LETS START FROM THE TOP
You're driven to scale Flourish Advisory Boards to $10 million and the Brain Trust from 100 to 1,000 users. Your pathways are clear: EO/YPO, keynotes, Inc. Magazine, your podcast, your books. But these inbound channels are suffering from a critical problem: a visual first impression that actively undermines your immense value.
Right now, your online presence creates a major disconnect. While you are a premium solution, a disruptor, connector, an 'idea monkey,' your visuals tell a different story. Relying on outdated, few, or generic stock photos, alongside an overuse of icons where impactful images are more impactful, portrays you as a cheap option or, worse, irrelevant. This makes you invisible in a crowded marketplace that runs on attention, directly costing you inbound opportunities, revenue, and additional referrals for Flourish and your speaking business.
This is not sustainable.
To truly convert curious prospects into engaged clients, and to establish yourself as an unmistakable Market of One, your visual storytelling must show who you are and how you solve problems. Your visuals must also consistently signal your essence: curious, fun, connector, authentic, playful, optimistic, challenger, innovative, and trustworthy.
To achieve this Market of One visual position, your strategy needs to hit three critical goals:
1. CURBSIDE APPEAL: THE UNMISTAKABLE FIRST IMPRESSION
Curbside Appeal is the magnetic power of your photos that inspires pattern interrupt to produce an immediate, premium first impression. It's the subconscious signal that communicates to viewers of the image your value, expertise, authority and a top-tier experience. It compels prospects to stop scrolling, engage deeper, and actively seek the premium solution you provide.
Visually, Curbside Appeal is built through expressive photos, dynamic angles that convey presence, and polished, impactful imagery that truly pops off the screen, with every element serving to enhance you as the main subject.
2. INSTANT CREDIBILITY: THE UNMISTAKABLE PROOF
Instant Credibility is the visual demonstration that you've done this before, done it recently, and done it for people just like viewers of the image. It’s the visual evidence that validates your process, expertise, experience, and current relevance, which builds trust. It makes them instantly recognize you as the go-to authority.
Visually, Instant Credibility is built through genuine photos showcasing your methodologies in action, interactions with clients or audiences, and documentation of the comprehensive experience you provide from inquiry to delivery.
3. GENUINE UNIQUENESS: THE UNMISTAKABLE CONNECTION
Genuine Uniqueness is the visual revelation of your authentic essence and personality beyond the professional facade. It’s the visual storytelling that invites people into your world, spanning the emotional spectrum of your business and life. It makes them feel like they already know and trust you on a human level. This fosters trust, making prospects feel they already know and instantly connect with you on a human level, significantly lowering barriers to engagement.
Visually, Genuine Uniqueness is built through photos capturing your natural expressions and body language, glimpses of your world beyond work (including hobbies and personal life), and moments that reveal your true character without putting on a show.
TO ACHIEVE THESE THREE CRITICAL VISUAL GOALS TO SUPPORT YOUR AMBITIOUS OBJECTIVES, A STRATEGIC APPROACH IS REQUIRED.
Your business goal is to scale Flourish to $10 million in revenue and engage 1,000 users for the Flourish Advisory Brain Trust. To achieve this, you need to attract more inbound opportunities and position yourself as an undeniable solution worth the investment. Speaking engagements, as you know, are a powerful engine for lead generation, but they need to be amplified and sustained by a comprehensive, always-on visual presence. You never know when or where a potential CEO/Founder or event planner is debating whether you’re the solution to their problem.
This isn't about getting a few nice photos. It's about systematically building a visual storytelling library that acts as a flywheel that continuously fuels your growth and transforms your presence.
ACTION PLAN TO BUILD YOUR VISUAL FLYWHEEL:
I. IMMEDIATE FOUNDATION - WEEKS 1-3
1. Conduct a Comprehensive Visual Audit:
Action: Systematically review every touchpoint where you use photos – your websites, social media profiles, speaker kits, presentation slides, book pages, email signatures, etc. Identify outdated, low-quality, or stock images that no longer reflect your current brand.
Timeline: Week 1
Why it matters: This initial step is critical to pinpointing your most urgent visual upgrade needs. It immediately identifies visual liabilities that are actively sabotaging your perceived authority and repelling potential inbound opportunities. You can't tell a premium story with subpar visuals; this audit finds where the gaps are largest.
2. Qualify the Right Photographer(s) For You:
Action: Prioritize selecting a photographer (or a small network of national photographers for live events) with proven expertise in capturing Founder/Expert-led faces of their brands. Their work needs to demonstrate an ability to craft diverse Core Assets (portraits, lifestyle), document dynamic Visual Evidence (live keynotes, virtual sessions). Also, they must have a personality that builds rapport easily with you, so that they can consistently capture your unique essence, and deliver a wide variety of assets that provide your team maximum creative latitude for all content, marketing, and promotional needs.
Timeline: Weeks 1-2
Why it matters: The right photographer thinks like a marketer and is your visual storytelling collaborator, not just a camera monkey. Their experience ensures they understand the strategic goals behind each shot, translating your personality, process, and value into compelling imagery. A strong rapport builds trust, which ultimately will make or break the value of the investment you make in them.
II. ASSET CREATION & ORGANIZATION - MONTHS 1-2
3. Invest in Core Assets Annually:
Action: Invest in comprehensive professional branding sessions to capture high-quality Core Assets - promotional portraits, lifestyle photos, and additional assets such as books and awards.
