| Personal Branding
Benefits
Personal Branding
creates premium value. In a world where products, services &
skills rapidly commodiitse, Personal Branding offers the opportunity to
rise above the majority of professionals who are struggling to advance
their careers.
However, building a strong personal brand takes time, patience and
perseverance. It cannot be done overnight. For this reason its a
journey that few professionals choose to embark on. Even some of those
who do make the bold step, only do so when the pain has become
unbearable.
Rather than wait until its too late, why not start taking a longer term
view on the benefits of Personal Branding.
Here are 4 of the major benefits of a powerful personal brand
1.
Higher Value.
Strong brands are always associated with greater value &
attract a premium price. Imagine you're shopping for a tea tray. You
visit two stores and see the same tea tray in each store. Its a wooden
tray with a floral pattern in the middle. The first shop you visit is a
large department store located in a shopping mall. How much do you
think this store charges for the tea tray? Next you visit an exclusive
store located in the center of town. Its the only store of its kind in
the county you live in. How much do this exclusive store charge for the
tea tray? Do they charge more or less than the store located in the
shopping mall?
Well, hopefully you identified that the second store would most likely
charge more for the tea tray. Why? Simply because this exclusive store
attracts a certain type of customer who is happy to pay a premium to be
associated with the products that the store sells. The customer
believes that the superior levels of service provided by the store
justify this premium price.
In a similar vein, the professionals who consistently
communicate what makes them unique and then
deliver superior value for money will attract a premium price
for their services. Its often said that in the sales profession, 20% of
the sales people generate 80% of the revenue for their businesses. Its
the sales people who fall into the 20% category that understand the
power of personal branding. These are the individuals that can
consistently attract a premium price for the products or services which
they sell. Even products that are commonly viewed as commoditised.
2.
Greater "Stickiness"
In the marketing
industry, the word stickiness is associated with the strength of
relationship that a business has with its customers. The stickier the
customer, the better because that means the customer is likely to
provide a valuable source of long term revenue to the business. Its
also means that the business doesn't need to invest as much in
acquiring new customers.
As a professional who is looking to advance your career you need to
consider how "sticky" your employer or clients currently perceive you
to be & what steps you need to take to increase your
stickiness.
This will ensure that you're at the head of the pack when it comes to
getting the most lucrative jobs or projects. Businesses will always
turn to the people that they know and trust before they invite others
to pitch for work. Its simply cheaper and less risky to do so. Hence
the reason the vast majority of jobs are filled through personal
referrals not advertising.
3.
More Options
Professionals with a
strong personal brand seem to have more options available to them. This
is no accident. People are attracted to strong brands. Therefore, when
they need help or advice, they look to people they trust &
respect. They also tell their friends, family and work colleagues about
that person. This ultimately means that the professional who invests in
building a strong personal brand is going to find life much easier than
the person who doesn't
4.
Greater peace of mind & confidence
Building a career in
the 21st century is full of uncertainty. How long will I be able to
work in my current position? Will my current skills still be relevant
in 12 months time? What if I'm made redundant? What if my job's
outsourced? These are just some of the uncertainties that we face on a
day to day basis. No wonder more professionals than ever before are
unhappy in their job.
Human beings crave
certainty. We want to know that everything will be ok. Personal
Branding is not a cure for all the uncertainties in life. However,
actively building a strong brand can give you
much greater confidence
& certainty. It will help you to attract other people to you.
It will help you to be clearer on where, when & how your
career will develop. In short it will give you peace of mind,
something that money can't buy.
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