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Learn more about Kate DiLeo

https://katedileo.com

Jasna Burza
Do this. Well, Kate DiLeo Welcome to the Business Wednesday Spotlight. I’m so excited to have you

Kate DiLeo
on. Thank you, Jasna, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me today.

Jasna Burza
What a pleasure. I keep saying to my Wednesday guests. I feel like I am on drugs every Wednesday because these conversations give me life. Patterns converge. And then I get to meet the coolest individuals during the coolest thing. So you are fascinating, so many different levels. But you are an incredible what I call brand architects. So you have a branding company. And you are very diligent about that brand speaking on your on your behalf. And you just told me what is your motto?

Kate DiLeo
My motto is that your brand is the path of least resistance to revenue.

Jasna Burza
Or think the name if all those entrepreneurs and service providers and business owners, we really forget about the power of the of the brand. And you just had a very powerful book that reached Number 10 Number one international bestseller on Amazon huge.

Kate DiLeo
Thank you. Surprise. Yeah, it happened immediately. And I was just blown away by everybody’s support on that. So it was really exciting.

Jasna Burza
Oh, that’s really we’re gonna talk about that. But let’s go back to telling us a little bit about how you got started in in branding. And why to you, branding is so essential interest in putting yourself out there.

Kate DiLeo
Absolutely. Well, so my story, interestingly enough, began, really, as I left academia, I had planned before the market crash to pursue a PhD in linguistic anthropology. And really, anthropology focuses around in particular in linguistic anthropology, how does language shape culture? And how does culture shape language? Well, way back when in 2007 2008, as the market was crashing, I had a professor that said, we love you, but we don’t know where this field of study is going to be. And so I think you should leave and go get a day job and go pay off your debt, and come back. And so that’s what I did. And of course, my Italian father was like, We love you, yes, please get a job and leave our house, we need you to go now. And so that I left. And so I ended up going into sales Jessen and was interesting, I took I took a sales job. And it was really in that sales job where I had to learn very quickly how to cut through all of the complex scripting, how to get around all of the other stuff that they gave me. And just get to the bottom line of actually talking to a prospect and telling them what they needed to know in that first 15 to 20 seconds, to want to have a conversation with me. And ultimately, that’s your brand. That’s your brand pitch. And so for me, it was the impetus of them getting recruited out from there, and to the branding and marketing agency world to then go build brands. And so I was very good in my sales job, I got recruited out, started building brands, both in my day job and then on the side. So I was a side hustler for almost a decade, working with companies. And then it wasn’t actually until 2019 that I took this business full time. But I’ve worked with almost 300 companies globally, helping them build brands.

Jasna Burza
Oh my god, that is that is just a portable, an incredible, and I think confirmation or an affirmation that you are on your path. I’m curious. So when people are asking a brand is just thrown out like you are your brand brand is important. That isn’t enough? What is brands? What Why is it important to have one right, you know, brand, you know, knowing it?

Kate DiLeo
Well, you know, it’s interesting, I think that we should totally acknowledge that brand is a very fluffy word. And for many feet, people that are leaders and entrepreneurs, it’s kind of just going, you know, I don’t care about that. But but if we actually get down to the nuts and the bolts of what your brand is, it is the promise of who you say you are and what you will deliver to your customers. It’s the promise of what they can expect to experience and receive from you. Okay, so ultimately how that works is not only having a beautiful logo and something that’s attractive, that’s great. But when we think about your message, which is the slice that I talk about for branding, what are you saying? And to Who are you clearly articulating, hey, this is what I do. This is how I solve your problem. And this is how I’m different era you getting that across in such a way that it’s very emotional to them that they see it and they hear that message and they go, Oh my gosh, you just read my mail. You get me. I want to have a conversation. That is what your brand is actually supposed to do for you.

Jasna Burza
Oh, I see. I love that. I think that there’s a miss. representation with understanding the brand is your reputation. The brand is what you are known for. And you’re like, hey, it’s actually about what is your messaging and do you stand Drew are That’s right, you affirm that. So that’s that is I think, as we all learn, it’s a very important distinction. So what is the architecture of a good messaging of a good brand?

Okay, I think I lost you.

Kate DiLeo
I think I might have lost you try that again.

Jasna Burza
There you are. Go ahead. So it was wondering.

Kate DiLeo
Okay, so say that again, repeat your

Jasna Burza
so yeah, what is a good architecture of that messaging or good message or good brand?

Kate DiLeo
What is a good brand,

Jasna Burza
or good aspects or parts of the messaging part of the brand?

Kate DiLeo
Let’s talk about that. So really great brands hone in on three key things in a particular order for your message. And this is the formula that I’ve taught for the last 10 years. And it’s in my book, it’s what I teach clients every day, I happen to call this thing the brand trifecta. You can call it whatever you want. But there’s three things that you have to have in a message and a brand message, it’s actually going to create a conversation that converts in order to do that, you have to have number one, a great tagline. That’s not just cool, but actually a tagline that answers the question, what do you do? Do you have a tagline that answers? What do you do? Okay, second thing that you need, again, in order to follow that up is a strong value proposition statement that really articulates, hey, here’s the pain I know you’re experiencing, here’s how we solve that pain.

