And the branding beat goes on..........compelling, memorable brands aren't just "born"

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Enterprising Women awards celebration in Boca Raton, FL and the privilege of introducing Karen Friedman of Karen Friedman Enterprises, Inc., a dynamic award winning communications coach and speaker.  What was truly amazing is that Karen and I (so it's Karen squared) are on the same page as it relates to the importance of personal branding to effectively imbed your message!  

So, without further ado, let me share the key points to Karen F's presentation, "Communicating Your Message for Maximum Impact".

First of all,  you must be on the bandwagon that  you ARE your own brand. In fact, if there's any doubt about that, let me recommend a terrific book that was out several years ago, "You, Inc.". This is a wonderful primer (and reminder) as to why we are all our own branding machines,  whether we have a j-o-b or have ourselves as a boss. No matter, personal branding is A MUST, so you MUST

~ be compelling in your presentations, delivery and every representation of your brand
   (think strong, concise, clear language -- know who you are and why you are in business!)
~ get personal, as in "What's in it for them?" or Why should they care?  WIIFM
~ be relevant and real

Secondly, STOP "the speak".  You know how it is --- all of us in a particular industry talk about XYZ working with ABC with next week's do-re-mi, etc.  You've been in one of those conversations, right? Anyone NOT in that particular market sector feels like they are "out of the loop" and unable to communicate with "that person". So, let's  all of us make a concerted effort to speak American English or, better yet, the language of our customer which relates to the next point.............

It's all about the way the customer feels.  If, in any way, the customer is not being treated like he/she is the most important object in the universe at the time, they will not give one hoot if a brand is red hot or stone cold.  There are always competitors and someone who will care about them and their needs.

Last of all, consider delivery of your speech, pitch, conversation, etc.  Does your passion come through without you saying, "I'm passionate about.........."?  Are you looking at the customer or are you looking at the artwork on the walls, trying to read the upside down memo on his/her desk or otherwise distracted?  Mumbling or meteoric? Pushing through a conversation to beat getting a parking ticket or pausing to read your customer's response/reaction? Most importantly, have you stopped to ask the person what he/she wants to know or has the information been delivered in a ram-rodded  style, through a pre-imbedded  30 second commercial, that everyone hears about your brand? (I know I'm evaluating that one!)

What was truly amazing is that every woman at the Enterprising Women presentation is highly successful  (some of their companies are upwards of $25 mil/year) and, yet, everyone came away with some reconfiguration of ideas so to best represent their brand.  Kudos to Karen Friedman for the insight!

In my next post, the 7 keys to personal branding success.  Stay tuned!