Jason Vana

Marketing Director

SHFT Agency

We transform B2B service companies into the ONLY choice for their ideal customers. Our clients see a 20%+ increase in revenue with our brand and content strategies. 

Here's how we help:

◼️ Brand Strategy (customers, uniqueness, messaging, touchpoints, story)
◼️ Brand Design (logos, colors, fonts, collateral)
◼️ Content Strategy (demand gen, content creation)
◼️ LinkedIn (strategy, content, profile audits)

Interested in learning more? DM me or book a discovery call below.

Founder & CEO

Ignite Student Ministries, Inc.

Leading the team at Ignite Student Ministries, an international non-profit operating in the USA and Czech Republic, focusing on creating vision, developing partnerships, training leaders, public speaking and developing business plan to grow ministry. This also involves developing marketing materials and writing all online and print copy for promotional items and faith-based resources.

Founder / Executive Director

Fusion Tech Integrated Inc.

Develop and execute a strategic plan for growing Fusion Tech, including inbound and outbound marketing, event marketing, lead generation and sales funnels, creative direction, and developing campaign-specific content.

Notable Achievements:

Increased company revenue by $3.5 million and market share by 35% in 1.5 years.
• Researched product market to determine marketing strategy.
• Designed brand deliverables, including creatives and content style.
• Developed inbound and outbound campaigns to drive leads, including LinkedIn marketing, content marketing, advertisements, tradeshows, training seminars, white papers, ebooks, catalogs, and Google Adwords.
• Established KPI’s and marketing analytics.
• Trained and assisted sales team in developing content to close deals.

Developed company as a top brand in the food processing industry.
• Identified trends within the industry to focus sales and marketing tactics.
• Created strategic plan to grow marketing and sales effectiveness.
• Developed relationships with industry publications to publish company supplied articles and photographs.
• Implemented content marketing strategy to establish the company as the leader in service and support.

Graphic Designer and Brand Consultant specializing in logos, marketing and advertising pieces, web and print copywriting, social media creation and design, print design, digital design and branding strategy.

Marketing Consultant / Graphic Designer

Sweet Fish Media

Providing content and ideas for various businesses, organizations, and churches to expand their content marketing plan, including blog posts, headlines, giveaway ideas, and more.

Freelance Writer

Northwoods Community Church

Creating visual pieces to support both all-church and ministry-specific initiatives, spanning print, web, mobile and video. Administering websites, social media, online messages, mobile apps and related tools. Writing copy for various pieces, including web, social media, church blog posts, marketing materials, and more.

Communications Associate

Carl Sandburg College

Part of the Marketing and Public Relations team at Carl Sandburg College responsible for social media, internal event promotion, partial graphic design and first impressions for visitors.

College Ambassador

River of Life International Church

Part of the Pastoral Staff at River of Life International responsible to plant and oversee a college ministry, develop student leaders, preach, coordinate public service projects and handle all marketing projects.

College Pastor and Marketing Manager

United Campus Housing Management Group

Leading the team at The OC Student Living responsible for managing nine employees, developing and implementing marketing plans, handle all leasing, set and maintain operating budget, payroll and coordinate all open house events.

Managing Director

GateHouse Media

Led the Advertising Sales team for the McDonough County Shopper responsible for analyzing sales trends, planning promotions, supervising sales team, oversee account list and hitting sales goals.

Assistant Advertising Manager

Attract the RIGHT customers to your business | Brand & content strategist | Founder at SHFT | Known as #sassyjason

Struggling to attract the right clients?

You have a brand strategy issue.

Attracting the right people requires understanding why they should buy from YOU, when there are 1000’s of other options easily accessible through Google.

In order to attract, convert, and retain the right clients, you need to:

- Know what makes your business unique
- Communicate what makes your business unique
- Create an experience that shows what makes your business unique

It’s all about highlighting your uniqueness.

That’s where my agency steps in.

