By Cambridge Who’s Who Member and Contributing Author Lisa Parker

Each of us sports our own, unique personal brand. The many things that separate and identify us as individuals become known as our personal brand. All of the principle components of our personal brand, including our first impressions, demeanor, accomplishments and the value we place on interactions with others, determine the level of success we experience in both our personal and professional lives.

As we establish business and working relationships, we must incorporate those same principles in the strategy we use to develop our personal business brand. As an entrepreneur, I would like to share with you four basic steps I took to incorporate personal branding into my business.

Service and Reputation – The first step toward developing a personal brand within a business context is to decide what your mission is and determine the type of service or product you intend to provide to your clients or customers. Always deliver the service or product as promised and in the utmost professional manner. The expectation of, or perceived, service is the reason your customers will choose your services over other competitors’. Once you identify the needs of a potential client base, market your business based on the provision of those needs. By visualizing the result of your efforts, you will be able to outline a plan of action to reach your goals.

In promoting my business, I researched other service providers in my industry and chose to provide my clients with a level of service that I found missing in a sampling of my competition: one-on-one customer service. The availability of this simple, consumer expectation is severely lacking in today’s market. A client can hardly expect satisfaction while seeking services when access to a concerned service provider is practically impossible. As my business continues to grow, I note that most of the comments from satisfied customers focus on their appreciation for being able to contact an individual service provider.

Marketing Strategy – The second step in promoting your personal business brand is obtaining visibility. With the unlimited resources and marketing avenues available today, you do not have to spend a great deal of money (if any) to establish yourself or your business. You may consider my techniques “shameless self-promotion”; however I consider the results monetarily rewarding. In addition to a variety of local advertising assets, such as newspapers, magazines and the Chamber of Commerce, there are plenty of online resources just waiting for you to tap into the benefits they provide. One little known option is using popular, free blog sites such as Word Press to help you get your information out onto the Web in minutes. I spent a short amount of time researching some of the opportunities available in regards to free advertising, and you can view the results of my efforts first hand by taking time to Google my business name in a variety of ways (e.g. Parker cprw, Parkercprw, Lisa Parker cprw).

Networking – The third step in laying a successful foundation for your personal business brand involves never underestimating the power of networking. In addition to the efforts you employ through advertising and marketing methods, remember that opportunities for networking happen on a daily basis. Large amounts of my clients have sought out my services after seeing my business’ name or speaking with other satisfied customers.

Aside from the many organizations that enlist members in the development of professional relationships with others in their career field, there are also plenty of opportunities to network in your local community. As a business owner, you can provide free workshops, schedule product demonstrations, distribute opportunities for entry into free drawings to local businesses and participate in a number of other activities to support the growth of your business. If your organization supports local events, be sure to wear a professional identification badge that mentions your business or service. The key to effective networking is to be diverse in your connections, and by this, I mean that you should not limit yourself to a particular industry, profession or region.

Association – The ultimate goal is to have your business name associated not only with the service or product you provide, but with your own personal name as well. Most of us already have a business name before we begin to research and understand the importance of branding. Do not wait any longer to begin marketing your name side-by-side with that of your business. Consider “Trump Plaza”, “Trump Towers”, “Trump University” and “Trump Financial”. Do you know whom I am referring to?

Personal business branding is the art of following the “Golden Rule” in the provision of services to and interaction with clients and customers. By learning how to manage others’ perceptions of you and your business, you will naturally establish a unique value that sets you apart from competitors in your career field.

Biography

Cambridge Who’s Who lifetime member, Lisa Parker, is a certified professional résumé writer (CPRW) with more than 23 years of experience in personal and professional development, and the owner of Parker-CPRW Professional Résumé Presentations. Her services help clients advance in their careers or pursue a career change. When Ms. Parker transitioned from military service to the civilian labor market, she was able to understand first-hand the difficulties that many professionals experience during a career change. Overcoming these challenges inspired her to provide guidance to others in the job market.

Ms. Parker assists her clients in preparing cover letters, thank you letters, follow-up letters, biographies, award narratives and entry-level, professional and executive résumé and curriculum vitaes. She also offers company and labor market research and helps individuals to identify their skills and personal traits.

