You are here: Home / Archives for technical professional

Jettisoning Your Baggage

March 19, 2013 By 2 Comments

I bought a new SUV this weekend. It replaced the vehicle I had to purchase when my former SUV got totaled. My former beloved vehicle was the one I was driving when I got T-boned by an asphalt truck while leaving a client.

I enjoyed driving my rock-solid replacement SUV/truck (aka, tank).  I just didn’t fully realize how much baggage was associated with my SUV Tank until this weekend. When I felt relieved and liberated to be moving on.

There only were two vehicles on the road that fateful day, mine and the truck that plowed into me. The trucker apparently had decided that crossing the yellow line into my lane somehow made sense. Having no time to react, I realized I was going to have to let the truck hit me; at full cruising speed. I figured: This Was It. There probably was no more to my story. I was peaceful in this realization.

Got the picture? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Professional Development & Social Selling Tagged With: , , , , , ,

It’s the little things

December 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It’s the little things… performed constantly and consistently over time that make the difference.

It’s the daily resolutions that reinforce solid business habits which we put into practice over and over again that build up our mental “muscle memory.”

It’s the stuff you can depend on and dig deep for, when you are back on your heels.

It involves attitude and self-belief, self-confidence and expertise.

It’s your technique, which forms the backbone of who you are and the structural underpinning which is your professional springboard.

Like a dancer or an athlete, you develop technique. You learn, incorporate more technique into your professionalism, and improve.

It’s a constant lifelong process, because you build upon your strong basis of expertise.

It involves taking on risk, relying on your technique to take your first steps into what seems like familiar, yet unexplored, territory.

Like that dancer or athlete, you trust your technique enough to interpret. Your interpretation, and assumption of risk, creates your artistry.

This small stuff is what we carry forward, year after year, to the art and craft of being a business and technical professional. There’s quite a bit of small stuff which we bring to our customers’ tables… whether they chose to acknowledge it or not.

There’s a lot of synergy when all of our small stuff comes together, isn’t there? When we depend on our technique – with firm and confident resolve – pointing ourselves towards our personal horizon.

You will find that the folks who always seem to be moving forward are the people who place great value on their small stuff. They don’t take their small stuff for granted.

When you think small, and use all the small stuff that comprises the remarkable work in progress that you are, you are grand.

When you think of moving every small piece of yourself forward, incrementally, you make huge strides.

When you take stock of your huge professional arsenal of small skills, knowledge, expertise, discipline, and mindset, you will be overwhelmed by how much there really is to YOU.

When you take inventory of all the small stuff that makes up YOU, what “they” have to say becomes insignificant. Because they really have no clue about all there is to you, do they?

You will find that the folks who always seem to be moving forward are the ones who place great value on their small stuff. They don’t take their small stuff for granted.

The small stuff is their value… to themselves first and foremost. They wear their value like a second skin.

The small stuff is their mantra.

That’s what makes them, and you, remarkable. Understanding the values, techniques, knowledge, and mental attitude that form the structural underpinnings of YOU.

Take stock of who you are. Carry that forward year to year. Think about making incremental strides throughout all of your small stuff.

And you will be remarkable. Time after time. Year after year.

You will find that the folks who always seem to be moving forward are the ones who place great value on their small stuff. They don’t take their small stuff for granted. Neither should you.

Towards a remarkable 2013. Happy New Year!

Filed Under: Entrepreneurs and StartUps, Professional Development & Social Selling, Sales, Pitching & Business Development Tagged With: , , ,

Being Relevant To Your Customers

November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Everyone is involved in the business development process: finding markets and identifying customers for our product and service offerings. No one is exempt from this process, either. Even if you are a technical professional who is transitioning into a sales role!

We all talk about “doing our homework” before we call on current and potential customers. What does that phrase really mean? The Digital Millennium overwhelms us with information. And not all of it is relevant to our customers.

 

I recently asked this question of Sam Richter, an internationally recognized expert on sales, marketing, leadership and web search as well as author of Take The Cold Out of Cold Calling.

To  download our entire interview, right click here.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

 

Here are some points to keep in mind when using the web to locate information.

Everyone’s in Sales …

Sales has gotten a bad name. Your customer thinks you only are calling them to convince them to buy something from you or to sign off on your technical solution. They often feel you have no clue whether they are even interested in your products and services, or whether your solution is relevant. So think before you call your customers. Do your homework to determine what is important to them, not you, such as: their business objectives, how can they earn their bonus, whether you even have product or service solutions to help them achieve their goals.