Through collaborative workshops, research, design, and content we will help you uncover, communicate, and build an experience around your uniqueness.

Working with us typically looks like:

- strategy workshops 
- design (logos, website, templates)
- content (strategy, creation, LinkedIn)

All of this so you will become the ONLY choice for your ideal customers.

And make a lot more money.

Want to learn more?

Send me a message.
Or book a call at shft.agency/discovery 

Brutally honest advice I'd give to my first-time founder self.

That would have saved me time, money, and heartache.

1. Focus

Yes, you can do everything from Google ads to content to website design.
No, you shouldn't offer it all.

You excel at brand strategy.

Sell that and only that.

2. Define Success

You'll be tempted to chase after something you don't even want.

And listen to those who are building something you'll hate.

Determine what success looks like to you.
Chase that.

3. Trust Your Gut

The biggest mistakes you make will come when you ignore your gut.

I don't care how awkward it may be.
I don't care if it means having hard conversations.
I don't care if you have to part ways with someone.

Your gut will save you time, money, and a lot of heartache.

Listen to it.

4. Hire the Right People

The wrong people will make you feel like sh*t about yourself.

And stall your business big time.

Stop letting your visionary side blind you from what's in front of you.

Hire slowly.
Fire quickly.

5. Stop second-guessing yourself.

You are a bad-ass entrepreneur.
You know what you're doing.
And you're going to build an epic business.

Stop listening to the voice in your head that tells you otherwise.

It's a furking liar.

6. Have Fun

Don't take yourself too seriously.

This business thing can be a sh*tload of fun, if you let it.

Take breaks.
Enjoy the journey.
And be your magnificently weird self.

7. Build a solid community.

Find people who believe in you and want the best for you.

Invest in those relationships.

They are just as important for your business as who you hire.

Remember:

Building a business isn't easy.

But it'll open the doors to the life you want.

If you let it.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

You might be a #fluffuencer if:

- you spend 6-8 hours engaging on the platform

- you joined an engagement group

- all of your posts are 'vulnerable'

- you think authenticity is the way to grow

- you share the number of impressions or followers you get

- you talk about the leads you generate but not how they convert

- you get 1000 likes per post but don't make $1M a year

- you gaslight people who call out your sh*t

- you use hook templates you downloaded from a 'guru'

- your content is 'inspired' by someone with a much smaller following

- you think your following means you understand personal branding

- you only sell a LinkedIn course or service

- your clients don't stick around longer than 3 months

- you include a selfie on every post to 'connect' with your audience

- you live by 'fake it til you make it'

And the best sign you're a #fluffluencer:

- People like me have started unfollowing you

My advice:

Stop using likes as a way to validate yourself.

You're ruining your brand.

Closing off legit opportunities because of the sh*t you post.

And you look like a damn fool.

#SassyJason out.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

------

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I like to call out the fluffy, nonsensical sh*t that stops you from generating REAL money for your business and makes you look like a damn fool.

Follow me for more practical content to grow your brand every weekday at 7am CST.

Things I trust more than LinkedIn #fluffluencers:

- gas station sushi
- people who don't like dogs
- an email from a Nigerian Prince
- a rattlesnake with a 'pet me' sign
- a prostate exam from Captain Hook
- stock advice from Martha Steward
- Flint, Michigan tap water
- Taco Bell bathrooms

Seriously.

That list provides less of a chance of being scammed...

...and less chance of sh*tting the bed...

...than anything a fluffluencer says.

Go ahead and listen to them if you must.

As for me?

I don't trust anyone with 0 business acumen.

Like 99.99% of the fluffluencers on this platform.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

I'm a huge fan of Lego.

Even as a grown-ass man, I still buy and build Lego sets.

What can I say? They're fun as hell.

But Lego missed a HUGE opportunity with the rise of AI.

Last week, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed and saw an ad.

This AI app could Minifigure-ize my picture.

Childhood dream come true.

And it got me thinking.

Why the hell didn't Lego do this?