Timeline: Month 1
Why it matters: These images immediately signal a premium, current, and professional brand, compelling prospects to engage further (Curbside Appeal). They visually substantiate your expertise and commitment to your field, instantly building trust and justifying your perceived value (Instant Credibility). Since they have a shelf life, plan for annual refreshes to ensure these assets always mirror your current positioning.
Where to use them:
Promotional Images: LinkedIn profile photos, website, speaker/PR/media kit, slides, bureau pages, Flourish promotional materials, other marketing materials.
Candid Lifestyle Portraits: Social media content, website "About" pages, thought leadership posts, blog thumbnails, book promotion, LinkedIn articles, and anywhere you want to add human depth to your professional messaging.
Additional Assets - Books/Awards: Website Book page, Amazon A+ content, book landing pages, social media announcements for new releases, speaker kits, and any marketing material where you promote your thought leadership.
Here’s what they look like:
4. Create a Dedicated Visual Storytelling Library:
Action: Build an organized, continuously updated digital library of all your visuals, categorized by Core Assets, Visual Evidence, and Missing Details. Share this library with your marketing team and assistant.
Timeline: Month 1-2 (Ongoing)
Why: This centralized, well-curated library is the engine of your visual flywheel. It ensures every relevant team member has immediate access to current, high-quality, on-brand imagery, enabling consistent, powerful storytelling across all platforms. This strategic organization eliminates visual bottlenecks, decision fatigue and maximizes the reach and impact of every asset, driving continuous inbound opportunities and reinforcing your authority.
III. ONGOING ACTIVATION & LEVERAGE - MONTHS 2+ / ONGOING)
5. Invest in Capturing Visual Evidence:
Action: Commit to capturing your expertise in real-time whether on stage or facilitating virtual Flourish sessions. For keynotes, earmark 2-3 rooms that capture well, and hire a professional photographer to capture the before, during, and after of the entire event.
Timeline: Ongoing (Month 2+)
Why: This provides undeniable, dynamic proof of your capabilities. It transforms abstract claims of "being a disruptor" into visual evidence of you actually doing it, building immediate and compelling trust (Instant Credibility). These visuals also keep your online presence dynamic and engaging (Curbside Appeal). Beyond this, these captures powerfully showcase your Genuine Uniqueness, fostering deeper audience connection because you’re uniquely being yourself.
Where to use them: Speaker kits, website speaking pages, bureau pages, promotional materials for future bookings, media kits for press, and anywhere you need to project authoritative stage presence and audience impact.
Here’s what they look like:
6. Document Your Annual Team Meeting:
Action: Maximize your annual team gathering by hiring a professional photographer for high-impact branding assets: capturing updated, uniform team headshots, group photos, and polished candid moments of work and socializing together. Simultaneously, actively encourage and empower your team to take Real-time Smartphone Shots throughout the event, sharing and tagging Flourish and yourself.
Timeline: Annually (prioritize first event post-audit)
Why: This approach provides a wealth of diverse, high-quality visuals from one event. The professional photos deliver consistent, premium brand assets and refreshed individual headshots, saving significant time and resources. The team-generated smartphone content offers an authentic, continuous stream of behind-the-scenes glimpses, showcasing Genuine Uniqueness, team culture, and camaraderie. This combined strategy powerfully reinforces Instant Credibility, enhances Curbside Appeal by adding relatable human elements, and provides endless fresh content across all your platforms.
Where To Use Them: The "About Us" or "Team" section of the Flourish website, social media posts highlighting team culture and synergy, recruitment materials, and internal communications.
Here’s some inspirational examples:
7. Commit to Real-time Storytelling (Micro-Moments):
Action: Consistently employ your smartphone to capture genuine, "behind-the-scenes" micro-moments. This includes your unique professional processes (pre-keynote prep, virtual Flourish session dynamics, your "idea monkey" doodle notes) alongside glimpses into your personal passions (the farm, fishing, biking, family). This systemizes the authentic sharing you already do.
Timeline: Daily / Ongoing (Month 2+)
Why: These unfiltered micro-moments reveal the distinct character and values that define you, allowing prospects to connect with the authentic Mike Maddock. This continuous visual narrative directly fuels your Genuine Uniqueness, keeping your audience engaged and reinforcing your "Market of One" position.
Where To Use Them: Social media (posts, stories, reels for immediate connection), personal branding on your website, and blog posts to deepen relatability and showcase your authentic lifestyle.
Here’s what this looks like for me:
8. Launch a Visual Implementation Plan:
Action: Initiate a rapid refresh across all your key visual touchpoints, ensuring new, premium imagery immediately replaces outdated visuals on social profiles, website, and marketing collateral. Establish a coordinated workflow with your marketing teams to systematically integrate these new images into all outgoing content (podcast clips, articles, colleague collaborations), targeting a minimum of 2-3 visual content pieces per week.
Timeline: Month 2 (Post Core Asset Capture) / Ongoing
Why: A well-executed implementation plan transforms your new visual assets from files that live in a cloud somewhere into a powerful, always-on content engine. This rapid refresh immediately elevates your perceived value, eliminating visual disconnects. Integrating new images amplifies your consistent messaging, driving inbound opportunities and supporting your Market of One position.