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Put First things First Brand Before Role

Put First things First Brand Before Role

The intention of any efforts in Personal Branding is to set oneself apart from the crowd by creating a memorable impression of the unique characteristics you possess. This impression is perhaps the most powerful marketing tool you can create for yourself both personally and professionally. By clearly identifying and communicating what makes you different from the masses, you become memorable and attractive to those who seek what you have to offer.
Given this basis, one key issue that I see frequently in my branding work with clients is that as we begin to identify these brand adjectives to set us apart from the crowd, we tend to perceive ourselves in terms of our role. We see ourselves as parent, or architect, or writer, or attorney. Then as we look for the traits of our brand, what surfaces are actually the traits of the role we see ourselves in. An attorney might say, "I am logical, strategic, detailed, and aggressive." Then as this attorney progresses along the path of personal branding, he finds that these descriptors are not unique at all, and cannot create the edge he desires.
In order to define our brand in a meaningful and impacting manner, we must look past our roles. We have to look past ourselves as parent or architect, or writer, or attorney. What are the adjectives that exist when we are just plain ourselves? What are the adjectives about ourselves that we bring to our roles that are different than the norm of the others who generally operate in this role? What makes us different?
One key to doing this is to stop thinking about the client at this stage. Clients inherently pertain to a role. As an individual, you don't have clients. As a parent you do: your children. As an architect you do: the homeowner or developer. As an attorney you do: the plaintiff or defendant. As a writer you do: the publisher or book buyers. Thinking about the client causes us to try to fill the role we think the client needs. Focusing on your own style before the needs of the client is an important first step in branding.
Of course we all need clients, and the objective of branding is to help you get more clients. But when you start with you, and YOUR personal brand, you will quickly see the clients that create your natural target audience. The brand descriptors that you define will naturally appeal to a certain type of person. This is your target audience.
Developing your personal brand creates authenticity, attraction, opportunities, and increased energy (because trying to be what you think a certain audience wants takes a great deal of energy). Developing your personal brand allows you to focus your marketing dollars and efforts on the people who truly have a need for what you, in your natural state, have to offer.





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With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Michel Neray
Michel Neray has over 25 years of experience as an award-winning copywriter, an Internet pioneer, a tradeshow pitchman and a senior sales and marketing executive. An online pioneer, he was one of the first marketing professionals to embrace the Internet by building websites as early as 1993. In 1994, Michel co-authored a book entitled "The Great Crossover: Personal Confidence in the Age of the Microchip", which made it to Jack Canfield's Achiever's Recommended Reading List. Michel founded Portfolios.com in 1995, the world's first online source directory for creative professionals and one of the first websites based on community generated content. Since creating The Essential Message in 2003, Michel has helped thousands of independent professionals and entrepreneurs as well as growing corporations find a better way to differentiate, position and brand themselves. In 2005, his chapter "Everything Starts With A Conversation" was selected as the lead for the book, "Sales Gurus Speak Out" and re-published in 2008 for 'Awakening The Workplace Volume 3'. He is also a co-author of "In the Company of Leaders" (2008) with 40 top North American leadership experts. - Visit Michel Neray's Website


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Andrea O'Neill
(Visit Andrea's Website)
Corporate Brand Strategist And Executive Marketing Coach. The intellectual property contained in this document is the sole property of the author. No portions of this newsletter may be reproduced without the sole permission of the author. © Andrea O'Neill.
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