START INVESTING IN YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
...because it’s way more valuable than you think.
Question – what is the most valuable asset we own, that we neglect the most?
Answer – our own personal brand.
Personal branding happens, whether we like it or not, and it’s up to us to ensure our personal brand is as goddam amazing (and authentic) as it can be.
Let me explain.
Everyone has a personal brand.
Our personal brand is what people say about us when we are not in the room. It’s our persona, our tone of voice, our differentiation, our personality, our values, our proposition.
Think about when you buy your favourite brands in the retail store. You choose them because they are clearly defined, consistent, well executed and emotionally persuasive. Guess what…. we ‘buy’ people because they are clearly defined, consistent, well executed and emotionally persuasive.
And yet many people don’t intentionally invest in their own personal brand. They leave it to chance. They give away the control and let others construct their brand for them. Our personal brand is without doubt our most powerful asset (and will always be) so we need to actively work on it. Choose who you want to be and live that choice.
Our true brand needs to play catch-up to our external brand
People are getting really good at polishing their external brand - investing in their digital persona, ensuring their online presence looks red hot. In fact, some people are getting REALLY good at it! So good that 31% of people are actually jealous of their online persona*. Whaaaat!
However, there’s a big difference between the brand you project on the outside and your real and complete brand. Inside and out. Call it the PB-Gap. Personal branding MUST start with you on the INSIDE to work. Any brand marketer will tell you that brand development starts with from the core: the essence of the brand, it’s beliefs, intentions, points of difference and clarity on what it’s offering to the world. Only then, does a packaging design brief and external communications plan start to make sense. Do you think Apple started with their advertising campaign and packaging before figuring out who they wanted to be? Nope.
This analogy illustrates that you must start with personal branding from the inside out. Be clear who you are, what your point of difference is, work on any strengths and weaknesses and be clear how you want to be perceived. From then on, work out how to show that to the world.
Personal Branding requires time and commitment, but as anyone who has done it will agree, it’s the best investment you make in yourself.
Professional help can come in the form of Personal Brand coaching, which can help you in many ways:
It can help you identify and work on your strengths and weaknesses
Increase your impact and effectiveness around others
Build credibility
Be more confident
Be more fulfilled
Increase your self-esteem
It can help you reach your goals
Get that job
Be different
Start that business
Have that conversation
Remove those ‘hang-ups’
Say no!
Say yes!
Whatever change you are looking for or transition you are going through – maybe looking for a new job, returning to work, gunning for a promotion, making a significant change or just wanting to be better at what’s important to you, you’ll get there quicker and more effectively with personal brand coaching.
If you want to find out more, take a look…
*Source: Future Foundation
#Personaldevelopment #Coaching #ExecutiveCoaching #Success #PersonalBrand
