Meet Suzanne Tulien: Brand Clarity Expert, Speaker, Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Suzanne Tulien and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzanne, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
One of my most favorite meaningful quotes for me in this lifelong journey is, “Your level of success is inextricably related to your level of self-development,” by Claire Zammit, Feminine Power Global Community. I whole-heartedly believe this is true – in fact, self-development actually may change your idea of what success really is. Through regular focus on self development, you realize that success is so much deeper than a particular financial path, or career path, in fact you’ll find the more self development work you do, the less your external environment really matters. Instead, you begin to realize your own abilities to drive happiness, contentment, joy, and utter satisfaction in so many other ways. And, hence, what I continue to choose to focus on in my industry is the self-development and alignment of personal and business brands to step fully into their potential by becoming more and more conscious of what they truly stand for. It is a highly gratifying process of awareness that opens doors to empowerment, distinction, and ownership of your way of being like never before. 

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I started Brand Ascension, Consulting & Training over 17 years ago to help companies identify, define and align themselves to a unique and sustainable value position that creates competitive advantage, consistencies and enables them to become what they want to be known for. Unlike the typical marketing & communication firms, Brand Ascension pioneered a methodology that peels back the onion so to speak, and reveals the Brand DNA of the organization. The DNA comprises of core values, style attributes, authentic differentiators, standards of performance, brand platform and promise. These key elements, when revealed and committed to help to re-align the organization to a value position that delivers on its promise every single day. I pivoted into this specific focus because of the realization that all I was doing for my clients when I was in the marketing & communication industry, was putting ‘lipstick on the pig,’ so to speak. I realized that crafting clever messaging and designing beautiful imagery was only a facade for the brand and that there were deeper issues that were not being addressed within the operations of the client’s brand that had to be aligned before it could sustain the acquisition and retention of their perfect customer base. And that was the deep work of uncovering the ‘genetic code’ of the organization so they could become more and more of who they say they are. Congruency is the secret sauce for sustained growth. It wasn’t ‘easy’ and still isn’t ‘easy’ convincing prospects to spend time and effort going ‘inward’ before they commit to another dollar to marketing. But, occasionally, I attract and connect with the perfect client who totally gets the meaning and power of clarity in your position. I truly reshapes and clarifies how they run their business and show up authentically. The lessons I learned and now also teach are that no brand is universal. You have a value position that attracts a specific market, and once you are clear on what that truly is, you can begin to attract the right clients very consistently. Your brand IS your business, and should be attended to at a very conscious, strategic, and deliberate level. I would love to share to the world that every brand has a unique position to leverage. And until you do the ‘due diligence’ to uncover what that is, and begin to align everything you do to that position, you will stay in the realm of chasing the client vs. attracting the client. That is what the process of BRAND DEFINITION is really all about. Identify. Define. Align.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would wake up and head to Garden of the Gods for a brisk morning hike, then over to Garden of the Gods Market & Cafe for a hearty & healthy breakfast. Then schedule in a spa treatment at Sun Spa in Manitou, then wine tasting at the Wine Gallery – with a purchase of some worldly bottles of wine. We would definitely do a lunch at Paris Crepe downtown at some point. I’d also suggest a day up in the mountains fly fishing and picnicking in Eleven-mile Canyon for some fresh air, sunshine and lots of nature! On the way back down the hill to COS we could stop at the Bier Works and share an oversized german pretzel with a brew. Shopping at The Briargate Shoppes would be fun and doing a happy hour at P.F. Chang’s at the bar, then fold into dinner. Then there is always an opportunity to get dressed up and see a show at the ENT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER! Then dinner tapas downtown at the Rabbit Hole. One sunny day would be a full round of golf at the Country Club of Colorado, then drinks and happy hour at the Gates Grill on property. Then drinks at the Famous bar with some sing-a-longs with the piano player into the night.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to give some big, top of the mountain, ‘shout-outs’ to all my mentors who have guided me in discovering who I really am, what my superpowers are, and have enabled me to become and advocate of my own authenticity. Some of these mentors are celebrities in their own right like Deepak Chopra, Abraham-Hicks, Tony Robins, Dr. Joe Dispenza, all the way down to teachers, employers and friendships along the way. But the most unusual shout out I’d like to give recognition to is all the kids in my grade school who bullied and harassed me over a period of six years. They were the catalyst to driving me to deep self-discovery and complete clarity of who I really am. I am grateful to that experience, although very confusing, disheartening and lonely at the time, that experience helped to make me who I am today.

Website: www.BrandAscension.com
Instagram: Brandascensionconsulting
Linkedin: www.Linked.in.com/suzannetulien
Twitter: @brandascension
Facebook: www.facebook.com/brandascension
Youtube: BrandAscension channel
Other: Online self-paced Personal Branding course: www.PersonalBrandPresence.com

Image Credits
All images are owned by Brand Ascension