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Personal Branding: How to Market and Position Yourself

Written by: Mandy Bass

Article Overview: The problem is that most people bungle their best opportunity to position themselves in their client's mind by using their title or occupation to answer the “What do you do?” question. Depending on the type of business you are in, each time that question is asked, it could be worth thousands of dollars. When you position yourself by title or occupation, you put yourself into a box that at least half the people you meet, will never care to open.

Personal Branding: How to Market and Position Yourself

I bet you would be VERY wealthy right now if you had a dollar for every time you were asked: “What do you do?”

Well the truth is that depending on the type of business you are in, each time that question is asked, it could be worth thousands of dollars. Dollars that most people will never see because they don’t realize that the question is really an invitation, an opportunity to gain valuable referrals or even direct business if you know the right way to answer the question.

The problem is that most people bungle the “What do you do?” question by using their title or occupation. When you position yourself that way, you put yourself into a box that at least half the people you meet, will never care to open.

In my workbook “How to build a Successful Advisory Practice: A step-by-step guide for coaches, financial planners, insurance professionals, CPA’s and attorneys who want to break though their current income ceilings and/or cut their work hours,” I discuss the positioning process in depth. Answering the question “what do you do?” is the first step of that process.

Here are some examples of identity statements that work:

1 “I run a company called Priority Living Systems. I work with financial advisors who want to break through their income ceilings and cut their working hours.”
2 “I work with CPA’s who want to grow their practice and get more out of life.”
3 “I work with business owners who want to increase sales and productivity”
4 “I work with realtors who want a more consistent income”
5 “I work with corporations who want to improve productivity and professionals who want more time off.”
6 “I work with small business owners who want to sell their business and retire within five years.”

Do you see how compelling a good identity statement can be?

Tips for turning “What do you do?” into a business or referral opportunity

1. Let people know exactly WHO you work with – your target market. When they can picture the type of people or companies you do business with, their mind will seek out connections for you.
2. Use simple 7th grade English in your statement so that people can relate to you and understand exactly what you mean. Don’t bore them with a long drawn out mission statement –they will want to change the subject as soon as possible.
3. Make your statement easy to say and easy to repeat.
4. Be succinct and relatively brief — use the word “and” only once.
5. Write out fifty drafts quickly, suspending judgment, before deciding on the one you’ll use. (Variations may be slight as sometimes just a change in word order makes a big difference in how it rolls off your tongue.)
6. Access your brain’s creativity center: Writing is generally better than typing to get the right brain working.
7. Use powerful, proactive language. (e.g., “work with” instead of “help”, “run” instead of “own”)
8. Stay client-focused and prevent insincerity by using the following formats:
• I work with (target market) who want (desire or problem to be solved).
• I work with (target market 1) and (target market 2) who want (desire or problem to be solved).
• I work with (target market) who want (desire/ problem to be solved) and (desire/ problem to be solved).
• I work with (target market 1) who want (desire/ problem to solve) and (target market 2) who want (desire/problem to solve).

You have taken the first step toward positioning yourself for success. If you want to complete the process and learn how to market yourself more successfully, get the workbook. That small investment will be worth its weight in gold.

Related Articles
  How to Use Personal Branding for a Competitive Edge
  Professional Presence
  Personal Branding Tips for Beginners
  Build a Better Career With a Strong Personal Brand
  Is Personal Branding Really Effective?

Article Tags: answering the question, attorneys, ceilings, consistent income, corporations, financial advisors, financial planners, insurance professionals, invitation, occupation, priority, productivity, realtors, referral opportunity, referrals, small business owners, target market, thousands of dollars, time off, worth thousands



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