Establish your Relevancy…

Being relevant to your customers allows you to be regarded as a valuable solutions provider. Find information on what that other person is concerned about and ask really good questions based on this information. You don’t get permission to show up and immediately fast forward and ask those “deep discovery” questions until you have proven your relevancy and trustworthiness to that prospect or customer. Then they will invite you to ask them these questions. Do you have stories you can share showing how you have helped others?

Your buyer doesn’t care about you or your company, no matter how nice you are and how great your company is. They have problems which are keeping them up at night. You need to be aware of these problems before you meet with your customer. They want to talk about themselves, their company and their problems. Not yours.

Focused Web Searching, not Surfing, establishes Relevancy…

Before you fire up Google, write down a list of questions you want answered. You want to search the web, not surf it.  Your goal is to unearth  the trigger events that are shifting your customer or prospect’s company’s decision making processes and creating problems for them. Keep in mind that a company only puts good things on their website, so that is not a reliable source of information. Use the left hand Search side of a Google results page to fine tune your results. Click on the “News” button to find out if the company you are meeting with has been featured recently in the news. Tip: use quotation marks around words and it treats everything as a complete phrase.

We are connecting on a human level, not a technical level or a sales/marketing level…

Your homework can be as simple as going to LinkedIn. There’s a high likelihood that when you are meeting with someone, they have a profile on LI.  Find out about them: who are they, where have they worked, what is their experience, where did they go to school? We are trying to find information to connect on a human level. You might be selling a very technical product, but the person behind that decision is a human being. If you do not have that ability to connect on a human, emotional level, then you become perceived as a commodity.  Once you connect on an emotional level, then you become a valued provider and, more often than not, can even charge a premium for that product or service.

You are trying to determine what their problem looks like today. You are asking them to envision what the future would look like if you solved that problem. You want them to know you can work together with them to bridge that gap. You are telling them about some relevant experience and information that you have, which shows how you have solved problems for others. This discussion is the same, whether you are technical or in sales. You are solving their problem. It’s the same mindset. And as a sales person, your ability to understand what the buyers’ problems are, and translate and connect with the appropriate technical expert in your company, is huge.

Business development involves The Platinum Rule, not The Golden Rule…

The Golden Rule assumes that others want to be treated the same way you do: do unto others as you would have it done unto yourself. However, just because you feel that your products and services are wonderful doesn’t mean that they actually are or that your customer is even interested in them. The Platinum Rule, proposed by Dr. Tony Alessandra, states “treat others the way they want to be treated.” 

Most people sell via the Golden Rule. “I love my company and we will spend the next hour going through our catalog so I can tell you how great we are.”  Platinum Rule business development involves “Hey I’ve done some homework on your company. I see you are moving in this direction. You have this capacity and this equipment. Are you able to move in the direction you wish?” Now you can share a story of how you have helped similar companies. And, if you show that catalog, you can tailor the content to fit the reality of this customer’s needs.  You don’t know what your customer needs until you ask.

Entrepreneurs often approach venture capital or angel investors from a Golden Rule perspective: this idea is so important to me, that I am sure it also is important to you. They have to approach funding from a Platinum Rule perspective: I have this idea, what do I need to know to determine whether it is important to you?

Web searching provides data for asking questions, not finding answers…

When we search on the web, we’re not looking for answers. People confuse Google and searching for finding answers. Companies are not putting out “click here to find out what our problems are” information for you to find. Yet it’s your job to determine what their problems are.

What you are looking for is “trigger events:” something that is going on in that company’s world that is changing things. Press releases, mergers, acquisitions, new technology. By adding quotes around search terms and “+” between words, you get a lot of press releases related to trending information about that organization. Google isn’t the only search engine you can use. Mool.com/media is a new search engine based on media. It deals with news related to companies who are not in the news frequently, such as industrial manufacturers. Another alternative search engine is biznar.com. Click “advanced search” and search for information by date ranges, key words, etc.

Think of data differently…

Most of the time when we think of data, we think of information we can put into an Excel spreadsheet. Engineers are so data oriented. They are looking for data that means 2+2=4.  What you are really looking for is 2+2=8. When I say data, I am talking about disparate pieces of information that can help us come up with hypotheses so we can ask better questions. What is the holistic nature of the issues, what problems might this company have? How can I ask better questions based on the information I find? The data we are talking about is what you find via different search techniques.

This doesn’t have to be that hard. The goal is to get the other person to start talking. Find that one article, not a lot of information. It allows you to ask a question that gets that person talking about themselves and their company.

