Branding Your Fine Self

So, you are like me and you don`t seem to scrreeam SALES PERSON! Sure, you may have a great ability of maintaining relationships, running your own business, and keeping a cash flow (ie sales); but, people who meet you don`t see the glimmer of money in your eyes. You are like me too, and you wouldn`t mind creative strategy, marketing, and advertising positions. Well, start by branding your fine self. (Consider this a continuation of the thoughts on networking.)

What is Branding?

Off the top of my head, from my BA, lets make a three lists of the things an individual will need to be attention-grabbbing, marketable and therefore branded. We can expect some overlap, so don`t think of these lists as exclusive; rather, lets take the same sets and think about their application within each category.

Grabbing Attention
• Personal Style: Do you present your self as energized and interested in your field, as knowledgable?
• Experience: How do you relate your work experience to your future goals over a drink? What motivates you?
• Networking: It is who you know. So, who do you know? What`s the connection and why will you meet again? Can you do the Me in 20 Words pitch.
• Demonstration: Make sure to lead people to where they can see what you do?

Marketable
• Personal Style: Hygeine and haircuts, can they introduce you to their boss?
• Experience: How do you relate your personal history? Everybody is fragmented, what unifies you into a sellable package?
• Networking: Can you bring your experience and style to the board room? Great drinking buddies are sometimes embarrasments at weddings, keep that in mind.
• Demonstration: if you look at your work and it doesn`t snap, re-think and re-develop. Clients never turn down improvements. Gather comments and make it snap. People LOVE perfectionists!

Branded
• Personal Style: Something needs to hold you to them like glue. Think personal logo, tag-line, and the 20 word sales pitch. Unify this with demonstrations; a webpage needs the logo.
• Experience: Short and sweet examples in a conversation do wonders to prove a workable knowledge-base. Make them relevant.
• Networking: What groups and places do the people you want to meet show up to. Are you an interesting person to talk to who is taking part in the organization? Ask questions of others. Who are they?
• Demonstration: Does your experience display itself on and off the resume, in and byond the 20 word pitch, on and off the business card? Think websites, published works, blogs (hello), and portfolios.

Why Brand Your Self?

So, branding is setting yourself apart from others in a proactive and passionate way. Companies do it to maintain loyalty and differentiate themselves from their competitors on an emotional level. The saying goes that people buy based on emotion more often that reason, feelings over facts. Let`s look back at the thoughts on networking.

"I only hire people I would drink with."

Well, that comment needed some thought. Branding ensures that you get past the drinking phase and into the workplace. You will be contacted because people want to hire you and just need your skills to be close enough to put you in the running.

Am I Branded?

Hey, you decide: http://jonuday.com

And please send some comments: jon@jonuday.com