You see, Lego has a new Minifigure Factory on its website.

You can create your own minifigure and have it made and shipped to you.

(the one I designed is being shipped as we speak)

There are limitations, of course.

You can only pick from their stock hair, face, and body styles.

But what if Lego took it a step further?

What if they allowed you to:

- upload a picture of yourself
- turn yourself into a Minifigure
- then hit a button and get that Minifigure created

A Minifigure of YOU.

Just like they make for the contestants on Lego Masters.

THEN, take it step further by giving you the bricks to recreate the background image.

This fanboy would spend $100 for that.
Or more.
Like an obscene amount more.

(No shame here)

☝🏼 These are the types of opportunities you uncover with a brand strategy.

Not only for marketing.

But for making more money.

And for turning more people into fanboys and girls of your product.

When you're ready for that, hit me up.

I'll just be over here playing with my Lego sets.

Like a damn stud.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

----

P.S. Hey the LEGO Group - if you need a volunteer to test out this idea, hit me up. A #SassyJason Minifigure would be dope.

P.S.S. Yes, that picture is from the AI app. Now to make that #SassyJason Minifigure a reality.

A strategy rarely changes.
A plan changes regularly.

☝🏼 That's how I explain the difference between the two.

Most people don't know what a strategy is.

They see it as some elaborate plan.

Pages upon pages of messaging and flowcharts and examples of what to do.

That is not a strategy.

And anyone selling you that doesn't know what the hell they are doing.

A strategy is often a statement.

1-2 sentences that provide direction for everything you do. 

It's the essence of your business.
The unique value you bring to the market.

That should rarely change.

But how you express that unique value?
How you implement that strategy?

Well, that should change based on the market.

Let me give you an example.

Apple's strategy has not changed in decades.

They continue to make computers and devices that are friendly, intuitive, and accessible. 

And they express it through their Think Different branding.

☝🏼 That is their strategy.

Their plan changes regularly.

Anyone remember the colored iMacs from 1998?

That disappeared for years.

Only to be brought back in 2021 to pull from that feeling of nostalia?

Their strategy didn't change.
But their plan? That did change.

Because that's the difference between the two.

A strategy should last you decades.
But a plan?

That needs to be changed as the market changes.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Your personality ≠ your brand personality

Let me explain.

Most brand 'gurus' will tell you to just be yourself.

That's how you build a brand.

It's not.
And they don't know sh*t about branding.

Brand personality is strategic.

Think about it this way.

Your spouse sees a different side of you than your neighbor (I hope!).

Your friends see a different side of you than the stranger you pass on the street.

Your children see a different side of you than your nieces and nephews.

Are you still the same person in those situations?

Absolutely.

But you don't let your neighbor see all of you.

The same is true with your ideal customers.

They need to see a specific side of you.

Not the side your spouse sees.
Not the side your children see.
Not the side your neighbors see.
And definitely not the side the mirror sees.

Brand personality is the art of emphasizing the side of you that your ideal customers need to see.

Case in point.

I'm more than just sassy.

But I emphasize the sass for a strategic reason.

90% of the clients I worked with have said the same thing in a discovery call.

"We want someone who isn't afraid to tell us we're wrong."

And you know what personality trait shows that the best?

Sass.
Or Sarcasm.

So I emphasize sass in my brand personality.

All to communicate a key part about working with SHFT.

We WILL push back and tell you when you're wrong.
Especially if it's going to cost you a sh*t ton of money.

Brand personality.
It's more than just being you.

It's being you, strategically.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

My content generates 75% of SHFT's revenue.

And it stems from a simple strategy.

Teach people to do for themselves what they could pay me to do for them.

Charge when they want that advice applied to their specific situation.

☝🏼 That's the approach I've used on LinkedIn for 5 years.

That approach...

...launched SHFT
...won me a lot of clients
...got me featured on podcasts
...landed me speaking engagements
...helped create the iconic #SassyJason
...turned me into a brand strategy thought leader

...and made me a sh*t ton of money.

