Ask yourself a difficult question right now: "Does the industry respect me more today than they did a year ago?"
If the answer is "No" or even "About the same," your brand is currently frozen.
While you’ve been busy keeping your head down and doing the work, the marketplace has continued to evolve. Competitors have emerged, new tech and AI are taking over content creation, the noise has gotten louder, and attention spans have shortened. In a moving market, standing still is actually moving backwards.
Many business owners suffer from a specific form of paralysis. We call it the frozen state. Often triggered by Tall Poppy Syndrome or the creeping doubt of Imposter Syndrome, you might feel that you haven’t done enough, or that claiming your expertise is arrogant and awards are merely vanity metrics reserved for the big end of town. This mindset keeps you stagnant. It keeps you a hidden secret rather than a market leader.
The truth is that silence is not a strategy and no one else is going to go out there and promote you, your innovation, service, products, business or approach. To break the ice, you don’t need a stroke of luck or a massive marketing budget. You need momentum.
You need a system that turns a single action into a continuous cycle of visibility.
We call this the Audacious Snowball Effect.
The Anatomy of Momentum
Real profile building is rarely about one big, lucky break. It is about strategic layering. Consider the trajectory of the fabulous Hilary Saxton.
Hilary came to us with a complex ecosystem. She needed to elevate her personal brand alongside her business brand, whilst also drawing attention to her book and podcasts. The challenge was not a lack of expertise; it was a lack of unified momentum. Her brilliance was evident to those who worked with her, but the wider industry needed to catch up.
We did not start by shouting into the void. We started with the first stage of the Snowball Effect: The Strategic Plan. We mapped out a Unique Profile Position (UPP) that encompassed her diverse offerings and focused on her overarching approach - resilience.
Once the strategy was set, we moved to execution. We began entering awards that aligned specifically with her narrative of strength, adaptability and business acumen. But we didn’t just hit "submit" and hope for the best. We used the content from those entries to secure her placement in online publications, offering expert commentary on business and leadership.
The results illustrated the power of the Snowball Effect perfectly. The award entries provided the raw data and credibility. The leveraging of those entries built her digital footprint. Today, Hilary has launched her new professional speaker website and established herself as a sought-after keynote speaker - https://hilarysaxton.com/
By championing her unique approach to "Building Your Empire," she has moved from being an expert in her field to a recognised authority. She is only just starting to leverage her wins, yet the momentum is already doing the heavy lifting for her.
Why the Snowball Works
You cannot build this kind of surround sound authority overnight. It requires a methodical approach that leverages the 3 R’s of Profile Building: Reputation, Recognition, and Respect.
The Audacious Snowball Effect works because it creates efficiency. Here is how the system compounds over time:
- 1It starts with a push (Plan & Reputation): You cannot build a profile on shaky ground. You need to clarify your Unique Profile Position first. This gives you an edge and gives your audience a reason to choose you. Ideally, you have a strategic 12-month plan that keeps the ball rolling.
- 2It gathers layers (Recognition): This is where most people fail; they hang their hat on entering one award and hope for the best. Writing and submitting the entry is just the beginning. While the judges deliberate, you should already be repurposing that content into blog posts and social media tiles - using the metrics and stories from your entry to communicate your impact immediately, building the snowball even bigger
- 3It gains speed (Leveraging): Suddenly, you are a nominee in one award, a finalist in another and a winner in one too. When you leverage the status regardless of the final outcome, you validate your expertise. Your profile builds speed as you add layers of credibility.
- 4It surrounds the audience (Respect & Profile Boosting): Before long, your prospect sees you everywhere. You’re on LinkedIn, in industry news, on awards finalists and winner lists, and guesting on podcasts. The "Snowball" is now large enough that it commands attention on its own.
The longer and more consistently you build the snowball effect, the more efficient it becomes. The content you create in Month 1 feeds the opportunities in Month 6. However, this relies on constant forward motion. If you stop entering, stop leveraging, or stop pitching, the snowball melts.
Audacious Tip:
The hardest part of a snowball is the first rollover. The friction is highest when you are standing still. You might feel you don't have the time to gather the data or the confidence to claim your achievements. This is normal.
But remember: once you have a plan, the momentum eventually takes over. The system is designed so that your time commitment reduces as your profile value accelerates. You just need to be brave enough to give it that first push.
Are you ready to break the ice?
Don't let another year pass where you stay the best-kept secret in your industry. It is time to start building the momentum that leads to genuine respect and revenue.
Take our Award Readiness Quiz today. It is the first step in defining your strategy and finding out exactly how audacious you can be.
