One of the quickest ways you can rise to the top in business is to establish a distinct and attractive personal brand.
Yet few people know how to do this.
As a result, most entrepreneurs and executives have unclear, unnoticeable brands – and work for the rest of the careers attempting to get well known.
Here are 4 tips you can utilise to help you create powerful personal brand:
1. Consciously Choose One Character Trait You Want To Be Known For
The trick with branding is to be single minded. That goes for personal branding too. So instead of trying to be all things to all people sit down and work out one key personal attribute that if you were known for it industry wide would be fabulous for your career.
It could be efficiency. Or reliability. Or going the extra mile. Or friendliness. Or being on the cutting edge. You decide what it is but just focus on one personal trait you can be known for, for now. This alone will put you ahead of most people.
2. Decide How To Be Absolutely World Class At That One Thing
Write down on paper what it would take to be the best in the world at that attribute. What would you have to behave like? What would you need to learn? What should you wear? How would you need to change what you do to become the living embodiment of that character trait?
Work out the answers in detail. You’ll be surprised at just how many steps you may need to take to really ‘own’ this single attribute in the minds of those you do business with.
3. Create A Manifestation and Growth Plan
Once you’ve done steps one and two, you will no doubt have quite a list of personal brand To Do’s. Now work on making that list a reality by setting yourself daily and weekly tasks to help you manifest that character attribute.
It may seem a touch mechanical to proceed this way but make no mistake, personal brands are much more quickly developed if you approach them systematically and methodically, rather than just hoping that you will create a brand reputation over time.
4. Look For Brand Role Models
Now that you’re clear on your brand and have developed a program for manifesting it, ask yourself who best embodies this brand already?
Think of people in your industry (or others) that exemplify the type of person you’d like to appear as being. (There may even be two or three people that, if combined, are much like the type of brand you wish to present to the world).
Study these people, meet them, and strive to emulate them.
So, those are four easy steps to creating a great personal brand. I’m sure you’ll agree, few people even do one of them. Which explains why so very few can say they have any brand at all. Do all four and you’ll have a personal brand that your peers will be jealous of and that your clients will be magnetised to.
