Gone are the days where your value as an employee or vendor was linked to your loyalty and seniority. Today, companies are in a constant state of
reorganization in response to the rapidly changing demands of the market. This modifies the way you behave as employees or vendors. On a constant basis, you are working with different project teams, managers, and employees. In a sense, you are functioning like your own personal corporation. And that means that you have the same need to differentiate yourself and build demand for your services among your target markets.
Just as with corporate brands, your personal brand is your promise
of value. It separates you from your peers, your colleagues, and
your competitors. And it allows you to expand your success. Personal
branding is not about building a special image for the outside
world; it is about understanding your unique combination of rational
and emotional attributes - your strengths, skills, values and
passions - and using these attributes to differentiate yourself and
guide your career decisions.
So, whether you are a senior executive, the president of your own
business, or an employee of a company of any size, managing your
brand is critical to achieving your professional goals. When you
have built and nurtured a winning brand, you'll reap the many
benefits, including:
Understanding yourself better,
Increasing your confidence,
Increasing your visibility and presence,
Differentiating yourself from your peers,
Increasing your compensation,
Thriving during downturns in the economy,
Expanding into new business areas, and
Having better, more interesting jobs and assignments.
Here are three steps to successful personal branding:
Step 1: Unearth Your Brand.
Give your brand context. Before you can clearly describe your
personal brand, you need to look at the big picture: your vision,
and purpose. Your vision is external. It is the essence of what you
see possible for the world. Your purpose is internal. It is the role
you play in supporting that vision. As Gandhi said, "We must be the
change we wish to see in the world."
Additionally, your personal brand needs to be tied to your goals.
Spend some time thinking about how you would like your life to look
in a year. Two years? Five years? Be sure to document your answers.
With your goals set down, and with a real understanding of your
vision and purpose, you can begin the assessment process required to
understand and develop your brand.
Know Yourself.
A successful personal brand is authentic. Thus, you need to know
yourself before you can build a successful brand. If you are
creative, dynamic, outgoing, and whimsical, you will not succeed by
communicating the attributes of predictable, steady, and focused.
Much the same as Volvo is known for being safe, not for being a
speedy sports car.
Know Your Competitors.
How can you stand out unless you know those among whom you're
standing? In other words, who are you really competing against? Your
current colleagues? A larger group at your current workplace? Others
within your industry? Take another look at your goals, and take a
closer look at your competition. If you see yourself making major
career changes, your competitors are not likely to be your current
colleagues. If you are planning a straight-ahead trajectory to a
more senior position, it may be easier to identify the competition
and their brand attributes.
Know Your Target.
To be successful, it's not enough just to have a personal brand. You
need to communicate it to the right people. It would exhaust your
resources to aim for the world at large. The key to successful
personal branding is focus!
Barbara Bix, founder of the business development and marketing firm
BB Marketing Plus, has defined her target as follows: executives in
firms, or business unit directors, who sell advice, data, or
technology, have fewer than 50 employees, earn between $1 million
and $10 million in revenue, command an average sales price of at
least $30,000, and depend on senior managers, or perhaps a single
salesperson, to get new business.
Now, you may not be able to define your target as narrowly as
Barbara, but you should at least be able to identify specific people
or characteristics of your target audience to help you define your
messages. Just like Mattel knows that their target audience is glued
to the television on Saturday morning, you too must understand how
and where you can reach your audience.
Step 2: Express Yourself.
Describe the essence of your brand. From the results of Step 1
above, start to create a personal brand profile. List your brand
attributes, create a brand statement and even your personal brand
tagline. This will help you as you develop a plan to communicate
your brand.
Find the Right Mix.
Once you know yourself, your competitors, and your target, you can
identify the ideal combination of communications tools that reach
your audience effectively. This can vary widely depending on your
goals, but maybe you will want to write articles or contribute to
your internal newsletter. Maybe regular speaking gigs are more
appropriate for your brand. You need to evaluate all possible
communications tools and select the right combination to reach your
target audience.
Mark Everything You Do with Your Brand.
Whether you're giving a presentation, participating in a meeting, or
writing a report, you never have to leave your brand behind. Always
ask yourself how you can connect your brand to every given
situation. Every meeting, every project, every business trip – every
business meal!
Live and Breathe Your Brand.
Live in a state of inquiry for two weeks – to start. Question
everything you do, every tool you use, every article of clothing you
wear. Are they consistent with your brand? Do you have a WAP phone
but use a printed calendar or a handwritten to-do list? Do you carry
a briefcase? Make sure everything communicates the essence of your
brand. Get used to living in the inquiry. It's a tool that will help
you keep your brand clear, consistent, and constant.
Step 3: Evaluate and Evolve.
You've identified your brand. You've developed communications tools
to reach your target audience. But how do you measure your brand
success?
Evaluate.
The key is putting metrics in up front. If you are an employee of a
company, you can use performance evaluations, and informal feedback
from managers and peers. Find a group of people to use as your focus
group: trusted people who will provide truly honest feedback,
perhaps your mentor or a performance coach. If you are a consultant,
provide your clients with feedback forms after every project.
Request feedback on your web site. Get as much INput as you can, to
make your OUTput as strong as it can be.
Evolve.
To remain relevant to their target audiences, all strong brands evolve with the times. This could mean line extensions (Starbucks is now serving teas; McDonald's is offering salads). It could be modifying the ways you communicate your brand (moving from a printed resume to a resume on CD). It could mean augmenting brand attributes as you continue to grow in your career (much like Volvo has been adding style to safety in the design of their cars).
Whatever course you take, make sure your brand
continues to be authentic, differentiated, and consistent.
In a world where
cities, wars, CEOs, politicians and highways are branded, you need to think
about yourself in the same terms. So build and nurture your brand. There are
three simple steps. Leading you along one clear path to success.
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