Some #fluffluencers will tell you that practical content doesn't create brands.

(That's a direct quote from someone on this platform most of you follow and idolize)

They don't know what they are talking about.

Granted, I don't get 1000 likes per post.
Nor do I have over 100k followers.

But I have something they don't.

A lot of money.

Because the strategy to get 1000 likes per post...
...is not the same strategy to land clients.

Especially if you aren't selling LinkedIn courses or ghostwriting services.

Or sh*tty personal brand services.

(Most personal branders don't know what a brand is)

The rule for content is simple.

Want to attract your ideal customers?
And build trust with them?
So they convert?

Teach them to do for themselves what they could pay you to do for them.

Charge when they want that advice applied to their situation.

It's worked for me.
It works for our customers.

And it will work for you.

IF you can kill your ego.
And your need for a like-fueled dopamine hit.

Ya junkie.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Differentiation is something you DO.

Not something you are.

Let me explain.

Most people see uniqueness as something they are.

It's why B2B companies have weak differentiators:

-> their team
-> their founder
-> their kindness
-> their personality

Those should support your differentiation...

...but they aren't a unique value you bring to the market.

Flip the script.

Look at your differentiation as something you DO.

Often found in your operations, processes, and deliverables.

Differentiators like...

- 2 qualified candidates in 10 business days
- Work with employees to develop systems and processes
- Connect non-profits to visibility-boosting partners
- Interview every employee to uncover the root cause of workplace strife
- Hire application specialists for sales and project management roles
- Perform positivity experiments to boost productivity

☝🏼 Those are all from our clients.

Things they were already DOing.

But weren't communicating or owning.

Your company's differentiation will often seem boring to you.

It's something you're already doing.
Something that's part of every client project.
And something that you don't think is important.

But when your competitors can't or won't do it...
...and your ideal customers care about it...

That differentiation is powerful.

Look at what you DO.

Find something that is unique.

And OWN that sucker.

That's how you stand out in the market.

And get people lined up to work with you.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Lean into your strengths.

That's how you build an epic personal or corporate brand.

Many 'experts' will give you a list of "must-dos" for your brand.

You MUST tell stories.
You MUST use selfies.
You MUST be vulnerable.
You MUST be entertaining.
You MUST have a bold color.

I hate musts. 

Because they don't help you build an authentic brand.

I'll be the first to admit...

...I'm not the most entertaining person.

- I'm not the life of the party.
- I'm not the fun, crazy one.
- I'm not creative enough to come up with TikTok skits.

But, you know what I am good at?

Teaching.

I love to take complex ideas (like branding) and simplify them.

While adding in a bit of humor.

All so other people can understand those ideas.

I've been that way my whole life.

So, I could listen to the sh*t #fluffluencer advice.

That I have to be entertaining.
Or I need to tell more stories.
Or to use a selfie in every post.

OR, I could double down on my strength.

And continue to teach in my content.

Granted, I'll never get 1000 likes on every post that way.
Nor will I get a blue top voice badge.

I'll get something better.

A brand built on my strengths.

And a line of people wanting to work with me.

Sounds like a decent payoff, I guess.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

I received the best cold DM last week...on Facebook.

That's right, Facebook.

I'm in the process of cleaning out Mama Vana's house.

It's been in our family for 60+ years.

Meaning, we got a lot of sh*t ...er, stuff, to weed through.

And I've been selling a ton of stuff on Facebook Marketplace.

If you ever want to see #SassyJason in his prime, watch me interact with stupid people on Facebook Marketplace.

🤬

One of the items we're selling is a large pile of bricks.

It came from an old fireplace removed from the house about 15 years ago.

And is sitting in the backyard next to the shed.

My neighbors love it. Right, Dan Colwin?

It's been posted on Marketplace for months.

No luck selling it.

And this is where the magical unicorn of a DM came in.

