Jim Brumm Business Profiles

Click on the links below to see samples of Business Profiles

CONTRACTORS

Visionary Builders

Cal West Solar

North Bay Sunspace

ProCraft Tile

H & H Design

Clean Crawlspace of Napa

North Bay Kitchen and Bath

SPECIALTY FOODS

Sioux Z Wow

Spring Hill Cheese

Marshal's Farm Honey

Augustino's Olive Oil

Tulocay Made in Napa Valley

ARTISTS

Eric Christensen

Deborah Snow

Artist Sally Baker

REALTORS

Cory Maguire

Judith Palmer

Heidi Faulkner

Ali Ghorbani

INTERIOR DESIGN

Annette Boss

Erin Martin

COMPUTER REPAIR

EJM Solutions

Mawson Computer Center

Lindauer Mac Consulting

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Star Shots Photography

Art & Clarity

RETAIL

West County Revolution Bike Shop

Mattress Warehouse

Scott Carston's Carpet One

MISCELANEOUS

Juan Hernandez for city council

Quiet Massage

Jesse G Tree

Shimetz Enterprises

Wine Country Pet Sittters

Architect Elee Tsai

Dripless, Inc.

Summerville at Villa Del Rey

Martini House

Five-Star Productions

Lisa Iskin: The Ministry of Music

Thomas Bartlett Furniture Collection

Personal Chef Paul Obranovich

In Short Marketing

Jim Brumm

Jim Brumm

Business Profiles

Customers need discernment tools: They need a way to tell businesses apart in order to choose wisely.

Businesses need differentiating tools: They need to be able to stand out from the crowd so potential customers can see them and have a good reason to choose them.

A Business Profile from Jim Brumm provides both : A way for customers to see what sets your business apart, and a way for you to stand out from your competition.

People Want To Do Business With People They Know. Here’s How To Make It Easy For Them To Choose Your Business Over Your Competition.

Why should I trust you? It’s a legitimate question. Many people ask this of themselves when they are considering doing business with someone, but don’t say it out loud. Making a big purchase can be a scary thing. Choosing the right person to help you handle something important in your life can make the difference between success and failure, satisfaction or frustration.

Today, more than ever, business is relationship driven. Simply put, people want to do business with someone they know, someone they trust. Yes, today’s technology has given us more and more ways to communicate and to receive information, but in many ways it has also separated us.

People are still people, even with pockets full of digital organizers, computers on their laps and headsets stuck in their ears. People inherently, naturally and instinctively want to connect with one another on a one-on-one basis. And in this day and age, as technology insulates us, I believe that people are thirsting for that connection, that human touch. They want to trust and know you, but they need a reason.

Establishing trust is a process. You can help speed up this process by giving potential clients information about yourself that helps them relax and feel good about their decision.

Tell Them Your Story
It’s very simple, actually. Just tell them your story.

That’s right. Tell them your story. Think back for a moment to when you first started your business. You had an inspiration. You had a dream. You had a vision. You had lots of ideas about why your business would be different from your competition, how you would offer something special and why people would want to do business with you.

As a writer, I specialize in helping business owners tell their story in a compelling and interesting way. During my many years of publishing magazines I noticed something happening over and over. When we would write a story about a business, that business owner would frame their story in their place of business, post it on their website or make copies to pass out to the public. Why? Because as every business owner who has had an article done on their business knows, a well-written article is a great marketing tool.

Ads All Tend To
Say The Same Things

Here’s the problem with regular ads: Because you can only say so much in the space provided, and because most business owners know lots about their business but little about marketing, businesses tend to say the same general things in their ads. For example: “We give great service,” “We do it right the first time,” (That one cracks me up, well, I would hope so!), “We’ve been in business since . . .” “We give the best service . . .” But since the ads look alike and the public can’t really tell all these businesses apart, they default to price, since it’s the only tool they have to differentiate you. And none of us want customers who come in with price as their first consideration.

Your Personal Journey Is Your Story

Think about your own story. You didn’t just wake up one day and say, “I’m going to open a computer consulting business, or become a landscape architect, or start a specialty food business. It was a life process. Your experience, your observations, your choices in life, led you to where you are today, with the knowledge and skills you bring to bear on your business.

That journey, that sometimes convoluted path of life and discovery that led you though jobs and experiences and relationships and different parts of the world, and, ultimately, to start your business, is your story. And people love to hear those stories of struggle, dreams and success. They would love to hear your story.

