A brand called you

We are the First representatives of our brands, our brands are an extension of our personality and as the brand driver our decisions concerning life has to be intentional.

1. THE BRAND CALLED “YOU” A GUIDE TO PERSONAL BRANDING. PRESENTATION BY CLARA CHINWE OKORO, BRAND CONSULTANT /TV BROADCAST JOURNALIST

2. WHO AM I ?   I am a Brand.I suspect some find this thought somewhat self-involved, and it is.  You are in command of your brand and most importantly you have the ability to change it at any moment. Take five minutes and look at some of the brands you are most attracted to on a daily basis, then ask yourself why you are attracted to them. Likely you will find it is because you trust them, you understand the value you receive as a return on your investment, and you relate to their offering and are satisfied on some level. 

3. RECOGNIZE ‘YOU’ Now take a moment and look at  YOUR  brand. Identify the characteristics that make you distinctive: strengths, noteworthy traits, accomplishments, intended legacy, and goals.  Make note of your findings in 15 words or less and read it several times. Recognize the things you are proud of, and think about ways to shape your areas of desired change by digging deep into your world of passions and inspirations. Let yourself get lost in your swirling thoughts.

4. “ IMAGINEER” Ok, come back for just a moment before you start your campaign.  Remember brand  YOU  must be believable to you before it is sold to your network of friends, colleagues, clients and customers.  Brand  YOU  requires maintenance and measurement - if you garner nothing more from our chat, remember Tom Peters, author of ‘Tom Peters Career Survival Guide’, four essentials to individual brand evolution: You must be a great teammate and supportive colleague You must be a business person- obsessed with pragmatic outcome You must be a broad-gauged visionary- a leader, teacher, farsighted ‘ imagineer ’ You must be an exceptional expert at something that has real value.

5. WHATS THE PURPOSE OF BRAND “YOU”

6. Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” Tom Peters       You know what a brand is — Apple, Nike and Google. Yet the world of work is rapidly changing:  Social media and digital everything  are blurring the lines between work and our personal lives. Your personal brand is all about who you are and what you want to be known for.

7. Having a personal brand is not something you can opt out of. Doing nothing — not having a profile on social outlets, for example, in and of itself says something about you and your brand. Building and strengthening your personal brand plays a key role in creating trusted relationships that benefit you as well as your organization. The stronger your personal brand, the more effective you will be as an advocate for your firm or ambassador for an organization you support.

8. BRANDING IS MORE IMPORTANT TODAY THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN. Tom Peters argues that the interesting developments in brand management are not happening at a multinational scale, but at the individual end of the scale. Peters suggests that individuals should think of themselves as a brand and that their approach to differentiation in the world should be exactly the same. Individuals should look at themselves and try to identify why they stand out in relation to those around them. If they do not stand out, they should start trying to find ways to do so.

9. CONT’D He argues that every individual should be addressing a series of questions to find out if they are selling themselves effectively to prospective employees: What makes you different? What is the pitch for you? What is the real power of you? What is loyalty to you? What is the future of you? What makes you different? Individuals should start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that distinguish them from colleagues. Peters suggests using a standard model from the world of corporate branding, the feature-benefit model, which ensures that every feature that they communicate to potential buyers has an identifiable benefit. For example, an individual that is able to solve any problem quickly and efficiently will provide considerable value to their internal and external customers. Individuals who do this will quickly gain a reputation, and in doing so, build a brand for themselves.

10. SO WHAT IS THE PITCH FOR ‘YOU’ The first stage in the corporation branding process is developing visibility. However, instead of glossy campaigns, individuals must enhance their profile in different ways. As a starting point, Peters suggests that individuals should introduce themselves to colleagues by signing up for extra projects within the organisation, and getting a reputation for contributing. Alternatively, Peters suggests writing a column in a local paper or teaching a class in a community college. Peters argues that communicating a brand to others is all about style as well as substance. This involves communicating efficiently with others at all times, whether it is during meetings, giving a presentation, writing a letter or sending an e-mail.

11. ATTENTION GRABBING TACTICS. Not only should individuals advertise themselves; they should also concentrate on developing power in their chosen area. In other words, they should attempt to cultivate a reputation for using their expertise intelligently. Just as consumers are drawn to powerful product brands, individuals should attempt to develop a powerful brand to draw in external and internal customers and at the same time creating customer loyalty. Your answer to the ‘what do you do?’ question will either limit relationships or give them life. It’s your choice. What’s crucial is that you take every opportunity to deliver an ‘elevator speech’ that makes a positive rather than negative impact. Here’s how.

12. THE “YOU” ELEVATOR SPEECH “ES” Here are two types of Elevator Speech (ES) that are only going to induce yawns… ‘Hello, my name is Joe Smith, and I’m a banking manager with XYZ Bank.’ Or: ‘Hi, I’m Mandy and I’m an accountant.’ If you forget everything else when crafting your ES – remember to focus on what you can do for the listener. Now, if Joe and Mandy changed their ES to this focus, here’s how they might come out: ‘Hello, my name is Joe and a big part of my role is building local businesses’ ‘Hi, I’m Mandy – my job keeps our multi million pound business in the black’

13. CONT’D Aren’t those more likely to get people’s interest? Might they prompt a follow-up question from you along the lines of ‘Really? How do you do that?’ They’ve got your permission to tell you more rather than assuming you want to know more. When you walk into a situation where somebody is going to ask you what you do, you have time to plan what you are going to say. By planning ahead, you’ll be ready with an impactful, credible and relevant Elevator Speech (ES). Here’s how:

14. Determine Your Audience Who exactly are you going to be speaking to? If you don’t know, you need to ask. Will it be board level, senior management, or someone lower down the hierarchy? Define Your Objective What exactly do you want to get out of this interaction, meeting or phone call? It could be as simple as leaving a favourable impression, or as difficult as getting a sale on the day. Define Your Content Once you know your audience and your objective you can decide what will work best for getting the attention of your listener.

15. DELIVERY AND CALL TO ACTION Deliver with Style! Your ES must roll off your tongue with ease.  Practice saying it. Decide on a Call to Action! Finally, think through what you want them to do once they’ve heard your ES. Book you? Meet with you one-to-one? Connect you to someone? Refer you? Ask for further information. Begin with the end in mind. A customised approach takes effort and preparation. That’s why few people do it. But it is a powerful tool in business and personal arenas.

16. A personal brand should be more than how you present yourself to the world.  It should also be a real life description of why you’re awesome.  So that’s what you should be. Spend your time emphasizing the elements of your personal brand in your life.  Sometimes we don’t act like the person we want the world to see. We think we’re motivated, but we spend a ton of time watching television and surfing the internet. We think we’re nice, but we gossip about others. A well thought out personal brand will help you present yourself to the world.  It can also be a clear cut description for who you should aspire to be in your day-to-day life.

17. THE FORMULA So here’s my recommendation.  No matter who you are or what your goals are, go through these steps and develop your personal brand.  Decide how it’s going to be a part of your life.  How are you going to use it to your advantage? Tom Peters is right in the quote at the beginning of this article.  You are the CEO of You Inc. whether you recognize it or not. The question really boils down to this: Are you going to live accidentally or are you are going to live purposefully?  

18. WHO DO PEOPLE SAY I AM. When you have a solid personal brand, you’ll be more memorable, you’ll be more impressive, and people will wind up having a more favorable opinion about you – that’s the same thing that good branding does for a product.

19. A FINAL QUESTION TO “YOU” Are you going to live accidentally or are you are going to live purposefully ? The Answer is up to “YOU”

20. THANK YOU &