Are you consistently being you? Do you know what that means?

 

Let’s try an experiment…

Keep listening… but breathe deep, relax, and just let your mind open up to the words that follow.

 

Good. 

 

Imagine you’re in a crowded room, packed wall-to-wall and overflowing with your most perfect customers. It’s a festive occasion, with plenty of mingling and little groups chatting about this, that, and other things.
 
 You hear music playing. People laughing. The tinkle of glasses and rattle of ice as drinks are served and consumed.
 
 Not really caring, you pick a small cluster and approach. They’re laughing over something… doesn’t matter what…and as you draw near a couple heads turn to notice.

 

“Hello,” you say, “mind if I crash this party?”

 

Everyone smiles as bodies shift to welcome you closer.

 

“So,” says a tall, elegant woman, “tell us about…you.”

 

Now… at this moment… with all eyes and ears upon you…what do you say?

Even more critical… what message does every fiber of your being communicate to those there around you?

 

Not merely the words you use, but the presence you command…
 
 Regardless of whether you realise it or not, with every action you take and every word you use – you communicate precisely  what it is that makes YOU uniquely YOU.

 

And even if you don’t understand THAT completely, doesn’t it make sense for your success to take the time to learn how  best to leverage those aspects of your personality to create the most compelling… indeed, the most UNIQUE presence you can?

 

You bet it does. You bet it matters to your business. Big time. 

 

A lot of personal branding advice is about putting yourself out there so that others see you as an expert on a subject.

But what do you do when you’re just starting out in your field and don’t feel that you have a ton of expertise or unique information to share?  What if you’re not a MIT professor on behavioral economics, or a CEO of a wildly successful start-up, or someone who has spent 15 years excelling in their  field?  What if you’re just a perfectly ordinary person who happens to be interested in a particular industry and wants to get a leg-up on others who are competing for the same job?

Simple – spend your time learning about what is going on in your field.  Read books and blogs, subscribe to scholarly journals (or go read them at the library), listen to webinars, and go to learning events, especially conferences.  Do everything you can to stay up to date, and find relevant information.

Then, use that to start branding yourself. Here’s how:

First, write about what you’ve learned.
Every time you read/learn/see something interesting, take an hour or so afterwards to write down your take on it (on a blog is best).  Share what you found most thought-provoking, or a lesson that you’ll apply to your own life, or a personal story about a time you saw what you learned about actually happens.  Pass on good information that you’ve learned, while adding your own personal touches.

That’s how a business expert I know got her start.  She knew a lot about her field, but was completely flustered about starting her own blog. She had no idea where to even start.  So she started off her blog by combing the Internet for other experts’ work, and then responded to it.  Doing that for the first couple months helped her find her voice and then she was off.  Now she’s a respected business speaker, with a popular book and a booming business.

This works for newbies in the field as well. Even if you don’t have expertise to share, you’re sharing that you are a passionate learner.

Then, use what you find as a connection tool.
When you’re spending tons of time learning about what is going on in your field, you’re probably finding some interesting stuff!  So use that to advance your personal brand.  Keep a database of interesting resources AND a database of people whom you want to impress with your personal brand.  Make sure you keep track of what they’re interested in – and what their concerns and needs are.  Then, when you see something in your research that you know they’ll find interesting, email them a link to it with a short note.  This works especially well after you just met someone at a networking event, especially if you can find something relevant to the conversation you had with them.

For example, if you were talking to someone about leadership, you might send them a link to a recent TEDx talk by behavioral economist Dan Ariely about what motivates people to take action.  Or to a recent article in Fortune about how exposing employees to the actual customers who will buy a company’s products can be a powerful motivator to get employees more engaged in their work.

Do this for a couple reasons.  First, if it’s an interesting article that is relevant to the person you want to connect with, they’ll probably be glad to receive it.  And, judging by how busy most people are in today’s workplace – it’s highly likely that they haven’t had the time to spend time browsing through current articles about their field.  So, not only are you demonstrating that you are someone who is paying a lot of attention to that field, you’re helping them by sending them articles they probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise.  And finally, it’s a great way to signal to that person that you’re someone who is bringing something to the relationship (instead of just being concerned about “what’s in it for me?”)

If you’re just starting out, people don’t expect you to have the expertise of someone who has spent decades excelling in their field.  But what they want to see is someone who has a lot of passion for that field, and who is doing whatever they can to learn as much as possible.

Employers want to hire people who are passionate about their work and who are eager to learn. So brand yourself as someone who is enthusiastic about the subject you’re interested in and work on gaining the knowledge that will make you an expert (in the future).  And in the meantime, use the knowledge you’re gaining to cement relationships with the people who can help you get where you want to be.

By now you know how valuable it is to build a brand that establishes you as a Expert within your market. Developing your Expert brand status will help you bring in more business, allow you to charge higher rates, and make it easier to retain clients and customers. I am going to cover five simple tactics that you can put in place to help you enhance your personal brand status.

 

1) Make the right impression with a strong business card. Your business card plays an important role in formulating the first impression that you create. So it’s important that your card positions you in the right light. That doesn’t necessarily mean a card that is flashy or dramatic—but your business card should represent the brand you’re building.

 

2) Demonstrate your knowledge via social media. Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook give you the opportunity to demonstrate your expertise to the world. Share articles that are relevant to your audience. Provide insight and analysis of breaking news concerning your market. This approach provides value to your audience while reinforcing your expertise at the same time.

 

3) Use your email signature to build your brand. Many of you send hundreds of emails each week. So why not brand this interaction, each and every time? You can do this with your email signature, which should summarize your points of differentiation while reinforcing your brand. Include a logo as well, if possible.

 

4) Dress the part. If you’re branding yourself as a high-powered lawyer, showing up in a badly worn suit that hasn’t been dry-cleaned in a month won’t work. Similarly, if your brand is a personable, friendly, laid-back retirement advisor, the flashy suit doesn’t fit. Dress appropriately for the brand you are developing!

 

5) Donate your expertise. Finally, one of the best ways to demonstrate your expertise and reinforce your brand is to find causes or charities to get involved in. This gives you the opportunity to utilize your abilities while working for a great cause at the same time. 

 

Building your personal brand is the one thing that guarantees your longevity at work or even in your business because no one can take it away from you. 

One lucky listener that posts a review on iTunes will win a private confidential consultation and coaching with me on discovering your soul’s purpose. I will lead you on a personal journey to discover your unique mind-body psychosomatic map of your life. You will get a detailed report and a personal 45 minute consultation with me that is worth thousands.

On this podcast I’m going to help you design a life that works. So you are able to say yes to the things that matter and eliminate everything else that slows you down. The more clear you can be about how to organize your daily life to support your bigger vision, the more you’ll step into your true potential, stay on track and accomplish all that you want and deserve. Are you ready to make that happen? 

 

Feel free to reach out to me to ask your questions at AskDrSun.com.   Your life is a gift. Design it. Do what matters and join me each week as we get closer to designing the life of your dreams.  I am Dr Sun. Join me next week on Your Life by Design.