Transforming your personal brand 

Among the most special moments in my work have been those times when I could see a woman’s personal brand transform before my eyes.

A finance professional met with me for a short personal brand session just to talk out her ideas and be able to clarify them – she wanted to use her experience in her career to teach others just starting out, but hadn’t been sure what that would look like. The spark of inspiration and clarity in her eyes literally grew brighter as she talked!

A woman transitioning in her career broke down in tears during a workshop, stuck on the very first question I asked her: What do you love to do? That workshop was the beginning of a personal journey in clarifying what she had to offer in her career in order to shape it more mindfully.

A young woman who was displaying signs of apathy at work suddenly stepped up, after her team completed a workshop to define their strengths and communicate them with professional and authoritative language on their LinkedIn bios. As she completed this process, she defined what she was uniquely good at that she could bring more of to her team, and was subsequently given opportunities to shine in that area, completely changing her attitude.

Inevitably, when personal brands are defined and owned, they are transformed – and women walk taller and bring a more powerful presence into the room when they do. Because women (among other groups) frequently experience challenges in the balance of power, it’s essential that they learn how to come from a place of personal power in order to help nudge the scales towards equality.

This article first published 2017; reviewed 2021

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Breaking down Personal Branding for Business Leaders

Our look at Brand Strategy began with the Personal Brand, and specifically, the requirements of a Leadership Personal Brand. As I’ve described before, the leader’s personal brand must go beyond basic skills, personality and experience to include messaging on:

• Your personal leadership style
• Your core values in business and how this plays out in your work
• Themes or causes you care about creating positive change in
• Areas in which you’ve led and the impact this has made
• What qualifies you to lead in future contexts

Our group tested how well they know their personal brands and finished with a reflection on their leader personal brand development using NWC’s Personal Brand Planning Wheel. Among the 12 sectors considered in the Wheel, participants were invited to think about where they are at with Communication Skills, Confidence Levels and even Boundaries… and create action points to develop in their priority sectors. I loved how collaborative this session was, with leaders of different businesses using their experience to help each other to brainstorm action plans!

What your Business Brand Profile should look like

After a break, we moved on to a consideration of the business brand, including a breakdown of what a Business Brand Profile (a document outlining the Brand Strategy, that sits in your business plan) should look like.

As mentioned, this is not about the ‘outward’ communications of the brand, such as brand colours or website design – it’s about the key messages explaining your brand’s positioning – what it stands for, who it serves, the difference (value) the business creates. Participants were shown a template for creating a robust brand profile that can be used with anyone formally communicating the brand, and even more importantly, as a discussion tool with team members engaging with the brand. We then worked together to review or build brand messages around stakeholder value, as well as considering brand communication platforms and guidelines to empower marketing teams.

A Strategy to Networking for business growth

This started with a reflection on what is and isn’t working in networking in 2021, in a Covid-Recovery, post- or semi-lockdown environment with unique global and economic challenges, as well as opportunities.

Despite the unusual times, there are also typical challenges that remain: How to choose the right networking activities to create opportunities, how to structure and deliver the types of conversations that move the needle, and how to get in front of decision-makers and key influencers to promote business growth.

I demonstrated the need for a network-building strategy that centres on introductions to and conversations with key stakeholders, built on an understanding of these stakeholders – where they play, what they talk about, what matters to them. We completed an exercise to get clear on these starting points.

While it may seem obvious to start where your targets are, I see the mistake of ‘hit and miss’ networking just about every day… attending the wrong networking events or only focusing on events as a way of networking, for example. Other common hit-and-misses include confusion about how to take a casual contact to a business conversation, and failing to leverage existing promotions or communications to support networking (such as what to do after holding a webinar or writing an article).

“While it may seem obvious to start where your targets are, I see the mistake of ‘hit and miss’ networking just about every day…”

I touched on other tools such as the 3 Platforms of strong LinkedIn strategic plan to support personal brand positioning, thought leadership, visibility and networking. I also provided proven templates for strong emails requesting introductions and coffee meetings, along with a flow chart exercise to help participants work through their networking plan step-by-step.

