On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being extremely important and 1 as the least important), where do you place personal branding regarding success in your career?
I give it a 10.
And here’s why:
Whether you’re a marketer, in sales, accounting, or on any other career path, your personal brand is what defines you and sets you apart from the competition. It’s about how you present yourself, your attitude in front of clients, your confidence, etc. It is your swag(ger)
It's about what people say about you when you're not in the room.
By being consistent with your behavior and marketing yourself in the right way, you create consistency and transparency, and ultimately get your voice heard.
It takes time and dedication, but when it comes to building your career, a personal brand is critical. What are you doing to be remembered by your prospects and clients?
Here are 3 tips to help you build a more consistent personal brand:
- Identify What Makes You Unique. Then bolster it. It does not matter what may make you unique in your vertical. A personal brand is about you, not what you do.
- Gain Clarity on Your Target Audience. As salespeople or business owners, we are all too familiar with our target audience, but how that applies to your personal brand is different from the messaging that your company's marketing and business development teams put out. When you are developing your personal brand strategy, the key is to focus on two target audiences. The first one is your business' core client. The second audience is completely distinct from the first. It is an audience that you are not necessarily targeting to monetize, at least yet. Consider an audience that you would like to motivate through your personal brand. How can you capture their attention?
- Determine Your Brand Descriptors. Personal Branding = someone's association and personal attachment or view of you. When I refer to brand descriptors, the aim is to establish the desired perception while being as transparent as one can be. As individuals, we can be described in numerous ways, but if we encompass everything, we lack any defining qualities. To address this issue, I recommend compiling a list of a few words that you wish to be consistently associated with. Additionally, create another list of words that you do not want to be associated with.
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