to work out in the end if you simply have faith and trust your gut. Give yourself space to hear your gut. Choose yourself over anyone else's well-meaning knowledge. Remember, in the end, all of this is a beautiful design that we're a puzzle piece in the master puzzle, At some point, we'll see it all, but right now, it's our job to fit where we fit in. We do that by trusting our instinct.

Being influential or an influencer is a buzzword. The truth, though, is that you have to be influential with intention, meaning that you don't want to influence just anybody. You want to influence the right people the right way—as we say, intelligent influence. How in the world can you not just influence the masses but influence the right masses? It truly does just simply start with your intentions. So simple, yet so powerful. When you know exactly who you want and the types of relationships you're trying to create, the right people show up. When you are clear about what you're trying to do in the world, the transformation you're trying to create, the right people show up. The right people only show up when your intentions are consistently clear, meaning that you're clear about the people today, tomorrow, and the next day. You're clear about your passion today, tomorrow, and the next day. That it's not what's your latest fad, you're interested in today, and it is gone tomorrow. It's about being intentionally clear 24/7/365 and consistently showing up with that intention for you to be influential for your audience and, more importantly, influential to the masses at large. If you want to influence the people that truly need your message, your passion, and your heart, then you have got to be clear about your intentions from the get-go.

What is your endgame? In today's influencer-driven social proofs-driven society, most of us don't have a clear endgame of what this looks like. We just think more: more followers, more likes, more engagement. That must equal more sales. That's not the case when it comes to creating social proof. More is not always better. If you are unclear about the endgame of what it is for your business and brand when it comes to creating social proof and influence, you will be sadly disappointed. Just like when it comes to success, if you aren't clear on what those terms mean to you. If you aren't clear about what that looks and feels like for your brand, you'll never get there. What are the endgame for your brand and social proof? Is it just people are aware of what you do and who you are because you have that social awareness? Is it that you have a deep, loyal follower group? Maybe it isn't the numbers, but the people who know you, like you, trust you and use you. Or maybe social proof for you is simply the fact that you don't have to worry about the numbers. Or maybe it's all about the numbers because you need numbers to get those media appearances you're going for or those speaking events. You have to be clear about what social proof does for your business. Does it equate to direct sales, or does it give you a stepping stone for other opportunities? It's completely different for different brands and times in a brand's life cycle. Be clear on what is the next step that social proof needs to do for you. If you're not clear about this, you'll never get there. Understand your endgame to understand the true social proof game you're playing.

Now you may think that style is all about looking good, and trust me, that’s part of it. But the truth is that your style is one of the easiest ways to expedite your success. Yep, you read that right. Your style is the secret sauce to living your success way sooner. Why? Because of your style, what you wear is a subconscious cue to your mind on what you should be doing, acting, saying, thinking, and being. And just as in the law of attraction, you must think for the universe to help manifest it. The same holds with your subconscious mind. Whatever it believes, it will make it a reality. You can bet on it. When you up your style game and begin to consistently dress for the type of person, professional, expert, or entrepreneur you want to be - things begin to change fast. Doors open, and you are ready to say “yes” to them. Yes, dressing the part does mean you will play the part. So use your style to your advantage by dressing as the successful woman of your childhood daydreams.

What is your next passion project? The idea of having a passion project or a side hustle is very much in vogue. Far too often, we aren't ridiculously passionate about our actions. And, when we lack passion in our lives, we lack truly living and truly going for it. What's your next passion project? What is it that you have been secretly desiring to do? Why haven't you taken action on doing it? When you don't have a secret desire or passion for your life, then you don't play all-in for your life. You just start doing life but not living your life. If, by chance, you're wondering exactly what your passion is, think back to the last time you jumped out of the bed happily. When you were literally that excited that you could not sleep for all the good reasons. When you reconnect with where that is in your life, it's easy to reconnect with your next passion project. And if you're saying, "Well, hey, that's what I do every single day. I love my business. I love my brand. I love what I do every single day," then what are you doing to up-level that? What are you doing to make that better? To be better for yourself and for everyone you have relationships with? How can you create a better experience for you and them? How can you transform this world more, leave a stronger legacy, and play all in on a deeper level? Even when we live our passions daily, it's easy to make them vanilla and take all the excitement out of them. Having passion and passion projects in your life are what make life exciting. It's like having those summer romances. It makes you excited for life. Things are electric. And, yes, you need to have that in your life to remind yourself why you're here and, more importantly, change the world, which is why you're here.

The idea of leaving a legacy, having your life matter, having your work matter long after you aren't on this earthly planet, in this three-dimensional world, is something that, well, is part of human nature. It's more and more trendy now as entrepreneurs to want to make sure that their time, their effort, and work isn't just producing an income and a lifestyle for now but it's leaving a legacy for their children and the world in the end. How do you create a legacy? Well, it's all by design. Building a legacy requires you to be intentional about it. On some level, yes, your everyday actions add up in the end, but if you aren't intentional about what you're doing, where you're doing it, and when you're doing it, you're never going to get there in the end anyway. Just because you have a puzzle in front of you with all the pieces. If you aren't intentional about putting it together, it doesn't just happen. The same holds with building a legacy you will be proud of in the end. Truly creating a legacy is as simple as being intentional. Intentional about what you want to deliver in the end. Intentional about making consistent choices and consistent actions that will get you there. Intentional about making sure that your energy, be it your tone of voice, your vibrational energy, or how you just simply show up in the world, all add up to the type of person you want your legacy to be about. As long as you keep your intentions clear and you keep your focus going in the same direction, in the end, your legacy will begin to develop. And along the way, there'll be more choices to make, more choices to bring you closer to the legacy you want. But it all begins and ends with the intentions you have.

Understanding why a customer won’t say “yes” keeps many a marketer, brander, and empire builders up at night. When faced with this problem we look at the numbers. Because it must be the numbers, right? Wrong. 9 times out of 10, it has nothing to do with the numbers. It has everything to do with the perception of the offer. No one wants to buy the logistics: 3 one hour sessions with you, one pair of jeans, a 15-minute consult- people are buying the outcome, not the logistics. So when you run into a buying problem, you haven’t sold the outcome well enough. The outcome goes beyond you are going to now own a pair of jeans or you will be clearer on what you want to do for a living. The outcome is that you will walk boldly and be fearless in those jeans because you know you look and feel good. The outcome is that all your hard work won’t be wasted trying this or that- all of your efforts and focus will be funneled into one purpose and cause that matters greatly to you. The outcome is that where they feel weak, they will feel empowered. Where they feel insecure, they will find strength. We must retrain our brains on what our audience wants and what they receive. We have to see past the tangible and go into the terrain of the heart of what motivates, drives, and moves our audience. We must blend neuro human branding® and impression management. Why these two specialties? Well, Neuro Human Branding® creates an offer rooted in your audiences’ biology, psychology, subconscious mind, and social stories. But that alone may not be enough, especially if you are face to face with potential clients. That’s where Impression Management comes in. We have to understand on an intuitive, instinctive, and empathetic level what outcome our potential clients is needing and help guide them into discovering the right solution for them (and no, that does not always mean your product or service is the right fit for them) Being able to blend these two arts doesn't just save you from worrying about why a potential customer isn’t saying “Yes,” it allows you to minimize these awkward moments altogether because you will no longer view your offer in the logistics. You will view it as the life transformation it truly is.