The most powerful search engine ever created is that person sitting across the table who you are trying to get to talk. So shut up and listen. The key is, you have to have permission first, to ask the question. Make the other person feel important. Ask that question and then be quiet and let that other person talk.

There is an art and science to web searching. Those in the engineering profession have the mindset to connect the dots. They are wired to be very successful.

Sam Richter is the Founder and CEO of SBR Worldwide/Know More! and SVP/Chief Marketing Officer at ActiFi, a software and solutions firm serving the financial services industry. He was named by InsideView as one of the Top 25 Most Influential People in Sales and he was also named as one of the Top Chief Marketing Officers on Twitter. He is a member of the Business Journals/ “Forty Under 40” list honoring the top Minnesota business leaders under the age of forty. He also was finalist for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year and he’s one of the more highly recommended persons on LinkedIn.

Go to http://www.samrichter.com/ and the Warm Call Center. Download the Know More! Tool Bar which accesses the most relevant sites for your search. His book, Take The Cold Out of Cold Calling, is available on Amazon.com and via his website, www.takethecold.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Professional Development & Social Selling, Sales, Pitching & Business Development Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Personal Branding and The Technical Professional: An Interview with Dan Schawbel – Part 3

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dan Schawbel is described by TIME Magazine as “a world renowned personal branding expert.” Tom Peters said of Dan Schawbel, “Dan has taken personal branding to a dimension a million miles beyond where I was.”  Dan is the Managing Partner of Millennial Branding, LLC, which helps build successful online brands. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future,
and is the founder of the Personal Branding Blog®, an Advertising Age Top 50 Marketing Blog. Recently, Dan Schawbel was named to the prestigious Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 list.

I caught up with Dan on August 23, 2011, post East Coast earthquake! The following post is a summary of take-aways 7 – 10 of the top 10 take-aways from our interview. To listen to the entire interview, right click on the link  and Save Target As to download the mp3 version of my Interview with Dan Schawbel, August 2011. Read my blog posts on Parts 1 and 2 of this interview, as well, to round out your perspective.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Take-away Seven

Babette: Overcoming the self-articulation barrier is perhaps the biggest conceptual hurdle technical professionals have to deal with, in general. What suggestions can you give these professionals in finding their “voice”?

Dan: The best way to find what you want to do in your career, and find your voice, is to keep writing, keep speaking… eventually it will just come to you, naturally… I think it’s just practice…. I had eight internships… I basically narrowed it down to what I wanted to do… But, if you’re lazy or if you just don’t want to put the effort in, it won’t happen…Practice filming yourself. You don’t have to publish it online [Dan initially filmed himself over 30 times before he found a clip he was satisfied with]… If you don’t look like you’re capable online, it’s not going to work for you… The perception of how many people you’ve connected with is important… The people who don’t take advantage of these tools now, are really at a huge disadvantage in the hiring process.

Take-away Eight

Babette: Technical professionals often feel reluctant to promote themselves, even a little bit. How can they overcome their reluctance and move forward in personal branding?

Dan: You just have to take it day by day. Do small things that will help grow your visibility at your job or online. Eventually you will get comfortable to do larger things. It could be just a Tweet, saying , “Hey, this is what I just accomplished,” etc., and that can lead into something bigger. So start small, and gain comfort that way.

You want your plan to be focused on where you want to go in life, not where you are…Brand strategy: what your buyer should look like, where you should be promoting and sharing and networking on social sites, your website, your blog, .. your overall marketing strategy, what companies – what people – do. You need to network… in order to make things happen, those are just some aspects.

I would say that everyone in the world needs their own website, so make sure that you have yours. Because if you don’t, it just looks bad at this point. In the technical field, and the technology field in general, it’s just a higher application for them to get involved with new technology and if they’re not, it looks really bad… They’ll have different pages, one with their resume, one with designs that they’ve done, the sky’s the limit. It’s all about how you’re contributing. .. You have to do all this [own your own name as a domain] before someone else does it. You only get one chance. And you don’t want to have to pay $10,000 in order to get your name back.

Take-away Nine

Babette: Social media sites: which one, or ones, do you recommend to start with? What makes this site(s) your top recommendation for technical professionals starting to build their personal brand platform? And what should a personal branding platform “look like”?