Throughout the morning I emphasised the potential to take these activities into your organisation and run with them to empower your team. As with many of NWC’s workshops, participants will shortly receive a summary video reviewing some of the key exercises to help them to implement them internally.

I look forward to keeping in touch with the business leaders I met during the workshop and seeing their business ideas progress! It was a great pleasure to be part of a high-calibre business accelerator and enjoyed working with the Quantum TX team.

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#2 Mastering conversation skills towards achieving your goal

Following along the lines of the first impressions above, I found it extremely rare that a start up team member would make the most of a networking conversation, with a little forethought to what they wanted to get out of such conversations at the event. If you pre-plan what you would ideally like to get across and find out, and plan your questions accordingly, you can have some game-changing conversations in just a few minutes.

For example, one stall-holder I spoke with was telling me all about her business but not asking any questions of me. Something she said, however, sparked an idea and I wanted to be helpful, so I mentioned that I may know someone I can connect her to, who would be interested in her innovation. Do you think she made the most of this? No, because if she had, she wouldn’t have just handed over her card in the hope that I would remember to pass it on to my contact (while still knowing nothing about me except for my first name). Instead, she would have asked for my card, so she could follow up with me later, in case I got busy and forgot (and most people do).

Knowing how to plan for conversations that move you from Point A to Point B includes:

• Understanding how to structure, guide and tailor the conversation.
• Having a clear follow-up plan to continue the conversation later.

#3 Sales conversations that work

If you are having a chat with someone new in front of your business stall, I would argue that a formal pitch or a hard sell will not work. This is a relaxed setting where people are moderately curious and want to be supportive, but they don’t want to feel held hostage, forced to listen to a 10 minute monologue that isn’t hitting the mark.

These conversations need to be about connection – yes connection, not a pitch. If I feel that we are having an exchange, both of us asking questions in a conversation that, while focusing on your business, is adapted as it goes along to respond to my interests and understandings… then I’m much more likely to maintain interest, remember you as someone I enjoyed talking to, and perhaps become a customer, referral source, advocate or investor down the track.

The founder gap in sales conversations includes:

• Shifting the approach from ‘about me’ to ‘about you’.
• Learning great questions to ask to develop the conversation and build connection.

 #4 Getting clear on one simple brand message

New start ups have to face a lot of scary and new situations. When nerves and passion take over, we are rarely succinct, clear and confident in our communication!

Getting clear on one simple brand message that underpins everything you do is what is going to help you make your brand clear and resonant with others. This includes focusing on the core value proposition, getting to the point, and answering the immediate and exact question you are being asked – not pre-ambling with a whole lot of meaningless fluff.

The work founders need to do to clarify brand is usually:

• A well-structured brand discovery process with the team to drill down to the business’ key messages, for a specific audience, in the language they would use.
• Practice at delivering these messages clearly and confidently in conversation with others and in pitching situations.

#5 Delivery style on stage

I have witnessed some impressive pitches and some terrible ones… but most formal presentations I have seen land somewhere in between – in other words, there are gaps.

Firstly, it’s important to remember that you are pitching yourself as founder/leader, not just pitching the business model or brand. Investors have to like you and think you will be able to work well with others. So it’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. Humility combined with genuine confidence is the key here, and this means taking responsibility for uncertainties or problems, speaking with clarity and brevity, thinking about your appearance and body language, managing your tone of voice, and respecting your audience (what do you know about the audience and how can you acknowledge this?).

“It’s not just what you say, it’s how you say it. Humility combined with genuine confidence is the key”

What distractions are there (e.g. your wardrobe issues, the lighting, the layout, placement or manner of using the slides)? I’ve even heard a “No, I don’t want to stand on the stage” – this is not thinking about your audience. Reading off slides with tiny text is not thinking about your audience. Talking too fast, focusing on something other than what is being asked in Q&A, being defensive… none of these show you are interested in considering your audience. If you are not considering your audience, you are not thinking about the needs of your potential investors or your customers… and a business that doesn’t put this first, fails.

