We recently connected with Heather Lisle and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Heather thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

If there’s one thing I have learned over the years and is also the one thing that I preach and teach all the time, it’s this:

No matter if you’re a business owner or an executive, you’ve got to really understand your unique communication style to draw in your ideal client or intended audience.

Most people want to skip over the messaging and go straight to marketing. And I understand why…we want to make money and seal the deal as quickly as possible, right?

But, if we don’t take the time to understand how we best communicate to our ideal clients and audience, your marketing message won’t land or resonate…and the money you’re spending on marketing your business or in business development is a total waste.

We all tend to communicate how we want others to communicate with us. The problem with that is that we all communicate differently.

I use the DiSC profile to help my clients tailor their message specifically to their intended audience so that messaging feels genuine and their ideal clients feel seen, heard and understood.

The DiSC profile is a tool used by thousands of companies and organizations – big and small – to help them better communicate with their teams and clients. I use the DiSC to help my clients nail their messaging – whether that’s a marketing message or for use internally with teams and clients.

The DiSC uses a 4-prong approach to communication styles:

Dominant (D) Type: extrovert, task-focused, results-oriented, dominant communicator

Influencer (i) Type: extrovert, people-focused, positive, energetic communicator

Steady-Relator (S) Type: introvert, people-focused, collaborative communicator

Conscientious (C) Type: introvert, task-focused, precise, analytical communicator

I was working with a client two years ago who is a career coach. She is a C type on the DiSC, and I found out through conversation that her ideal client was more of a D type.

What was the problem?

All of her marketing materials (both in print and online) were extremely in depth…I’m talking pages and pages of information about her business and how she helps clients.

A C type wants to have lots of information to process in order to make decisions. However, a D type is a quick decision maker and desires only the high level bullet points.

In other words, the thousands of dollars she had spent on marketing materials were for a communicator just like her…a C type…and not her ideal client – the D type.

We made some tweaks to her marketing messaging and BOOM…she started booking clients.

The new message resonated. The new messaging was exactly what her ideal client needed to book an appointment with her.

Marketing your business requires you to lean in and learn how your ideal client communicates. When you understand your communication style and the styles of others, your marketing and business development activities work like magic.

Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I spent 23+ years as an executive and leader in the marketing and communications space, working for global brands such as McDonald’s to small local brands to nonprofit organizations and most recently (before I opened my business) as Chief of Public Affairs to a statewide elected official.

I’ve always been a lifelong learner and interested in personal development. About 20 years ago, I took the DiSC profile and learned about my communication style…and it was GAME CHANGER for me professionally. Fast forward to working for an elected official, I was able to take the knowledge I learned from DiSC and apply it to help further develop my emotional and relational intelligence. I quickly became the “go to” person in my leadership team to meet with those constituents who wanted to discuss challenging situations because I could diffuse situations easily. I knew the words to say to any type of personality

Marketing and messaging all comes down to clear, concise communication and understanding what your ideal client needs to know from you in order to receive a positive response (i.e., call to action, schedule the appointment, etc.).

I help my clients understand their unique communication style and how to utilize it to attract more clients and set yourself apart from your competition.

By offering group coaching through the Power Player program…this is an exclusive leadership program that turns aspiring partners and executives into money-making machines. Participants gain highly effective communication skills that grow existing accounts, close new deals and work seamlessly with the team. I also work with clients offering leadership communication trainings and work one-on-one with a few private clients offering full service marketing (email campaigns, digital media, keynote preparation, conference materials, etc.).

There’s nothing better than hearing from clients and time and time again that the words we create to define their business brings in the type of clients they LOVE to work with. Business development is hard enough in this noisy climate, but when you can easily connect with your ideal clients in a meaningful way…it makes selling a heck of a lot easier.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media has always been a love-hate relationship for me. But, one thing is certain. You MUST be consistent on social media in order to see results from it too.

When I first started my business, I hired a marketing agency to help me with a website and my social media platforms. I was told I had to have a personal AND business account on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn…SIX accounts. I managed those accounts for about 4 months before I was completely burned out. It was exhausting trying to keep up with all of the content posting.

So, I stopped ALL of it. I hired a business coach who asked me this question, “Which social media platform do you use most often? And which social media platform is your ideal client using the most?”

Instagram and LinkedIn were the two main platforms my ideal client utilizes…so, that’s where I decided to spend my time.

When you’re first starting out in the social media world, ask yourself those questions my coach asked me…and that’s precisely where you start. Don’t try to be on every platform every day…it’ll wear you out.

Choose one (no more than two platforms) that you KNOW you can be consistent on as far as posting and engaging with your ideal clients and audience.

Consistent posting can be once a week for you…for me, it’s about three times a week. But, I engage with my network every, single day. This means, I’m commenting on posts and sending direct messages to people on those platforms as well.

Everyone starts small. So, don’t let that stop you from getting started. My advice is to ease into social media with one platform and grow it from there. Consistency is king…and that’s how you grow your network.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think that for me, I already had many years of professional and executive level experience in my market before I started my own business. That being said, starting a business means you have to openly share with your network and those you don’t know your expertise…why you’re a go-to expert…and what makes you different than everyone else.

Building a reputation requires you to share your values – those things that are important to you – to your network. For me, I definitely wanted to share my experience, but I also wanted to share that I’m heart-centered, have high integrity (I’m not going to sell you something you don’t need), energetic, positive and that I work hard for my clients. I share my values by being consistent with my weekly blog email, social media presence, and in-person as well too.

I love my clients and network and like to go “above and beyond” too. Call it customer service or for me – it’s just doing the right thing and taking care of people…but, I love to send hand written notes and small gifts to clients or people that are my “brand ambassadors.” When you take care of people who support you, they will protect and help grow your reputation for you.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heatherlisle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heather_lisle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherlisle1/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherlisleco/