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Tip
of the Month: January 2007
Is your personal brand VANILLA or WOW!
Dear Friends,
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to a group of Insurance agents,
brokers and financial advisors. The topic was personal branding and for good
reason. Insurance is perceived as a commodity; it’s all the same. Again,
that’s the perception. Therefore, as an insurance professional you had
better have a personal brand that really differentiates you from the rest of
the people in your crowded space.
The insurance industry does not have the corner on the commodity market. Telecom,
Real Estate, Mortgage, and any other highly competitive industry where the people
and relationships are perceived to be the deciding factor when it comes to buying
decisions. Therefore, your personal brand had better position you as first, best,
or different than any of your competitors.
Everyone has a unique value that they bring to this world. Everyone has certain
personality traits that absolutely differentiate them from another human being.
I believe most everyone has burning desires to do better, or something in addition
to what they are currently doing. One of the real questions becomes “What
is my real PROMISE to the world?” It matters not what we do in life, but
how we feel about what we’re doing. Do we mentally “get off” on
what we do?
Most of us don’t think about tightly packaging ourselves through our own
personal brand. It’s a missed opportunity for personal improvement. If
you think about it, we already are branding ourselves and probably aren’t
consciously focusing on it. Think quickly about people who come to mind and what
you and others would say about them. Things like, “He’s incredibly
creative. She’s got more energy than the Energizer Bunny. He’s like
watching paint dry. She’s a problem solver. He’s a victim of his
own thinking. He’s like General Patton.”
A breakthrough opportunity to raise your game exists by tightening and improving
your personal brand. Here are four questions that will get you started. I suggest
that in addition to your own thinking you solicit feedback from individuals that
you are certain will be truthful:
What exactly do I do?
What are the key things that differentiate me from everyone else?
How do people benefit from working or being associated with me?
What are my most important traits that I give to those around me?
Take these questions to heart and you are on your way to tightening your personal
brand and answering one of my original questions, “What is my PROMISE to
the world?”
Once that is answered, you have to live it. After all, you’re giving the
world your personal promise right now. It’s coming through in your current
brand. Are you satisfied with it? Here’s a final tip and you’ve heard
me say this before. Only one thing really sells in this world – authenticity.
Whatever you do, be real with your promise. |
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