THREE STEPS TO A WINNING BRAND (PART ONE)
THREE STEPS TO A WINNING BRAND (PART ONE)
Wednesday, 18 April 2007 11:21
Personal Branding is not about building a special image for the outside world; it is about understanding what is truly unique about you - your strengths, skills, values and passions - and using that to differentiate yourself and guide your career decisions. In part one of this two-part article by William Arruda we commence the journey of learning how to construct a winning personal brand.
by William Arruda 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 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. (Part two of this article is available on this website under the title: Three Steps to a Winning Personal Brand Part Two) Reproduced with permission from www.reachcc.com