Dan: I’m going to have to say [start with] LinkedIn because it’s easy to start with and it doesn’t take a lot of work. There’s no expectation that you have to update your status on LinkedIn every day. I think that is pretty standard… I would say Facebook would be the last one. Because if you don’t already have a network, it’s really hard to build your presence on Facebook. It’s just a tough network to deal with. So I would say, maybe, Twitter would be next. Because Google+ , if I didn’t already have Connections on my other networks, Google+ wouldn’t really be that valuable. .. It’s a really tough one to use if you don’t already have a network. So I would say Twitter [second], because it doesn’t really put any strain on networking.

[On building your personal branding platform] It’s about getting a good education, refreshing your skills, reviewing everything that’s said about your company and your industry…online, so you keep up to date with what’s going on. That’s extremely important. Maybe reading books. Pushing yourself to get to different networking events. Getting on all these social profiles, getting a website, a blog, and using them to start conversations in your world. And showcasing some of your ideas and creating visibility. Basically doing all that. That’s where you really need to invest your time in, at this point.

[On participating on LinkedIn discussion groups] You need to develop an attitude that: I need to do this if I want to have a career in the future, if I want to be employable, I need to get my name out there… You just have to mentally push yourself. .. The key to LinkedIn is that it rounds you out as an individual… Companies and institutions are begging to find unique people. So if you can figure out what makes you unique and put it out there, you’re going to get through… That’s why I think video is so powerful. Before I meet someone, I watch a video of them online, so I know what I am getting myself into.  And people do the same with me… And when I meet with them, it’s like we already know each other.

Take-away Ten

Babette: If there is one key thought you would like to leave the technical, and other professionals with today, what would that be?

Dan: I think people need to spend more time doing more things, so they can narrow down what they really want to do. People need to put themselves out there, take a chance, get involved in different projects, even if they don’t pay, so you get enough experience to say, “Hey, this is something I want to pursue,” or it’s not something you want to pursue. If you don’t try something, you don’t know if it’s the right thing. So give it a chance.

Babette: We’ve completed this blog series, based on my August 23, 2011 interview with Dan Schawbel. If you’d like to listen to the interview in its entirety, you can download it at link at the top of the post.

We all get immersed in our jobs and in projects. Sometimes we get so focused on work-related activities that we become out-of-touch with what’s going on around us in this most competitive global economy. Dan Schawbel has issued a call to action to technology professionals specifically, and professionals in general, seeking to build a career. Start off your personal branding work by reading his book, Me 2.0. I know I did right after the first edition was published.

Times have, indeed, changed. It may not be sufficient to have the professional credentials to enter the workforce; to sustain your employment, you need to become aware of your marketplace and industry and their respective voices. You should understand the impact of other companies on your own and your industry as a whole. And practice until you develop your own “voice” as a means of providing feedback about your perceptions on these trends.

Personal branding is about carving out that niche that establishes your own voice as an influencer, or at least an astute observer, of your industry and your profession. Because if you don’t take the time to comment and participate in online discussions, someone else will. How many times have you read discussions or blog posts or the news and thought to yourself: “That’s just what I was thinking!” The digital millennium allows your thought to count and, perhaps, make a difference.

Hopefully, this blog series has given you something to think about and some tools for going about developing your personal brand. When achieved according to Dan Schawbel’s prudent and disciplined strategies and guidelines, it’s not narcissism or shameless self-promotion. Personal branding is simply a means of sharing thoughts, perceptions and asking questions of a network comprised of online colleagues who are thirsty for dialogue and idea exchange.

What are you waiting for?

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Professional Development & Social Selling Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Personal Branding and The Technical Professional: An Interview with Dan Schawbel – Part 2

August 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dan  Schawbel is described by TIME Magazine as “a world renowned personal  branding expert.” Tom Peters said of Dan Schawbel, “Dan  has taken personal branding to a dimension a million miles beyond where I was.”  Dan is the Managing Partner of Millennial  Branding, LLC, which helps build successful online brands. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future,  and is the founder of the Personal Branding Blog®, an Advertising Age Top 50 Marketing Blog.  Recently, Dan Schawbel was named to the prestigious Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 list.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I caught up with Dan on August 23, 2011, post East Coast  earthquake! Here’s a summary of take-aways 4,5, and 6 of the top 10 take-aways  from our interview. Use the navigation, above, to listen as you read. To listen to the complete Dan Schawbel Interview , right click on the link to download / Save Target As the  mp3 version. I guarantee you will want to listen repeatedly, for reference, as  you undertake your personal branding project.  To catch up, read my blog on Part 1 of this  interview, and my upcoming blog on Part 3.

