PERSONAL BRANDING: WHY IT MATTERS

AGENDA

What is a personal brand? How can you build a better brand and reputation? How do you promote your reputation inside and outside of your organization? What changes can you make today to improve your brand?

DEFINITION OF PERSONAL BRANDING

The term, coined in 1997 by Tom Peters, meaning the marketing of people and their careers like brands

SOME OTHER USEFUL DEFINITIONS

Personal vs. Professional Branding - Professional branding and personal branding are closely related.Instead of marketing a product or service, a person is being promoted and sold to a recruiter/employer

Personal Brand – The process by which individuals differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, then leveraging it with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal (e.g., a job). A personal brand enhances their recognition as experts in their field, establishes reputation and credibility, advances their careers, and builds self-confidence.

Personal Brand Statement – A summary of your unique value proposition that tells what are you the best at and who you serve.

Personal Brand Action Plan - Steps that must be taken to develop and promote your brand. Should include specific tasks that need to be accomplished and timelines of when will it be done.

Personal Brand Package – Marketing collateral that supports your personal brand. It could include a website, blog, and profiles on social media sites and even web portfolio with resumes, biographies, references, case studies of success stories, etc.

WHY PERSONAL BRANDING

We are all commodities now! Superior skills, creativity, and drive once is no longer a competitive advantage. It’s a pre-requisite! We must differentiate and position ourselves from the competition Our audience is the hiring managers and recruiters that deal with thousands of resumes each day Today career advancement depends on self-packaging.

PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS

What are the strengths and weaknesses in your brand? Is your brand consistent? Is your brand well-known? How do your work fans describe you? How do your work detractors describe you?

PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

Write out a very honest description of your current brand Write out your ideal brand Define the gaps between the two brands Create an action plan for each brand attribute you’ve identified through the gap analysis Expect resistance – even from yourself! Put together a Brand Statement

DETERMINE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

Hiring managers in your field Recruiters New networking contacts Former colleagues/ references Friends

EVALUATE THE COMPETITION

What are your target companies’ needs and pains? How do you compare and differentiate the value that you deliver from the value other candidates deliver? How do you substantiate your ability to deliver on your value promise (e.g., track record, references, etc.)?

* Courtesy of Scott Gleason for the “Professional Branding” workshop sponsored by Career Care at St. Andrew UMC Scott Gleason can be contacted at scottgleason@sbcglobal.net Page 1

PERSONAL BRANDING: WHY IT MATTERS

DETERMINE YOUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

How do you create value? Be able to articulate your goals and strengths What are your core competencies (skills) and how do you differentiate yourself from the competition? What capabilities (experiences) can you bring to bear to execute against your value promise? Why should your “value target” accept your particular offer (e.g., more experienced, can hit ground running, solve

a specific problem)?

WRITING YOUR BRAND STATEMENT

A Brand statement should:o Reflect your brand’s unique value proposition

what makes you standout  What makes you the best choice

o Be clear, engaging, and relevant to your target audienceo Reflect who you are, what you do and the experiences you bring to bear  o State clearly what are you the best at and who you serve (audience)

EXAMPLES OF BRANDING STATEMENT

“Sitting at the intersection of technology and business, I use my passion for communication to help IT professionals in Fortune 100 companies express themselves in ways that are understood by business people”.

“As an experienced Retail Operations Executive, I have engaged cutting–edge technologies that helped global retail companies achieve aggressive revenue growth and improve operating cost objectives. Some of the top companies I have worked with include ABC Stores, NewCo Retailing, and Auction Corporation, and online auction site.” 

“I inspire and activate high achieving sales people in health care organizations through my focus on motivation, positivity, empathy and competition”

“A focused and determined business leader, I drive bottom line growth, inspire peak employee performance, and cultivate profitable business relationships built on respect, loyalty, and trust.”

“An internal management consultant, I lead mission critical strategic initiatives and transformational projects for executive management in the financial services industry.”

ELEMENTS OF A STRONG BRAND

Personal Appearance – Clothing, Attractiveness, Hygiene

Personality – Values, Goals, Identity and Behavior

Competencies – Business, Communication and Technical Skills

Differentiator – Your Unique Value Proposition

Commitment to Excellence - High Quality Work and Outstanding Work Behaviors

Trustworthiness – Positive Interactions with Colleagues, Consistency in your respect, composure, thoroughness and thoughtfulness.

Visibility – Organizational and External

TO DO LIST

To enhance your brand image, in the next six months:

Start blogging—be brave and go for it! A well-written blog focused on your area of expertise is another good addition to your personal branding package.

Build a web site – Consider a web site to create and showcase your brand. Create a “webfolio” with your resume, bio, in depth briefs for success stories, etc.

Create a presence – Comment on other people blogs, write some articles, speak at events, go to industry meetings, conventions

Volunteer – Join a committee and volunteer diligently Get your name out there – Meet people in your field either on-line or in person. Use tools like LinkedIn to make

connection

* Courtesy of Scott Gleason for the “Professional Branding” workshop sponsored by Career Care at St. Andrew UMC Scott Gleason can be contacted at scottgleason@sbcglobal.net Page 2