www.cteves.com

I know it’s asking a lot but you need to set aside a minimum of
15 minutes a day to build your brand. You can do many things in
15 minutes a day that will help build visibility credibility and
a strong personal portfolio.

Here’s a short list to get you thinking about your “packaging”
your brand.

Refine your “elevator” pitch.
The best ones simply don’t happen overnight. They come from
refining and condensing the message down to its core elements.
Spend time every week tweaking yours. If you want, send it to me
and I’ll give you my impression. (Serious branders only,
please.)

Update your resume.

This can be done in increments. List your best, most recent
accomplishments and put them into sound bytes that can be
inserted into any resume or personal self-promotion. Remember to
use real benefits here, not dry language about where you went to
school or what happened ten years ago. Tell me what you have
accomplished lately.

Call a couple of magazines and introduce yourself to the
editor.
Spend just a few minutes on the phone and follow up via email
with your expertise and credentials and a suggested idea for an
article.

Do some vanity searches.
Type in your name in various search engines. Remember to use the
quotes around your name so you won’t get a lot of unrelated
queries. Not showing up? It’s time to get busy building that
brand.

Start a personal blog.
You have to be serious about keeping it updated. Most people
start one only to become pressed for time and quit.
NOTE: It takes about six months to get results.

Write a personal press release template.
Once you do, you will always have it on hand when you get that
important call.
NOTE: In the “Packaging Yourself Workbook,” we have done all the
work for you so all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

Research the industry trade shows schedule for 06.

Find out which shoes or conferences you should attend where you
can learn something new, or more importantly ones where you can
be a speaker.

Start working on your own personal website.
This will requite a lot of time and effort to do it right so
spend a few minutes every day. You can generate lots of personal
press around this too.

Set up your competitive news alerts. You know the people you
admire or aspire to emulate. You need to know what they are
doing.

Last but not least renew your professional memberships even if youhave to pay for them yourself. Its one of the least expensive self-promotiontools available

Give six months dedication to building your brand. That’s the
soonest you are likely to see results. In any case keep meposted
about what you are doing and above all tell about your
successes.

These tips and more come from the extensive library of personal
branding tools developed by JoAnn Hines the Chief People Packager
available in the “Packaging Yourself Workbook.”

If you have a question or issue that needs an answer please let me know email packagingcoach@aol.com.

How to create an elevator speech; How to make most of those first 30 seconds or less; How to use networking to build your business; How to speak your way to fame and fortune; are all included in the Packaging Yourself Workbook Order now @ http://www.packaginguniversity.com/pkgustorefront.htm

To subscribe to the personal branding e-zine “Packaging Yourself” email me @ pkgcoach@aol.com

Tags: celebrity, expert, guru, marketing, personal branding, personal packaging, self promotion, visibilitycelebrity, expert, guru, marketing, personal branding, personal packaging, self promotion, visibility

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There has been a lot written about branding, but I thought I’d take a fresh look at the subject and ask the simple question, “Why are buyers attracted to brand names?”

Five basic reasons come to mind:

(1) Brands imply safety. If a name is recognizable, it doesn’t sound experimental. For example, which firm would you trust to provide a drug for your rare medical condition, Goodman Pharmaceuticals or Abbott Laboratories?

(2) Brands imply widespread distribution and acceptance. Lots of people have purchased, and lived to tell about it!

(3) Brands command higher prices, and profits, because we expect their costs to be higher, especially those invested in quality control.

(4) Brands, of course, imply distinctiveness. Bayer Aspirin may contain exactly the same ingredients as a generic, but at least unconsciously, we sense there must be something extra or special in the recipe.

(5) Brands seem big and successful, and most people want to identify with this. It lends them a feeling of strength.

I’ll never forget when I was bidding on a large consulting contract against a division of Xerox, which was known at the time for excellence in sales training. I lost out to this company, partly because their rep asked our prospect “What would happen if Gary gets your business and is then hit by a truck?”

Actually, unknown to the buyer, this is an insurable risk. Moreover, and this is one of the ironies you come to relish in business, the division of Xerox that I was bidding against “died” before I didit was sold off.

Not only that, but Xerox went on to invest a ton in MY sales training, shortly thereafter.

Still, the prospect I didn’t sell, took the “safe” route, and went with the bigger name at the time, demonstrating the power of branding.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone

Tags: branding, coach, consultant, customer service, expert, keynote, marketing, sales, satisfaction, speaker, valuebranding, coach, consultant, customer service, expert, keynote, marketing, sales, satisfaction, speaker, value

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