Asking for a sale is a relational proposition. And relationships have rules.

→ Donald Miller, Marketing Made Simple

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Nobody will want to start a romantic relationship with you unless they feel as though you can solve a problem they have.

Maybe that problem is loneliness. Maybe she needs someone else to make her feel worthy. Maybe you offer him an upgraded sense of his social status.

Whatever the problem is, you will only make sense to them if you appear to offer a roadmap to alleviating it.

Your brand isn't that different.

Every potential member, client, or customer has a problem they are in trying to solve. Maybe it's a lack of confidence, or accountability, or time. Maybe they want to appear on-trend or off. Maybe they want to signal to the world that they're first-movers or members of a specific tribe.

Whatever it is, identifying it helps you design a more effective product or service.

Doing so requires work. It requires you to dig a bit deeper than the obvious. (Yes, perhaps he wants to lose weight...but why? What will that get him? Who will he become when he does?)

Do that & you'll be able to differentiate between appropriate decisions & those that aren't. You'll be able to create an onboarding process or a marketing plan that respects the full gamut of their challenges.

You'll be able to design yourself in such a way that you'll earn just a little bit more trust each step of the way.

All relationships - familial, romantic, or commercial - are built on trust.

The better you understand how you fit into their journey of solving their specific problems, the better chance you have of earning the kind of trust that builds upon itself.

It helps to start early. Like, way before you ever ask them out on a date.

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Functional Branding exists to help change-makers make change. If you feel high on passion & hunger, but low on strategy, I can help. Just hit reply. Let's talk.