The owner of a junk removal company sent me a message.

"If nobody takes and you still need removed, we would be more than happy to give you a quote for removal."

Grammatical mistakes aside, this is how cold DMs should be.

Relevant.
To the point.
Not pushing me to get a quote right away.
No bumping the message up in my inbox 100 times.

(I'm looking at you, B2B sales 'experts')

He knew that his offer was relevant to my needs.
He hit me up about it.
And let me be.

Guess who I will at least be getting a quote from if no one buys those bricks?

The cold DMer who didn't harass me with 100 messages.

Or tried to reference what college I went to.
Or made some sh*tty assumption about my needs.

I'm not a huge fan of outbound sales.

But, if you do it well like this guy did...

...THAT makes your brand better.

Which is something I can get behind.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Everything in your business should revolve around one thing:

Your differentiation.

Let me give you an example of what I mean 👇🏼

I just wrapped up a brand strategy for a comms strategist.

It was probably the most fun I've had to date.

She recently started her own company.

And was struggling to explain why cause-driven organizations should work with her.

She offered the same services as every other comms agency.
Used a lot of the same verbiage on her website.
And didn't really stand out.

Until we nailed down her unique value.

You see, she did something that no other agency was doing.

She can connect you to individuals and organizations who can boost the visibility of your organization.

Connections like:

- Kamala Harris
- Aspen Institute
- NPR

☝🏼 That is what she's selling.

Not a comms strategy.
Not content creation.
But connection.

So we built a plan to have that uniqueness FELT.

- Crafting the right message
- Creating a Story Framework Guide
- Adding a Connections section to her homepage
- Highlighting the connections in her sales presentations
- Creating a referral loop to grow her possible connections
- Developing a networking platform and charging for access
- Even revamping her entire offer

Those are just a few of the 100s of ideas we came up with.

The result of all of this?

She's able to drop the work she doesn't want to do.

And focus on selling what she DOES want to do.

In a way that gets her ideal customers wanting what she offers.

Nailing down your differentiation isn't enough.

You need a plan on how to make people FEEL it.

Throughout every interaction with your company.

That's how you stand out.

And get people throwing money at you.

All so they can have the opportunity to work with you.

Imagine that.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-------

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

I increased my close rate by 20% this year.

All by making one small tweak in the sales process.

Want to know the secret?

I added a call to our sales process.

🤯

My old process:
- Discovery Call
- Deliverables Call (I walked through the deliverables)
- Proposal Follow-up Call (send proposal and run through it with them)
- Flounder around figuring out what's next
- Magically close the deal or lose it

My new process:
- Discovery Call
- Presentation Call (about us, process, case studies, price)
- Proposal Sent
- Review & Closing Call

I'll admit, I'm no expert at sales.

Some of you are looking at my old process, shaking your head, wondering how we ever closed any deal with that sales process.

What can I say?

SHFT and I have great brands.

Most prospects come to the call wanting to work with us.

They love my content.
They love the SHFT website.
They love our messaging.
They love our case studies.

(Their words, not mine)

That's been my saving grace.

But this year?

I'm working on our sales process.

And I realized one thing from our brand strategy.

Most prospects don't care about seeing every part of the deliverable.

They want a glimpse of the deliverable.
They want to walk through the process.
Hear stories of what we did with past customers.
See how it all ties together to make them more money.
And get an overview of what's included.

Applying brand strategy to sales actually works.

Who would have thunk it?

(Me. I thunked it.)

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Lead with the transformation you bring.

Not with who you are.

☝🏼 That's the messaging advice I gave to Uptown Creation.

They made a grave mistake with their brand message.

One I see most B2B companies make.

Leading with who they are.

'A LinkedIn-First Approach To Outbound Sales'

It sounds good and should be part of their positioning statement.

But for the top of their website?

Not at all.

Because it leaves the reader with a question you don't want them to ask:

Who the furk cares?

Seriously - your ideal customers don't care who you are...

