Essential Tips for (Executive) Branding

What Is (Executive) Branding?

The concept of branding is nothing new. It has been talked about and used as a concept for a number of years, Business 2.0, WIRED etc. Have all done numerous articles on it. IT is a fantastic way to get your reputation out there to your audience and target clients. The times, however, are changing, somewhat. Now it is time to extend that concept to the individual “Brand YOU” within the organization. That's correct, you need to view yourself as not just an employee, but as a corporation within the corporation.

Why Do (Executives) Have To Brand Themselves?

Every organization is an individual marketplace! It has it's own economy, it's various consumers and suppliers.
As in live, many play a dual role. Your job is to distinguish your Brand from the others. You want to be the leader in your marketplace. In order for that to happen you need to view yourself differently. You are no longer an employee; you are a Brand to be marketed in your marketplace to increase your market share!

How do I do that? View things from a different perspective. Remember, a pencil, when view from different points is still a pencil, but to some everyone it looks different.

Old Realities	New Realities
Employment for Life Employee Dependency Employee Loyalty Work is highly organized The Production Worker People Produce Work Employees are employed Change is slow	Employment is based on ROI Employee Self-Reliance Employee as “Free Agent” Work is organized but fluid The Knowledge Worker Technology produces work Employees are Engaged Change is accelerated

Table 1

The fundamental premise of marketing / branding still stands: find a need and fill it. As an executive,  your brand has to stand for solutions – ideas to meet the needs of the organization and managers. Remember though, the greater the need of the organization and the greater the number of people who can potentially fill that need, the more disposable you are – which means you need a strong brand!

Branding Is Everything


Sales is convincing people that they want to buy what you have.
Marketing means generating opportunity, this includes networking, sending resumes, even lunching with peers.

Branding, however, is at the very heart of selling and marketing … and leadership and training … and everything else you do.

Branding means that you are positioning yourself so that people see you as a leader who is knowledgeable. They want to seek you out for advice and consulting. They see you as an individual that knows how to get it done.

The Reverse Sale


Branding comes first! Like it or not, we do not buy anything without branding. People need to know your 'brand' before you arrive. Without that knowledge, they will need to be sold on “Brand YOU”. That's not a bad thing, it will just take longer. With proper branding the sale is done for you and really all you have to do is close it.

As an executive, your brand objective is to gain and maintain meaningful and well-compensated employment. Your biggest challenge, simply stated: How do I get more companies to think of me as their “-Insert your goal here-” before they actually need one?

Visibility Equals Credibility


Branding is all about visibility, and visibility builds credibility, in the public eye. If we continue to see and individual where we are, we begin to assume that they are worth knowing. We see them not as a threat, but as someone that knows something. We see them as us, but different. The same applies to organizations. If an organization or members of an organization see you in various places or have heard your name through trusted sources, your brand is being marketed. This means that your brand is getting our there. Individuals and organizations are seeing you as someone they want to associate with. As a result, Brand YOU is becoming in demand!

Lack of visibility not only prevents you from generating new opportunities, it actually hurts your credibility.

Perception Is Stronger ....


You are a unique proposition! You are Brand YOU! This perception is at the heart of what you present to the organization. Yes, you are an intelligent, articulate executive that is extremely knowledgeable. But, without that perception of Brand YOU, who will buy it? You need to change the perception of what they are getting. They are not just getting an executive or and employee, they are getting a person that has a Brand, a following, and most importantly, the answers!

Your Most Important Service


No matter what you provide — Management, Human Resources, Information Technology — your most important service is advice.

Whenever you speak you are engaged in some degree of advice delivery. The key is to have people seek out your advice. More specifically the right people need to be willing to seek out your advice.

The More Influence You Have, The Stronger Your Brand


A good brand captures mindshare. The more minds that want your advice, the stronger your brand.  By capturing your co-workers’ mindshare, you can, not only, advance your career, but also produce more results for the organization.

What Is Your Value To The Organization?


List the top 5 attributes you think qualify you for your next position.

1.


2.

3.

4.

5.

What reason do you think is the most compelling? This is your leading attribute, and should be used as the core message driving all your branding efforts!