Here we go:

Take-away Four

Babette: The concept of personal branding is somewhat counter intuitive to the industrial manufacturing sector and technical mindset. These companies and individuals feel they are addressing themselves – other technical professionals – when engaging in a business development discussion. What do you feel these companies are not “getting” in how they perceive branding, in general, and personal branding?

Dan: I think the main issue is social skills. I think social skills are becoming more important…It’s really not about what you know, anymore, it’s about how you can interact with other people. And just doing that online, technically, using these networks, is not enough. You have to be good at connecting with people, you’ve got to be likeable, you have to have organizational leadership skills, you have to have interpersonal skills. I think “soft skills” are becoming extremely important. There was a survey done by CareerBuilder…. 71% of hiring managers preferred emotional intelligence over IQ. .. Now it’s about being able to do the job, being able to interact and fit into the corporate culture, and become a leader, and the third thing which I think is upon us is the age of online influence. Being an influencer has become even more important. …You bring credibility to your position which your company can tap into.

Take-away Five

Babette: Manufacturing and service companies often feel that they are giving away secrets when engaged in competitive branding. They tend to hold their cards close to their chests and, therefore, tend to be the “best kept secret” rather than the go-to company or individual. How can they become more comfortable with personal branding?

Dan: I wouldn’t be afraid to share secrets at this point. It goes back to transparency…and visibility. If people don’t know what you do and what makes you special, and they can’t find you, you aren’t going to get the same opportunities as everyone else. I look at the Internet in a much different way than other people. I look at the Internet as a global talent pool. You’re really not going to be able to get jobs any other way, in the future….If you craft the Authentic You online, and tell people what kind of career you want, based on what you’ve already done, and where you want to go, you’re going to attract those opportunities. Positioning [yourself] is really key…. No job is certain. Even with entrepreneurs… Your company can be shut down in two years, or six months, or there could be layoffs at your company… You have to always be building your brand and getting your name out there and networking and marketing yourself, because … the next time you get laid off, you already have the support system in place… You want to be put in a position that, regardless of anything that happens, you have that support system in place. .. and you open yourself up to other opportunities….It’s almost like a safeguard. If all you do is your full time job, you don’t have a safeguard. There’s nothing there. You lose your job and you lose everything. The more projects you get on, the more things you do, the more hirable you are…That’s your true safety net.

Take-away Six

Babette: Technical professionals have been “Dilbert®-ized” as a profession, in reference to Scott Adam’s popular cartoon. How can technical professionals move beyond this stereotype?

Dan: I think it goes back to what we were talking about before, having more social skills. And you’ve got to have them, whether you take classes…And the best class you can take is just getting out there, going to events, meeting new people. And you gotta do it, you gotta do it. It’s good for you professionally, it’s good for you socially. It’s a healthy thing to do…And if you’re a person at work, you’re going to lunch with someone different each day, you’ll shed that negative brand attribute.

Babette:  We are at the end of the second, middle, part of this blog series, based on my August 23, 2011 interview with Dan Schawbel. If you’d like to listen to the interview in its entirety, you can download it at  the link at the top of this blog post.

Soft skills. We all use them, we all need them, and we are all continuing to develop them.  Personal Branding is the catalyst for developing those “soft skills” which can make you sought after. There’s no excuse that you didn’t learn soft skills in school. I’ve got news for you:  none of us did! There’s no substitute for experience and practice!

Later this morning (Friday), I’m having coffee with one of my new LinkedIn Connections. I make it a point to speak to at least three new Connections each week: in person or on the phone. It’s practice, but it’s not “work”, because I enjoy a free-flowing, natural interchange. No agenda, just conversation.

Soft skills are acquired through socialization and interaction with individuals. Ask questions and enjoy the answers. Move out of your comfort level: talk to folks outside your peer circle. Become comfortable with yourself as you develop your personal brand, and learn that articulating your personal brand doesn’t involve a lecture. Perhaps it starts with just a smile and a few words around the water cooler. The only ingredient that is necessary is you, and your desire to move toward where you see your career taking you, not just your current job title or function.

You have to have a plan for developing your Personal Brand. So when you decide to get started, there’s one person’s you should seek for guidance: Dan Schawbel. Online, in print, via video, in person.

What are you waiting for?

Filed Under: Professional Development & Social Selling Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Personal Branding and The Technical Professional: An Interview with Dan Schawbel – Part 1

August 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Dan Schawbel is described by TIME Magazine as “a world renowned personal branding expert.” Tom Peters said of Dan Schawbel, “Dan has taken personal branding to a dimension a million miles beyond where I was.”  Dan is the Managing Partner of Millennial Branding, LLC, which helps build successful online brands. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future, and is the founder of the Personal Branding Blog®, an Advertising Age Top 50 Marketing Blog. Recently, Dan Schawbel was named to the prestigious Inc. Magazine 30 Under 30 list.

