As a business owner, seeking to lead well, you can not afford to be unaware of the power of your leadership brand. Personal Branding is a critical tool that will influence your long-term success. When it comes to your leadership presence, the moment your name is mentioned, your product or service is presented, it should influence the way people see your value. Ultimately, the goal is to bring awareness, increase your authority and uniquely add value in a way different from all others. The result is business growth, influence and income potential.
Let’s face it, building a business is demanding! There’s so much to learn and absorb. I know what it is like to feel overwhelmed with the deer caught in the headlights look! If you are like me, having a creative ADHD brain, driven to distraction, it is important to create short periods of time to take in, concentrated, information.
Tea time is a great way to rest and build! So, heat up the teapot, grab a cup of your favorite tea and get ready for tea talk. It’s time to relax and make it look effortless. So, while sipping and reading, you can gain three powerful keys to, successfully staying on the journey, to building your personal brand as the complete leader.
In less than 10 minutes read time, here are three keys to help you stay on course:
- Think like Popeye: The secret to Popeye, the Sailor man’s, success was that he knew the secret behind his strength-spinach! What’s the secret behind your ability to successfully deliver value? Are you clear on your personal strengths, talents, values, and core area of expertise? Do you understand how you, naturally, connect best with people? Are you aware of what your target audience needs and wants from you? To think like Popeye, you must:
- Identify the value and the experience that you can deliver to meet those needs and wants, unlike all others.
- Communicate in ways that reach into the hearts and minds of your target audience/connected community.
- Align your core values with theirs to meet their deepest desires in a way that speaks to their soul.
- Create Your Soundbites: We live in a fast-paced world where people are pressed for time. You must be able to clearly, concisely and confidently convey your value. Make sure to develop a concise brand statement. It is an internal statement that provides a brief, clear and memorable statement of your unique set of strengths that communicates why you can do it better than anyone else. You need to be able to state clearly and unequivocally why you are different than everyone else, and what services you offer that make you unique and set you ahead of your competition.
- You must be able to create a positive impression of who you are, what you value, what you’re committed to, and how you can be counted upon to act in a way unlike anyone else.
- They don’t have to know every single thing. Simply enough to connect at the soulfully and magnetically to draw them in creating interest to know more about how you can serve them.
- It is also your internal statement to reminds you of the promise that you are expected to keep and deliver.
- Be on Brand: Strong brands know the importance of being consistent. You must be who you say you are, even when no one is looking! Be mindful of your behavior with every interaction, on and offline, both in what you say and how you respond to others. In the words of the late Maya Angelou, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. To successfully sustain your business growth, maintain a professional presence at all times. Think long and hard about the visual message you desire to convey through your clothes, stationery, emails, marketing materials, car, etc. Everything you do will contribute to the perception that others have of you and your value. So remember:
- Your logo, website, tagline, etc. must make sense to your target audience/connected community. It must not only create awareness but an experience in the hearts and minds of your ideal client. They must be able to see it on different things and understand its meaning as it relates to your brand promise.
- Your brand colors should represent your message and magnetically attract your ideal clients and opportunities. It’s helpful to study and understand the psychology behind colors so that you use them creatively, symbolically and holistically. Also, incorporate them into your wardrobe when possible!
By now, you should be down to your last drop of tea. Hopefully, you find relaxed and ready to refocus and get back into the overcrowded marketplace. It is your time to rise and shine, stand out and refuse to be invisible. When you brand yourself, products and offerings well, you can rest knowing that you have an edge over your competition. Your unique promise of value as the complete leader, is and changing the world one cup of tea, at a time!