...UNTIL you've explained the transformation you bring.

That whole "what's in it for me?" thing.

Start your message there.

Hook them with WHY they should keep scrolling through your site.

THEN, and only then, talk about who you are.

Because if they don't see how you can help in 3-7 seconds...

...they bounce.

Even if your solution is perfect for them.

Lead with the transformation.

Or watch your ideal customers choose someone who will.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Step 1: Uncover your unique value
Step 2: Own that sh*t

Knowing your differentiation is great.

But knowing it ≠ standing out

That only comes when you embed it in everything you do.

Let's say you run a comms agency.

Your differentiation is that you connect clients to individuals and organizations that can boost the visibility of your mission.

Like Kamala Harris.
Or Aspen Institute.

Here's how I would tell that company to OWN that differentiation:

- highlight the connections piece in your messaging
- add a section on your homepage with logos of those connections
- include a slide in your pitch deck showing off those connections
- format case studies to highlight the connections made
- create a guide teaching executive directors how to find connections
- build a networking platform so clients can find vetted connections
- use pictures from events created by those connections in your marketing
- create a database of potential connections

Everything 👏🏼 revolves 👏🏼 around 👏🏼 that 👏🏼 differentiation 👏🏼

Everything.

So no matter how an ideal customer interacts with your business...

...they know immediately why they should work with you.

That's how you OWN your differentiation.

Not by putting some nice messaging on a website.

But by embedding it in EVERYTHING you do.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Highlight your unique value.

☝🏼 That's what your brand message should do.

I had the privilege of evaluating Refine Labs message.

As the kickoff to my new video series.

(That's right, y'all. #SassyJason is easing back into videos.)

And they made the mistake I see most B2B companies make.

Sounding like their competitors.

You see, they made a clear promise in their brand message:

Increase qualified pipeline and revenue.

It sounds good.

I mean, what company wouldn't want more qualified pipeline and revenue?!

You'd have to be an idiot to say no to that.

Until you look at their competitors.

Directive -> generates pipeline and revenue
Klientboost -> drives more pipeline, revenue, and profit

So, if I'm looking for demand gen services and evaluating Refine Labs, Directive, and Klientboost...

...there's no clear reason to choose any of them.

This is why your message should highlight your unique value.

Figure out why ideal customers buy from you.

And put it front and center in your messaging.

Otherwise, you run the risk of sounding like your competitors.

And telling your ideal customers:

'There's no clear reason to choose us.'

Ouch.

Want to write a better brand message?

Check the video below. 

I give you pro-tips to think through when crafting your message.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

youtube.com

Evaluating Refine Labs Brand Message

A brand strategy brings

F O C U S
C L A R I T Y
D I R E C T I O N
E X C I T E M E N T
R E N E W E D  P A S S I O N

and, ultimately:

I N C R E A S E D  P R O F I T A B I L I T Y

Are you struggling with any of that in your business?

Then, you need a brand strategy.

A life coach isn't going to help you.
A business coach isn't going to get you there.
The #fluffluencer's latest LinkedIn course won't do it.

You need the clarity, focus, direction, excitement, and passion that only comes when you:

→ know your unique value
→ know your ideal customers
→ revamp your offer to meet a real need
→ know why the right people buy from you
→ know how to talk about your business and offer
→ know where to show up so you can generate leads

Stop struggling with your business.

Get a brand strategy.

Or, you know, keep listening to sh*t advice from #fluffluencers with 0 business acumen.

I'm sure that will work for you, too.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Focus on one key message.

☝🏼 That's what your brand message should do.

Just ask Michael Foley at Quail Electric.

Their whole brand message breakdown was about F O C U S.

Most skilled trades companies have a similar message:

Quality and Service.

It's even what their competitors highlight in their messaging.

Quail Electrics was drastically different.

Which you know #SassyJason is going to love.

"An Electrician Here When You Need One"

Beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful.

But their one-liner needed some work.