I caught up with Dan on August 23, 2011, post East Coast earthquake! Here’s a summary of the first 3 of the top 10 take-aways from our interview. I’ll blog about the remaining take-aways as Parts 2 and 3 of this interview in the following days.

Use the navigation, below, to listen as you read. To download the entire interview right click on the following link: Interview with Dan Schawbel, August 23, 2011 and Save Target As. I guarantee you will want to listen repeatedly, for reference, as you undertake your personal branding project.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Take-away One

Babette: Dan, why is personal branding the fulcrum of all you do?

Dan: Personal branding is the process by which we unearth what makes us special and unique in the marketplace and then communicate that through various mediums, such as in person, your blog, or social networks, your phone, to our select audience:  the people you really want to go after and who our message would most resonate with. Everyone has a personal brand…. Through social networking, in the past five to seven years, it’s become apparent that anyone can leverage the business strategies, the marketing strategies, of companies and celebrities on a pretty flat plane….Anyone can create their own professional presence that creates new opportunities instead of sending resumes to different people, or getting people on the phone or doing traditional means of selling.

Take-away Two

Babette: How is having a strong Value Proposition important for personal branding?

Dan: It’s really what makes you special and unique and who you are targeting. A value proposition is really about showcasing who you are, what you do, what makes you different, and what audience you’re really going for. I call it, in my world, your Personal Brand Statement. .. Everything in the world is subject to change. You need to be flexible. You have to stay in tune with what’s going on. So if the market changes, and a new audience is interested in what you’re doing, you change over and evolve your brand, if that’s what you want to do…. You have to figure out what you’re really good at, what your technical expertise is…. Really boiling it down to one specific thing. And then, what audience, what industry, what profession, what geography? It’s almost like thinking like a company; and companies cater to different market segments… Cater to one small segment, and once you gain more visibility, then you expand.

Take-away Three

Babette: In your book, Me 2.0, you talk about four key areas of emphasis for personal branding: Authenticity, Transparency, Value and Visibility. How do these attributes form the foundation of a solid personal brand?

Dan: Authenticity, which is being  the real you. Don’t copy anyone else. .. Visibility, if you’re not visible, you don’t exist to the world. So build your brand, get out there as much as you can, be top of mind. The reason why social networks are powerful is that people will see your name… so you become top of mind, so when they go to hire someone, or work with someone or interview someone, you’re right there. Value… your unique value to the marketplace. Something different from what other people are doing. Again, don’t copy someone else. Invent your own kind of concept. I didn’t invent personal branding, but I figured out how to mold the new technologies with personal branding to create more of an offering, in that sense. So that is what worked for me…. Transparency …is all about being open and honest…. I feel that a lot of people just copy what everyone else is doing, at this point. .. They think it [personal branding] is easy… and they can just copy it. The problem is, the first mover always wins, in my opinion, or has a good shot at winning. .. You need to come up with something you can own, in your own unique way. And something you can be committed to. Because the amount of effort it takes to do all this is substantial. Become extremely good at one thing, and then if it works out well, you can expand.

 

Babette:  We are at the end of the first part of this blog series, based on my August 23, 2011 interview with Dan Schawbel. To listen to the interview in its entirety, you can download it at the link at the top of this post.

My key take-aways: Use Personal Branding as the catalyst for developing those “soft skills” which make you sought after. There’s no excuse that they didn’t teach you soft skills in school. I’ve got news for you, they didn’t teach any of us those soft skills. We interacted and learned from experience and practice.

Soft skills are acquired through socialization and interaction with individuals. And it can be as simple as going to lunch with a peer or  even someone from another department once a week; reading a newspaper and discussing a relevant article with people – any people.

Become comfortable with yourself as you develop your personal brand, and learn that articulating your personal brand doesn’t involve a lecture. Perhaps it starts with just a smile and a few words around the water cooler. The only ingredient that is necessary is you, and your desire to move toward where you see your career taking you, not just your current job title or function.

You have to have a plan for developing your Personal Brand. So when you decide to get started, there’s one person you should seek for guidance: Dan Schawbel. Online, in print, via video, in person.

What are you waiting for?

 

Filed Under: Professional Development & Social Selling Tagged With: , , , , ,
Copyright © 2009 - 2013 Sales Aerobics for Engineers ®, LLC. All Rights Reserved.