She served in the military for 21 years in aviation, and retired as First Sergeant of an air traffic control unit. Upon her retirement from the military, Ms. Parker worked in the Department of Labor as a Disabled Veteran Outreach Program Specialist, providing assistance to veterans in the areas of job placement, military transition and résumé preparation.

In addition to being a CPRW, Ms. Parker is a Certified Transition Assistance Program Facilitator and a Notary Public. She is also a member of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers and Career Coaches, International Association of Workforce Professionals, National Notary Association, Association of Online Résumé & Career Professionals, National Veterans’ Training Institute, Disabled American Veterans, Non Commissioned Officer Association, American Legion Post 283, Women In Military Service For America, National Motorcycle Safety Fund, American Bikers Active Toward Education and the Victory Motorcycle Club.

To add to her accomplishments, Ms. Parker received the Customer Service Award from the Georgia Department of Labor in 2007; Certificate of Appreciation from the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program; and a Meritorious Service Medal and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, both from the United States Army.

Articles by Lisa Parker

• The Strategy Behind BOLD New!
• The Art of Establishing Your Personal Business Brand
• When Will I Know I Am An Expert?
  

Developing Your Personal Brand is the Key Ingredient to Success

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Jo DeMarco

Recently, I had the good fortune of reconnecting with a childhood friend. We hadn’t seen each other in an eternity and burned up the telephone lines with our first conversation in 20 years getting caught up with each other’s lives. After elaborating on where each of us was in life, we began to reminisce about the old days. I told my friend that I was certainly not surprised to learn about her travels around the world, as she was always an adventurer and loved learning and experiencing new things. In turn, she was not shocked to find out that I am now a small business owner. You were always so independent,” she said, as I explained the nature of my business as well as some of my achievements.

She then asked for my company’s website address (http://www.contessaknows.com/) and, as we were talking, looked it up online. “Oh, this is so you!” she cried out. I was a bit surprised at her reaction and asked what she meant by her comment. “Your website is exactly how I remember you, who you’ve always been. Sassy, brassy, direct and to the point, playing with words to get people thinking, very animated and entertaining and always making an impact. That’s you from the time we were kids.” she explained. Wow. I was blown away. I had never given much thought to how other people perceived me, especially as a youngster.

While designing my website, I pursued a unique look and high-quality presentation. I wanted my audience to be entertained. Although I have always been confident that I worked hard to achieve my goals and objectives, I have fretted and worried about whether or not I actually did put in enough effort. I was relieved when my long-lost friend, who is a marketing director, told me, “You’ve had a brand before any of us ever knew what one was, and it’s certainly apparent through your website. Congratulations!” This confirmed for me in an unexpected way that I had accomplished my goal.

I developed my business using what I knew, loved, held passion for and had expertise in. I also sought the advice and counsel of various professionals, but I made sure that I weighed their suggestions against my own thoughts about what I should convey through each of my products and my company in general. I wanted an extension of myself to be present in every aspect of my business. I wanted the things I stood for and have been recognized for by my family, friends and co-workers to be clear. In particular, I wanted my reputation to be visible when the public visited my website. By saying that she saw me in every descriptive word on www.contessaknows.com, the childhood friend who I had not seen in many, many years convinced me that I had hit my target. The website I created successfully reflects and upholds my “brand.” It presents who I am, what I’m about and what I want to communicate through my business.

To put it in perspective, let’s play the word association game. I say KoolAid, and you think of a big red pitcher with a smiley face, right? I say Calgon, and you picture yourself relaxing in a luxurious bath without a care in the world, right? Why? Because the companies that manufacture and market these products have consciously conveyed these ideas and feelings to the public. They have built their brand and sold their products on it effectively enough, so that the very mention of their product’s name conjures up the targeted image that they intended it to.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you develop a business, manufacture a product or enhance the image that you transmit to others:

• How would a friend or family member describe you in one word? Would their “one word” be consistent, exciting, knowledgeable, etc.? Does it match your description of yourself and how you would like to be perceived by others?
• If there was a billboard with your picture on it, what would the tagline be?
• What is the image you want to convey in your business and/or in your line of work?
• What is the reputation you seek to uphold?

Today’s market is highly competitive. A key ingredient for success is having a spirited personality – a unique factor that will set you apart from the rest. Achieve that edge through your personal brand…it’s who you are.