Some of the key gaps I’ve observed in preparing to pitch:

• Looking at the whole presentation experience from the perspective of the audience – not just the content but the visual and auditory aspects too. Did you know that only 7% of the meaning we make is from the verbal? The rest is made up of visual and auditory cues.
• Learning how to authoritatively answer questions during the Q&A, even when you don’t have a clear answer – e.g. practicing for smooth transitions between team members (what knowledge areas are you each handling?) and having an approach to curly questions that reveal problems or things you haven’t thought of.
• More, more, more practice at public speaking and making great first impressions.

I’ve heard it said, by experienced innovation advisors and investors, that founders who show potential start with showing they understand their gaps. This is because it means you are willing to learn from others and work on anything that needs work, to fast-track your success.

Do you know your Founder Personal Brand gaps?

Contact us for NWC’s Framework.

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What kind of audience do you want?

If you want a herd of sheep to follow you to the ends of the earth, constantly seeking help but never doing anything to help themselves, use pretend-caring, over-the-top motivational rubbish in your promotions.

If you want to work with intelligent, pro-active people to help them achieve their goals on the way to going places and making things happen… treat them like they have a brain.

What does your audience look like right now?

Things change quickly in the world we live in. Language we used mindlessly three years ago is no longer relevant or acceptable. The ways consumers engage with brands has totally changed in a few short years. What we seek out or reject online comes down to the relevance and resonance of content, right this minute.

So let me tell you where the Pretend Personal sits now.

Over-the-top enthusiasm is cringe-worthy.

Boasting, thinly veiled as gratitude, is a total turn-off.

Classic sales messaging (“Buy now!” / “Don’t miss out!” / “Can you afford not to?”) is insulting people’s intelligence.

And don’t get me started on bulk emails that begin with ‘Hi Jane!’ and then continue to insert Jane throughout the email. Jane doesn’t really think you’re talking especially to her.

Treat people like the intelligent, Internet-savvy, busy people they are. Be real. That’s what works now.

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“But… shouldn’t my business brand stand alone?”

While it’s important to distinguish a stand-alone brand for your venture, in the beginning your personal brand is a powerful tool for attracting investors and advisors to get you on your way. In many cases, the personal brand of the founder or CEO continues to be important as market awareness builds, because many brands are about people’s connection to a thought leader, ambassador or personality.

Get it right from the start and speed up success

Whatever stage you are on the innovation and commercialisation journey – but especially if you are about to start looking for early-stage funding from investors, and/or to get advisers and partners on board… your personal brand as founder is one seriously important tool in your toolkit.

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Over the last few weeks I’ve been working with a client to help reposition his personal brand in order to attract new consulting opportunities. He has achieved a lot in his past and current roles, but now wants to step it up in a role where he can really be utilized for the specific areas of expertise he has developed. We spent a lot of time talking about these areas – why he is passionate about them and what kind of change he has affected for stakeholders with his knowledge and skills. This was really important to clarify, because he was not previously highlighting this clearly and effectively. With these achievements now maximised on his LinkedIn, CV and personal consulting website, this client is going to attract the right opportunity much more quickly and easily.

There are always treasures to uncover – that shouldn’t have been hidden away or poorly communicated with mixed messages!

The conversations I have with experts, consultants, executives and business owners around what they’ve achieved and what this brings to their ability to create value, always astound me. There are always treasures to uncover – that shouldn’t have been hidden away or poorly communicated with mixed messages! There is nothing more rewarding than helping someone uncover these strengths and points of difference… and it reminds me to keep striving to highlight my own, in order to attract more fantastic opportunities for my business.

Time spent ‘standing on the peak’ and reflecting on what you have achieved is a valuable investment in your future!

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