Because right after telling us that we can get an electrician on call...

...they switched right back to focusing on service.

It's something a lot of B2B businesses do as well.

Your one-liner - that small bit of text under your main brand message - should do one thing:

Exclaim your claim.

Go a bit deeper with it.
Tell us how you back up that promise.

And, if you service a specific area, make it clear whom you serve.

Quail Electrics offers a virtual meeting.
So you don't have to arrange an in-person visit just for a quote.

(I would have LOVED that when getting the bathroom remodeled)

But you don't even hear mention of it until you're near the bottom of the homepage.

It was a missed opportunity.

Hyper-focus your message.

Instead of jumping from one benefit to the next.

Your message will be far more memorable that way.

As it should.

Check out the video on YouTube. 

I give you pro tips to think through when crafting your message.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Brand messaging is nuanced as furk.

Let me give you a real-life example.

Here's a proof of a one-liner I wrote for a client:

"Uncover the root cause of workplace strife and build a productive, valued, and thriving workforce with our culture audit, change plan, and leadership workshops."

It was a good first pass.

But it didn't evoke her signature 'YES! That's it!'

There were some word choices that needed to go.

🚫 Workplace strife
It gives the perception that her clients all have an incredibly broken workplace culture.

✅ Productivity barriers
This phrase is softer and applies to companies who have seen sh*t hit the fan and those who want to invest in their workforce.

🚫 Change plan
This phrase addresses the fact that she brings change but feels very passive in the work she does.

✅ Action plan
Much stronger and emphasizes that her process gives you practical steps to improve workplace culture.

🚫 Workshops
This word evokes one-on-many, formulaic structures that you can get from anyone. While she does some workshops, it's not all she does.

✅ Workshops and coaching
Adding coaching rounds out the type of work she does - one-on-one and one-on-many.

🚫 Productive
It's a good word, but by changing workplace strife to productivity barriers, it sounds like all she does is productivity.

✅ Engaged
It gives a more holistic view - not just about productivity but getting employees excited about what they do.

Take a look at the final one-liner:

"Uncover the root cause of productivity barriers and build an engaged, valued, and thriving workforce with our culture audit, action plan, and leadership workshops and coaching."

Minor word changes.
Much different feel.

Pay attention to the perceptions of each word in your brand message.

It may give a slightly different feel than you want.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

-----

👋🏼 Hi, I'm #SassyJason. I create profitable brand strategies for SMBs looking to attract their ideal customers.

DM me "Brand" to start building a well-loved and profitable brand.

Your brand should uncover a missing part of your identity.

Just ask Steffen Harnack.

I had the pleasure of doing a clarity call with him.

This guy is a beast.

He's a brand strategist and designer.
He's an artist.
He's a life coach.
He's a community builder.

And easily one of the most genuine and caring people I've ever met.

But he was struggling to nail down his personal brand.

How do you combine all 4 of those things into one brand?
And make it feel genuine to who he is?

I knew this would be a challenge.

About half way into our call, we nailed it.

I was wrestling through ideas for him, and suddenly, one popped into my head.

Brand & Life Artist.

He's not a strategist or designer.
He turns brands into pieces of art.

He's not a life coach.
He helps you create a life that's a piece of art.

It may sound like semantics to you, but it's the core of who he is and what he offers.

We even came up with ways to express that position in his offer.

(#SassyJason asked a ton of questions before landing on this)

Don't take my word for it.

Here's what Steffen said:

"The concept of a Brand & Life Artist does not feel like a personal brand. It feels like a missing part of my identity as a person that now has been found. A natural and authentic essence of my professional being."

☝🏼 That's what a personal brand SHOULD feel like.

If not, keep working.

Or book a clarity call with me.

Steffen has clarity for his brand now.

You could as well.

✌🏼

#shftyourbrand

----

Ready to get clarity for your brand? Book a clarity call with me here: https://lnkd.in/eBFsRbhY

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