What’s stopping you from charging the right amount that you deserve to charge for the transformation you create?
What’s stopping you from working with high-end clients who have a true appreciation for your magic?
It’s not that you don’t have the ability to work at the highest end of the market…
You absolutely do!
You have something unique and powerful to bring to your niche.
What’s stopping you is likely the model that you’ve built your personal brand around.
Know that there are three types of personal brand models:
- Mainstream
- Premium
- Luxury
Understanding these models is one of the keys to attracting the clients you want to work with.
In this article, I explain the three models and how they change the way you deliver your magic.
Model #1 – Mainstream
This is the model that most entrepreneurs already understand. And if you’re not operating a premium brand, this is also likely the model that you have right now.
Any company that focuses on volume above all else is a mainstream brand.
And that isn’t a bad thing – I once had a multi-million-dollar company that leveraged this very model!
It’s just that I don’t recommend this model for gifted individuals who want to build a personal brand.
But what does a mainstream model look like in practice?
This is the “start at the bottom” model, also known as the ascension model. When you go mainstream, you start at the bottom of the value ladder and iterate your way up.
That means you start with volume…
You start with low pricing…
It’s all about getting in with the customer, getting out with their money, and moving on. It’s also a model wherein the customer leads, rather than the business owner.
A mainstream model has to adapt to the immediate needs of the customer. If it doesn’t, the business won’t survive.
What’s more, mainstream models typically don’t provide room for you to innovate. Instead, this model takes the trends that the luxury brands establish and release cheaper versions of it.
Take Zara as an example.
It’s fine as a high-street store. But nobody’s looking to Zara to create the latest innovations in the fashion world.
Instead, Zara keeps an eye on the trends that the luxury fashion brands start. Then, it adapts its own product lines to provide something similar for the mass market.
Ultimately, this model is all about margins.
Because it’s focused on volume-based selling, the products sold have extremely skinny margins. And that means the brand needs to have a large number of followers if it’s going to make a profit.
It also means you can’t create a sense of exclusivity with a mainstream model.
It has to be accessible to everyone.
Again, take Zara as an example.
Anyone can walk into a Zara store and buy one of their products.
Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If this is the model you want to work with, you’ll see no judgment from me.
It’s just not the type of model that I like to teach because it doesn’t allow extraordinary people to do what they do best.
But the next model does…
Model #2 – Premium
This is the model that the vast majority of Iconic Influencers clients choose.
With a premium model, you create a deeper impact and build a commercially-viable business for your personal brand.
This model also means starting with a premium offer. Typically, that offer is in the $100,000 region, though it will increase as you build authority.
Immediately, we can see the difference between mainstream and premium. The size of that offer instantly gates a large portion of your potential client base out.
And that isn’t a bad thing.
With a $100,000 offer, you create exclusivity. You create something desirable for the higher end of the market.
Why?
Because not everybody can access it!
That offer represents the power of the transformation you can create for clients.
And transformation is the key word when it comes to the premium model.
Extraordinary transformation and outcomes lead the premium offer. That means it isn’t a customer-led model, as we see with the mainstream model. Instead, it’s a model built around your core philosophical system.
Furthermore, the premium model focuses on expanding the client’s vision of what’s possible for them. It helps them to see the outcome they could achieve if they had the right help.
This model also offers greater opportunities for innovation than the mainstream model.
However, you’re not the artisan with a premium model. You’re not creating a completely new space.
Instead, your innovation comes from how you do things in contrast to your competitors.
You’re a disruptor of an existing space, rather than the creator of a brand new one. And that means you’re always competition-focused with this model.
You’re always looking at what other people in your niche do so you can separate yourself from them.
With a premium model, you’re focused on outcomes and high-quality delivery. You attach amazing value to the premium price you charge. And ultimately, you get to deliver the extraordinary impact that you’re capable of delivering with this model.
Model #3 – Luxury
At first glance, it may seem that there’s little to separate luxury and premium models. Both focus on serving the highest end of the market and both have exclusivity built into them.
You may even charge similar amounts of money for the services you provide.
But several criteria separate them.
In the luxury model, you’re the Pied Piper.
You lead instead of teach.
The Pied Piper never looks sideways or backward. They keep their eyes forward and never, ever worry about what the competition’s doing.
Why?
They have no competition!
Somebody with a luxury brand isn’t trying to pit themselves against other people in their niche. And the reason is that nobody is in their niche. At the luxury end of the spectrum, you’re the only one doing what you’re doing.
You’re the innovator…
You’re the artisan…
And you’ve created something that nobody has ever seen before!
In doing that, you become the icon in your space.
Of course, you still offer exquisite service and delivery. You create experiences for your clients that they can’t get anywhere else.
Think of it in the same way that a Maserati differs from a Mercedes.
Both are high-end vehicles.
But Mercedes focuses on delivering a very specific outcome. You get quality, amazing features, and a great experience.
A Maserati delivers something exquisite.
It delivers something that no other car can offer. And even though that experience is actually pretty uncomfortable, there is a niche in the market that will pay an enormous amount for it.
With a luxury brand, you create a legacy that can last beyond a lifetime.
Think Coco Chanel.
Think Steve Jobs.
These are people who have a legacy, almost a myth, built around them. They innovated beyond what anybody thought imaginable and we’ll remember them for many years to come.
Which Model Is Right for You?
I’d like to make one thing clear…
All of these models can work for you.
If you gravitate towards the mainstream model, you’ll get no judgment from me. It’s absolutely possible to build a powerful business that serves the mainstream area of your niche.
But what if you want to build a personal brand?
What if you have something exceptional to offer to your clients?
If that sounds like you, the premium and luxury models offer the path to the business you dream of creating.
And it’s these models that I help my clients to develop.
Be bold…
Be brave…
Create a business model that allows you to deliver your true magic to the world.
