Personal Branding for Professional Success
The idea of a “personal Brand” is something we all
understand… at least as it relates to celebrities. Public figures like Madonna, Lebron James and even Dale Earnhart Jr. craft and maintain their brands as enthusiastically
as the Coca Colas and Nike’s of the world.
But a personal brand for you and me?
Absolutely, says personal branding guru Peter Montoya. The issue, in fact, isn’t whether to create a
personal brand, but how to create the most effective one you can, he says.
“Everyone has a personal brand, whether they like it or
not,” says Montoya. In fact, I have
worked very hard to brand myself as “Coach Rick” the Executive Coach. Now where ever I go, invariably someone gets
my weekly thought “The Bald Truth” (sign up here: http://bit.ly/1i1sulT ) or has seen/heard me speak. My goal has been to craft the brand so that
it creates a clear and memorable impression about who I am and what I do. You can do the same whether you are a small
business owner, solo entrepreneur or corporate executive.
A personal brand is “the powerful, clear positive idea that
comes to mind whenever other people think of you,” Montoya explains. It’s the values, abilities and actions you
stand for, or, as he puts it, your personal brand is “who you are, what you do,
and what make you different or how you create value for your target market.”
A critical aspect of “brand building” for small firms and
solo entrepreneurs is the old stand-by: growing your network. A crisply defined brand should make that
process simpler – who you are and what you do will be easier to remember if you
have done your brand homework – but it still requires getting your brand in
front of people the old fashioned way, one handshake at a time.
Here are three tips for making the most of your personal
brand to build your business, or to enhance or reinforce your value within your
corporation:
- Make
sure that everything that surrounds your brand (your office, website,
customer service group, etc) communicates the same brand
- Build
and nurture your professional network and ensure that all members
understand your brand message.
- Establish
appropriate partnerships to extend your brand and gain complementary brand
value.
A personal brand won’t necessarily turn you into the next
Payton Manning – in fact, it probably won’t do a thing to make you and NFL quarterback – but it
may be a valuable tool to define and refine what you do and how you tell your
customers or employers about it.
That is the BALD TRUTH! Now Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get To Work!
Coach Rick
if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at rick@coachrick.net
Coach Rick Kolster is an executive coach and thought leader who works with business owners and executives to help them maximize their efforts, gain life balance and learn how they can be the best leader they can be.
