Personal Branding -- What do you bring to the table?"

Personal Branding --

What do you bring to the table?

By: Gary Hernbroth, Chief Motivating Officer, Training for Winners

Coke or Pepsi? McDonald's or Burger King? Wal-Mart or Target? Every

day, we as consumers make the decision to go or not go to certain stores,

restaurants, buy or not buy certain products, etc. Our choices are based

on many little things that add up to the bigger total buying decision: Price,

color, reliability, service record, appeal, size, flexibility, taste, smell, etc.

Put all those together and the "Moment of Truth" that makes us buy or not

buy is whatever that brand presents to us vs. their competitor.

Why we buy/don't buy is based on something called "WII-FM" -- and it's

not a radio station! It's a tried-and-true sales concept meaning "what's in it

for me?" And that is the motor that drives us to take out our wallets. If you

run your own business, this is something you should ask yourself every

day, with every client and with every prospect: What do I mean to them?

What do I bring to their table? What is my value-add? If you don't know the

answer to this, it's very likely they don't, either, and your business

connection with them is tenuous at best.

You must define your VALUE

that keeps your customers coming back to you and your prospects more

interested in you than the competition.

To get a grip on what you bring to the table, it is likely different things to

different people. Some may value your timeliness, others your accuracy,

still others may value your expertise or your trustworthiness. Whichever it

is, to them, that is YOUR BRAND. Recognize it. Embrace it. Work it.

As we've seen in recent times, once-solid brands have fallen from grace

(General Motors, AIG, etc.), and you have to do everything you can to

insure your personal brand stays strong. Erosion of your positive brand

thought in the minds of your customers can take forever (if ever) to get it

back. It is everything -- and without a strong one you have little chance for

success, both personally or professionally. Branding is really what others

out in the world think of you.

When your client sees your name on the

caller I.D. when you call them, what "brand" do they think of? "Oh, this is

great, she always calls me with terrific information." "Oh, brother, not HIM

again!" "They always talk too long so tell them I'm in a meeting." "I'm

impressed she called me back so quickly, she's such a real pro."

Whatever their thought, it's your personal branding that creates these

reactions.

People often ask me to name the number one thing that affects personal

branding thoughts in our customers. My research and experience reveals

that it is almost never just one thing, but TRUST seems to be at the top of

the list most times. Close behind are expertise, ability to perform at a high

level, and reliability.

If you always thought that branding belonged only to the "big guys" like

McDonald's, Ford, Coke, Nordstrom, Este Lauder, Levi's, etc., think again.

If you are a self-employed entrepreneur, it's the world's window into your

working soul.