Date: Revised November 12th, 2013 - !

All contents based on the copyrighted writings and presentations of Knowles Consulting Services, LLC. !

Personal Branding: Making A Name For Yourself

Velma M. Knowles, MBA Volunteer Coach, Trainer and Public Speaker Knowles Consulting Services, LLC http://www.linkedin.com/in/velmamknowles

Company Brands Think about some of the Company Brands that you encounter everyday like McDonalds®, Coca-Cola®, and Pepsi®.

Personal Brands � Now think about persons with personal brands.

These include Oprah, Donald Trump, Madonna and many others.

What is Personal Branding

What is Your Personal Brand? � Your total perceived value, relative to your

competitors, as viewed by your audience.

Benefits of Personal Branding � It will help You distinguish Yourself; � It will help You be seen by current and prospect employers; � It will help people remember You for who You are and what You can do for them;

Define Your Brand or Someone Will

�  Everyone has a personal brand, but most people don't manage it strategically, consistently, and effectively.

Elements of Personal Branding

� Personal Appearance - including clothing, hygiene and attractiveness

� Personality - Your values, goals, identity and behavior

� Competencies - cognitive, business, communication and technical skills that enable You to perform Your job responsibilities

� The Differentiator - a unique value proposition or benefit to Your target audience.

Personal Branding is Valuable �  Personal Branding allows You to DIFFERENTIATE

yourself by consistently articulating and leveraging Your “unique value proposition.”

How to Build Your Personal Brand? Building Your Personal Brand does NOT mean that You are creating some fictitious image. Actually, it is the opposite. It means figuring out who You really are, where You want to go, and how You can help others.

Questions to Build Your Personal Brand Ask Yourself -

1. Who is your audience? 2. What do you do better than everyone else?

3. Why do you do what you do? 4. How do you stand out from your peers?

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Three Phases to Building Your Personal Brand 1.  Discover who You are. Everybody

today is in the branding and customer service business.

Three Phases to Discovering Your Personal Brand 2.  Create Your Identity: an authentic

personal brand promise. �  It should reflect Your true character. �  Ask yourself: What do you stand for? What do

you want to achieve? What do your projects say about you?

�  Be Authentic. B Transparent.

Three Phases to Discovering Your Personal Brand 3.  Make it visible: make it a reality.

Create, Market, Refresh and Maintain your brand effectively.

�  Your personal brand is your image. �  Your personal brand is a Lifetime investment.

Your Brand is Your Behavior Exercise

Market What You Want Said About You

� Make a name for yourself with your Personal Brand

� You will have to actually communicate everything you have created to others. Specially, to your target audience!

5 Steps to Market Yourself - Your Personal Brand 1.   Reframe “Promoting Yourself” to “Sharing

Yourself” �  Example 1: “I’m the best marketing guru on personal

brands you will find.” (self-promotion). Example 2: “I’m passionate about helping leaders create and market their personal brands.”(self-sharing)

The first example is about me. The second example is about how I serve others.

When we share ourselves and believe in our message, it’s more credible to the audience.

5 Steps to Market Yourself Your Personal Brand

2.   Create Your Personal brand statement. �  A concise way of letting other people know what

you do and why you’re different. (6 seconds)

My Personal Branding Statement: “I’m passionate about helping leaders create and market their personal brands.”

“Wow, tell me how you do that.” That’s your invitation to elaborate with your 30-second elevator pitch.

5 Steps to Market Yourself Your Personal Brand 3.   Engage Your Target Audience – Be clear about

who specifically You want to share Your message with. Who do You want to influence? Not just for the next job, but for Your on-going career.

5 Steps to Market Yourself Your Personal Brand 4.   Sharing Your

Message – consistently through various channels. Personal Branding is vital in career planning because a growing number of employers are using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

5 Steps to Market Yourself Your Personal Brand

Most importantly, remember that our actions speaks louder than our words. The most successful brands deliver on what they promise.

5.   Repeat … Repeat… Your Message Consistently – compelling messages need to be heard over and over and over again before they sink in.

�  Personal Branding is here to stay.

�  It’s becoming a critical link in Making a Name for Yourself

�  It’s up to You to manage what Your Personal Brand message says online and offline.

Reputation Management is Key

Summary: �  In a global marketplace:

�  the recruitment process forces everyone to be a networker,

�  the internet forces everyone to be a marketer, and �  the economy forces everyone to be an expert."

Your Personal Brand Let’s You