Jasna Burza
So before we go to the third one, let’s use you because you have all of those. So I’m assuming the tagline is building brands that win more work? That’s right. Oh, good. It’s clear. And what is the what is the value proposition for you?

Kate DiLeo
The value proposition is saying business is a conversation and not a transaction. But many companies struggle to create conversations that convert, okay, my job is to help you build brands, that creates that common ground with your audiences. So they buy from you versus the competition. Okay,

Jasna Burza
I love that in the third element,

Kate DiLeo
third element differentiator statements. So basically, the third piece of information your buyer wants to know is how are you different and better than the rest. So really, it’s this really quick and simple process of saying this is what we do tagline. This is how we solve your problem value proposition statement. And this is how we’re different differentiators. By the way, in some companies, you may call that the three uniques. On average, I see clients that have anywhere between three to five differentiators. I think if you have a list, you probably have 50 things that make you different, but we’re really talking high level as an organization, what overall makes you different and better than the rest. And that information when you consider that that those three things up jazz, and it gets somebody to the point where they convert where they care, where they then want to take the next step to click on a forum to click on the services product page to want to watch the video to want to set up the demo. They’re essentially at a point of mental readiness, where somebody says got it that makes sense. Now I’m ready to learn how that works, what products or services you offer, what’s the pricing? What are the details?

Jasna Burza
Okay, very, very powerful. So it is, you know, you talk about it. I’ve been reading a lot of your stuff on LinkedIn lately. And you are adamant about this part of having more conversations because it is the missing link. So the your book, muting the megaphone really highlights that, because I feel like sometimes when we tune into the social media, it’s just loud noise throws in as Gary Vaynerchuk talks about this all the time. I’m like you’re a fan. But he said, stop shouting and people start having conversations, because social media is really whether that’s what it means to be on social media to have a conversation. So tell me what sparked you to write the book muting the megaphone, which is now blowing over? And why why? What are the principles of the book?

Kate DiLeo
Well, first of all, I don’t think I ever thought I would write a book. I think many of us that end up reading a book were like, No, that’s a terrible idea. That sounds way too hard. Right? So somehow this book happened. And I share a little bit about the story of how I got there in the beginning of the book, but I will tell you that I had been asked for a long time. Could I codify could I write down the formula of what I teach day in and day out to my clients? And certainly I’ve got like a very robust like strategy document playbook that we work through in the room when I’m working with somebody but everyone’s saying, you have a chicken You just give me the steps? Could you just break it down? I’ll go write it myself. And so for me, it was just really I wanted this book to be as tactical and as practical as humanly possible to see. Okay, can I help as many entrepreneurs and founders and leaders actually know how to write the sentences? How do you write a tagline? How do you actually define target audiences? What are the charts I use in the room? What do I actually walk my clients through? So this is just a tiny little 100 page book that the whole purpose is to give you your marching orders of what you do in what order to come up the other side with a brand that’s going to win work. It’s been interesting with the launch of this book, it’s been fun to hear stories about oh my gosh, it actually makes sense, I can actually do that. Yeah, you really, really can. This book is not overly complicated. I think that’s what we’re trying to get away from is so called strategy. But ultimately, the principle is what you’re talking about. We have to stop focusing on storytelling or shouting like a megaphone. Because what happens is, we make it all about us. Storytelling is a great concept. You know, when Donald Miller came out with story, brand, listen, beautiful concept, put that customer as the hero in the heart of your journey, the heart of your story, which you know, we did, we took it and ran with it. And we made it all about us. And we have all these complex scripts, and bla bla, bla, bla, bla, and inundation of sales funnel pages that scroll for days. And if you’ve ever been on the other side of that, you’re just sitting there, you’re like it’s overwhelm. Instead, what I’m trying to help people understand is if you actually cut that out, and you just get to the basics of these three messaging components on the homepage of your website, when you show up in a Zoom Room, if you can get it down to that first 15 to 20 seconds of what you say, and in the right order, you’re going to get more of the right prospects that come to the right table at the right time,

Jasna Burza
you’re going to become more aligned with the people that you serve. When you do that,

Kate DiLeo
well, you’re gonna find that you’re no longer in the business of convincing, you’re in the business of converting, which is not your job to try to get everybody to buy from you.

Jasna Burza
Isn’t that funny? And it’s like, I feel I have this conversation very often when my colleagues and a lot of my clients and like people feel like ATM machines, like the only time we’re served is like when we’re you know, we’re selling something is like how are we serving others in between the launches between the the needing to raise money or whatever it is? How are you nurturing relationships, and you really preach that day in and day out?

