August 24th, 2007
This post is part three of a three part series on personal branding. Here are Part I, and Part II. This article shows you how to change your personal brand name.
In part I we established that just like products, people also have brand names. This is especially true if you are working with others in your business. In part 2, we discussed how you can find out what your current ‘brand name’ is.
Now let’s look at how you can change it!
1) Shine the Light. You already have natural qualities. Personal branding is all about shining light on them. You don’t have to fake your personality to create a powerful personal brand. The best way is to leverage your already existing positive traits. For example, if you are an introverted business owner you don’t have to fake being an extrovert. Instead shine the light on your superior listening skills or your compassion for your customers.
2) Expand your Circle. If you want to shine the light on certain personal qualities, find others who already personify them. Let’s say that you want to build your personal brand around your keen analytical skills. In fact, you want your business to scream the same. The best way is to dind others who are already doing it. Look around you and find people who already have a well established personal brand (whether they realize it or not) and become a keen observer. How do they personify their personal brand? Is it their dressing? Is it their language? Once you understand their personal tools-create your own!
3) Redecorate. You office space (at home or otherwise) tells a lot about you. In fact, I can usually tell a person’s ‘brand name’ within the first thirty second of looking at their office space. Look around your own personal space and try to look at it from an outsider’s perspective. Is your cup holder filthy? (Translation: Doesn’t care enough). Are there pictures of your family? (Translation: Cares about his/her relationships). Now, pick out the things that don’t fit your new brand name. You might argue that no one sees your office space and that it is your personal sanctuary. Fair enough. But know that your personal brand begins from within. If you aren’t truly organized but try to give off that image, someone will eventually see through it. If you are serious about changing your personal brand, it is best to do it from the inside out.
4) Change the Way you Dress. Studies prove that people are more likely to do a favor for a person in business suit than for someone who is dressed more casually. Always dress a notch above the people you will be meeting with. It is a sign of respect, not arrogance. The way you dress says a lot about your personal brand name as well. You don’t have to wear Armani suits to work, but a well pressed shirt and a strand of simple pearls (for women) can go a long way. The way someone dresses can tell you a lot about their personal brand.
5) Keep it Fresh- Constructing and enhancing your personal brand name is a lifetime affair. No matter what your personal brand is-keep it fresh. Become aware of your strongest strengths and seek out opportunities in your life and business to shine the light on them.
Posted in Business School in a Box | 2 Comments »
August 23rd, 2007
This post is part two of a three part series on personal branding. This article is meant to help you detect your personal brand. Your personal brand is often the same as your business brand-especially if it’s a small or micro business. The third part of this series will show you how to consciously change it.
Every time you label someone a brown-noser, blondie, marketing guy, or a techie-you are (sometime inadvertently) referring to their brand name. At first look these are mere labels, but a deeper look reveals the brand these individuals have built for themselves-consciously or unconsciously.
So how do you determine your own personal brand?
- Ask around. Ask your friends and colleagues how they would describe you. If you are feeling especially brave-ask your employees. What do they think your strengths and weaknesses are? Watch the couple of first terms they use to describe you. These are probably good cues to look at in detecting your brand name. Example-Joe asks his team member Stacey as to what she thinks of him. She instantly says, “Joe, you are brilliant with computers and I love your logical mind.” Logical and Technical are two “brand” words connected to Joe.
- Identify your ’scarce’ skills. What skills do you have that are considered rare in your environment? Often in an IT department, good salesmanship is rare. Or perhaps you speak Mandarin and French in an industry where English and Spanish are the norm. These rare skills differentiate your brand name from others. Seek them out.
- Analyze your own strengths and weaknesses. If I could suggest one activity to all business owners, it would be to journal. Take ten minutes of quiet time and list all your traits. Don’t worry about getting it right, just write freely. At the end of ten minutes, you will see that one trait really jumps out at your or different words have been used to highlight the same trait. For example- my list consisted of high energy, energizing, lots of stamina, positive. All these words pointed at the fact that I am an energetic individual. This is also the first trait that stands out in my business.
Personal brand names, which often tend to overlap your business brand, can either help you or hinder you. The third part will look at how to alter your personal brand.
Posted in Business School in a Box, Leaders with Intuition | 3 Comments »
August 22nd, 2007
This post is part one of a three part series on personal branding. This article serves to define “branding.”
What comes to mind when you hear the name “Coca-cola” or “Nike” or “Microsoft?” Most of the time these words conjure up a certain image in our minds, whether it be of a refreshing drink or our desktop computer. These are some of the most trusted and well constructed brand names in their respective industries. A company’s success depends on how well they construct their brand name. Before we explore why-lets deconstruct what a brand really is.
- It is familiar-We immediately recognize it! Even the Bushmen of Africa know what a coke bottle looks like. Familiarity breeds…no…not contempt…but preference.
- It is preferable-When we are given a choice, we go with the more famous brand. A couple of years ago Pepsi conducted a “Pepsi challenge” in many cities around the United States. They did a blind taste test and it was 51 for Pepsi and 44 for Coca-Cola. Then they let the participants try the drinks with the labels on. This time it was 65 Coca-Cola, 23 Pepsi. Behold, the power of a brand name.
- We perceive it to be of better quality- John Stossell, from 20-20, digs up the dirt on quality and brand names in his book Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity. His experiments all lead him to the conclusion that for the majority of the products brand name quality is the same as the generic brand. However, most people don’t realize this.
- It is dependable. We trust our brand names and have come to depend on them over time. Of course some brands, like Johnson & Johnson, have a long history and that is a definite plus. There is a trust factor involved. We like the idea of using the same brand that has worked for ‘generations.’ We come to depend on it.
- A brand has extendibility. We are willing to accept and buy new products from a company, as long as the new products fit the brand. Example-We will gladly buy a sports drink from Nike, but we won’t buy a telephone from Nike. A brand can only extend so far into their specific domain. Nike’s domain is sports and they can venture wide and far in that arena but the public will reject it if they go into creating office furniture for example.
Studies repeatedly show that people love and trust what they find familiar and dependable. All strong companies have a brand name-no surprise there. But what most people fail to understand is that they TOO have a brand name within a company. You are, in the most Machiavellian sense, a product. You have certain assets, certain weaknesses, and you must “sell” yourself on a daily basis. You sell yourself when you convince a client to buy from you, you sell yourself when you get Missy from accounting to go out on a date with you, and you sell yourself when you convince your parents that you cannot make it home during Christmas.
Part II will show how to recognize your own personal brand name.
Posted in Business School in a Box | 3 Comments »