Why? Because it makes you human, like them. And despite what many people say at first, that is, “My story is boring,” it’s not true. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has something to share that will inspire and motivate others. Especially business owners. The secret is finding and then telling your story in a way that makes people want to do business with you.

Capturing Those Things That Makes Your Business Unique

In an article about your business, I will capture all those special things that would help potential clients trust and feel safe with you—if they only knew about them, those things that are difficult to impart in an ad, or a quick meeting. My writing style is conversational and informal. My goal is not to impress the reader with fancy writing, it’s to make them like and trust you.

Third-Party Credibility

You may ask, “Why don’t I just write my own story?” And the answer is, of course, you can do that. But most people find it extremely difficult to talk about themselves and tell their own story in print. First of all, they aren’t writers, and second, most people have trouble singing their own praises. We’re actually taught not to do that. I will help you capture all those wonderful things about you and your business that you might be uncomfortable saying yourself. Also, when it’s written by someone else, it has more legitimacy in the mind of the reader.

Here’s how it works:

We sit down together or speak on the phone (typically 45-minutes to an hour) and we talk about you and your life and your business. During this interview I learn about your dream and what makes your business special, those things which set you apart from your competition. It’s very informal. We usually laugh a lot. Most of my clients find this interview fun and enlightening as it causes them to reflect and remember all the reasons they are in business. It’s a reaffirmation of their vision. “Oh yeah,” they say. “I am pretty great!”

I take photos of you and your business for your article .

I go back and write your story (about 1000 words) and then send it to you for review and changes. It may go back and forth a few times. You get plenty of chances to make it perfect. I want it to be perfect.

I design a professional layout of your article on two pages , with photographs, which looks as though it were lifted from a magazine.

I create a PDF file of your article , and send it to you, along with the photos and original MS Word document. You retain all rights to the story and the photos.

You get one free update of your article if anything changes in your business.

During my many years as a writer, I have written dozens of articles which have helped a wide variety of businesses reach out to customers. Imagine a similar article about you and your business, an article that looks as though it were lifted from the pages of a magazine, and envision all the ways you could use such a compelling marketing tool.
Speaking of that, here are the ways my clients use their stories:

How to Use Your Business Profile

Email it to everybody . As a PDF file, your story can be emailed—photos, layout and all, to prospective customers with a push of a button. Many businesses use this to follow up on phone inquiries or to send to referral sources or their entire mailing list.

Hand it out at trade or consumer shows . This is a great tool to give people to take with them when they are considering you. It has all the information you don’t have time to tell them in a quick “meet and greet” at the booth and it keeps selling for you after they’re gone. You probably already have brochures and other printed material about your company. Give them your article too.

Post it on your Web site . Most “About Us” sections on websites are woefully inadequate. They are short and dry and often read like a resume. Putting your story there is another way to help clients make that connection with you.

Give it to customers who come in and tell you they are “just looking.” You can hand it to them and say, “Here’s an article that was written about us, take it with you.” Again, this will help you keep selling after they’re gone.

Include it in your bids . This is a great tool for contractors or others who submit competitive bids. Including your story along with the numbers gives clients a very compelling reason to choose you.

Include it in any information packs you distribute . If you have a folder of information about your company that you give to potential clients, by all means, include your story. It may be the most powerful item in there to help them make their decision.

Send it to publications . Many editors are much more inclined to accept stories if they are already written. The work is already done; all they have to do is print it. They love that.

Use it as an advertising insert . Some businesses have copies printed and have their articles included with the local newspaper or magazine as an insert.

Keep copies with you and give one to everyone who asks about your business . There are lots of opportunities to get your story in the hands of others: Chamber mixers, parties, lines at the grocery store, anytime someone asks about your business, give them a copy of your article.

Use it for years . Really. Use it for years. One of the great things about this, as opposed to buying an ad, is that while an ad lasts for the life of one publication (in newspapers that’s one day!) your article can literally be used for years. (Don’t forget about your free update!)

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I believe that the simple fact that a business owner would be willing to share their story says a lot about their confidence and openness. If I were making a choice between two competing businesses, I’d choose the one that shared their vision with me.

When someone is holding your story in their hands, reading about your journey, your integrity, your vision and your dream, well, then you can know you’ve made a connection. When they’re done reading it, they’ll feel they know something about you, and people want to do business with people they know. They want to trust you. Tell them your story, let them get to know you and you’ll make it easier for them.

Give me a call and let’s get started telling your story and increasing your business.
707-228-0816. jim@jimbrumm.com.

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