How to develop your personal brand
You only get one chance to make a first impression. If you’re a leader or an expert—whether you like it or not —you are captain of your personal brand.
At a time when the economy is forcing us all to re-examine how we do business, the importance of personal branding has never been greater. Hesitate and you are out—only the most confident and resilient will survive. Things are changing exponentially and the good news is, that with focus, you can emerge stronger and ahead of the field.
The rise of social media
The traditional ways and pace of how we used to do business hold little promise in the future. Add spontaneity and the immediacy of the rising wave of social media and you have a clear equation.
A sharp, crisp, confident personal presence + the capability to respond to opportunity now = the face of future success.
Only this morning I was speaking to my elderly father-in-law, who spent many years as a bank manager in the UK, running some of the country’s largest accounts at a time when bank managers were pillars of the financial community. He commented to me that in all his years, he had not seen a financial crisis as the one we are now living through and how he believed only the very tough, and innovative, would survive. Life and business, he feels, will never be the same. We have to be prepared to change and be ready for the inevitable recovery—if not to where it was—in his lifetime.
My father-in-law still dresses every day in a shirt and tie even though he has been retired for over 30 years and I believe we can all learn a thing or two from him. Your dress might only be one aspect of your personal brand, but it is a key part of the external image you present to the world and it mirrors your core values and professional ideals. These days, even more so, our customers, employees, suppliers, stakeholders, the media and others are placing a greater spotlight on their CEOs and business leaders.
Your personal brand helps you stand out
Your personal brand is what differentiates you from the pack and makes you stand out in a tough market. Your brand is represented through your body language, the way you speak and what you say, your image, how you promote your online presence, how you demonstrate your expertise and how you deal with people.
The GFC is, professionally, forging a greater wedge between the strong and the weak. A strong, confident personal brand allows you such a richer choice of future options. It is amazing that more leaders, and next generation leaders, are not embracing the full opportunity to improve their personal brands.
A strong personal brand allows you to:
• Charge premium pricing
• Be exposed to a greater range of opportunity
• Be a thought leader and sought after for comment
• Handle the press and communication situations with ease
• Build tangible brand assets and bankability
• Increase employee morale
• Attract the most highly skilled workers
• Shine in the eyes of your target audiences, customers, prospects and suppliers, media, investors, partners and analysts
• Increases awareness of your company or product
• Feed the sales pipeline
• Build personal, professional and corporate reputation.
Good leaders demonstrate their core values with every appearance. If you look at CEOs such as Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, who they are, what their companies do and most importantly, how they do it, is all a reflection of their personal brand values. Everyone knows them, everyone knows what they do and each could start a new business tomorrow and have instant recognition and success.
Related posts:
- Developing your personal brand
- Taurus launches personal branding program
- Protecting your digital brand
- Uniforms boost brand, culture and employee satisfaction
- 7 ways to sell your employer brand
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Very informative article. The personal brand has to be outstanding as it can only then promote you in an extraordinary way.