Are you cool?

Please don’t ask my kids.

Years ago, a wise Program Director said to me, “If you have to say you IS, YOU AIN’T.” Read that again slowly. It’s very true. If you have to tell people you are funny or happy, then you aren’t. You’re saying it because you’re trying to convince them AND YOURSELF. Why would they buy it if your body language or actions say otherwise? Truth is….they don’t. Over 60% of what we communicate is non-verbal. What does that mean? It means you have to mean it. Live it, breathe it, believe it. Or be willing to accept it when someone calls you on your bullshit.

That same Program Director told me, “The truth will set you free.” Be authentic. That’s truly the only way to “be” anything is if it’s really you. You must be yourself or it is bullshit. No one is happy 100% of the time. No one is “ON” all day every day. Be honest. Take the good and the bad.

How does this relate to your business? The same way. You must be real, open, and honest with your customers. Sounds corny, right? And everyone nods their head but who is really doing it? If you’re having to “fudge” a little here and gloss over there….you need to re-evaluate your products and/or services. Something’s not quite right. Success isn’t built on the end goal to make money. It’s built on filling a genuine need for your clients. If you can’t do that in an honest manner, you need to ask the questions, “What are we TRULY doing here?” “What are we not being 100% honest about?”

That’s a dangerous place to live. I have seen it. It’s a facade and once you walk in, it’s an empty building. It takes more time to do re-con on a client than to lead with honesty from the beginning.

Ok, so you get it. Be real and honest, right Randi? Yes, but there’s more. You want to be the cool company that’s hip and with it. You can but if you go back to the article “What the hell is Marketing” revisit the “brand” and “tone” of your company. Your coolness needs to fit in within the image of your company.

I get it, I get it. Everyone is on TikTok and I’m a big fan too. But if you’re a construction company, you’re not going to create an account and have the Foreman start performing the lip-sync dances that are trending at the time. Wait, or are you? It depends. What genuinely fits the brand & tone of the company? That’s for you to figure out. There are several ways to utilize social media platforms but you can’t copy and paste what the popular influencers are doing. It’s not authentic to you or your company. Eventually, your audience figures you out and it becomes tired. I can name several Instagram accounts that just repost funny content they see on other accounts. It’s not a long term recipe for winning.

So….are you cool? Yeah, you are. When you are being yourself and so is your company. The urge is there to copy a competitor’s sale ad or replicate an entertaining post for likes or follows. But fight it. It’s the “path of least resistance”. FIGHT IT. Create your own content. Be your own North Star. And you will find being real, genuine, and honest will make you more confident, more connected, and ultimately, MORE COOL!