Kate DiLeo
I do. I think that, you know, it’s just a sage principle, it’s really an angel principle of putting people first and recognizing the power of doing what’s right and respecting relationships. And if I wanted to be treated that way, I wanted to build a brand and help clients build a brand that is ultimately going to improve revenue and sales by just making some strong decisions around who are they actually wanting to go after? Why? What does that ideal customer actually look like? And then deciding, hey, listen, I’m gonna serve up this message, that’s gonna actually resonate with that ideal customer at a heart level. And I’m gonna allow those other people to go, my growth is hinging upon the ability to just get more the right kind of client,

Jasna Burza
the right kind of the key distinction, right? Because this one, I know you want the right kind of client because your reputation is dependent upon it and your success in this industry.

Kate DiLeo
Well, and isn’t it more fun when you work with clients who are aligned with you? Isn’t it more fun to sell to customers who are raving fans? Don’t you love it, when all of a sudden it’s actually a win win, and you’re out? You’re, you’re out of this mindset of, you know, FOMO, many of us as founders and entrepreneurs, we fear that if we don’t take everybody, we’re not gonna get any money. We’re leaving money on the table. And I think that that really hamstrings a lot of us as companies, you know, you have to say no to the so called good to say yes to the Great.

Jasna Burza
Oh, Mm hmm. That’s a quarter walk. I love that. That’s really well, well, well said. Who are the people that you currently work with? And what is that? What is the process of working with you?

Kate DiLeo
Sure. Uh, so So for me, I’m I work with founder led organizations. And so traditionally, I say probably 95% of my companies are 50 million and less than revenue. They’re pretty, they’re smaller. I work with even just a company or a client that comes to me, they just have an idea for their business. But essentially, I always take a project so long as the founder is in the room, because that founder holds the keys to the brand. I’ve worked in over 25 sectors. And so I’ve definitely been a kind of across the gamut in terms of who I serve. But the criteria is really coming down to individuals and companies who come to me and they tell me things like, Hey, Kate, listen, the message that we traditionally use or just it’s like it’s not converting right now or not closing or they say things like, our sales cycle time is really long or Hey, we have a new product or service, we don’t even know how to talk about it, let alone like marketed or they’re just saying honest to god, I’m struggling to even get any prospects to the table like I’m out there and every Zoom Room imaginable, Kate, I’m banging down doors and it is not working. That’s a brand pitch issue, not a sales pitch issue. Here’s the good news. It’s a cool way bulb moment when, as founders and leaders, we recognize I don’t need to be a slimy salesperson to be successful, what I do need to get down is understanding who I’m going after and what message I’m serving up. And if I can get in the right room, and deliver that simple message that feels authentic to me. And it’s going to resonate with those audiences. Well, I’m gonna get more of the right prospects to the table. Wow, that I have more people with whom I can have that amazing, rich, awesome, like connection conversation and take it to the next step. So that’s really who I’m trying to work with the ultimate goal is revenue, the output of the work that I do is you should be seeing a direct impact on revenue.

Jasna Burza
That’s a very powerful again, the powerful comes from your model, but powerful value proposition which, which which it works. So how do people you know, get in touch with I know, I don’t know if this is still active, but I know I think your audio book was on sale for 99 cents.

Kate DiLeo
So my ebook was on sale for 99 cents, it’s back up to it’s only 999. Paperback is also available if you’re a paperback reader, and you love to get the highlighter and the pen out. So the easiest way to find your get a hold of me. First off, if you follow Jasna on LinkedIn, if you’re if you’re on LinkedIn, that’s where you can find me, I would love it. If you connected with me, follow me send me a message. If you have a question about branding, please feel free to get ahold of me I answer those personally. So that’s number one. Number two, if you’re curious about learning more about the book, or you’re kind of curious about this general approach to branding, maybe that’s new to you, you can go ahead and check out my website to learn more there. And that is www dot Cait. deleo.com.

Jasna Burza
I love that. And the book is on Amazon right there. Yes, yes. Type in muting, muting the megaphone by kW, and they will find all of those options on there. And then I really I have to say, I’ve been enjoying seeing your LinkedIn posts. I’m such a feel like social media dinosaur, I used to be on the cutting edge three years ago before I left, and now why so much has changed and and my marketing director agenda is like, listen, girl, you gotta be part of the conversation, because it matters and your voice matters and other people’s voices matter. So I am glad that we met in that, in that in that town square. And I’m also really glad that you came on here today to talk about your work because your work incredibly matters for the people struggling and needing to put their best foot forward.

Kate DiLeo
I really appreciate you having me on the show. And I appreciate you and it’s just it’s just a joy to be here. So thank you again.

Jasna Burza
Oh, thank you. Well, we’re going to be a focus if you’re listening to this, if you’re struggling putting your best foot forward, kay deleo.com. You can find her book on Amazon and also connect with her on LinkedIn. But we’re also going to add some of those links wherever this video ends up being here on Facebook, YouTube, and all the other social media channels who can find us on Tik Tok and I think we’re posted on stories and shorts. Jenna’s gonna do magic. So you’re gonna see you’re gonna see Kate everywhere. Thank you so much for taking the time out of you to talk.

Kate DiLeo
I appreciate it. Jasna. Thank you, Sister. 

Jasna Burza
Pleasure. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye, guys.