The 16th Minute Workbook

The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

The

th 16

Minute

Creating a Personal Brand TU 312 Tuesday, June 2nd , 2009 3:59pm-5:29pm Launch a new personal branding effort after testing it with the "wisdom of crowds"

Doug Caldwell +1-214-641-4084 [email protected] @Doug_Caldwell

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 Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. Andy Warhol ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

Brands at Top of Mind Name a laundry detergent


Name a carbonated soft drink beverage


• List personalities recognized by one-name  Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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Figure 1

Quick Test of your personal brand now What is a Brand?           

A brand is an unwritten contract of intrinsic value. A brand is an expectation of performance. A brand is a covenant of goodness with its users. A brand is predictable. A brand is an unwritten warrantee. A brand is a mark of integrity. A brand is presentation of credentials. A brand is a mark of trust and reduced risk. A brand is a reputation. A brand is a collection of memories. A brand can be – must be – more that the sum of all these parts.

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 What are you going to do about your brand characteristics? Put your action notes here.

Brands are a shorthand way of communicating critical data to the market to influence decisions. Brands are accelerators of credibility and, therefore, of relationships. Brands are most influential when customers lack data to make informed product choices and/or when the difference between competitors’ versions of the same product is small to non-existent. Additionally, brands take on more significance when consumers place great importance on the decision being made. We shop and buy products just on the brand feeling. In the world of work there are three elements that intersect for your personal brand; passion, skills, and market needs. The intersection is the ‘sweet spot’. Market Needs What does the market [employer] value for your abilities, skills, knowledge, achievements? The value is how much they will pay you to do what you do. When you are needed and not too many others like you, value goes ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 up. But when we stopped using stagecoaches to travel, the market no longer needed the drivers. Has your stagecoach been parked? Skills What do you do that is called a skill or it may be an ability to accomplish something? We can have many and varied skills/abilities, but it relates to what the market needs and how well you can perform the task. Passion Last mentioned is what is your passion for the brand [you]? The market may value [pay] you for the skills you possess or willing to learn. But do you care [have passion] for what you do? ‘Sweet Spot’ The intersection of these elements [figure 2] can be your ‘sweet spot’. Lacking an element you are incomplete, one without a clear brand identify and focus.

Where does your brand intersect?

Passion

2

Market Needs

4 1

3

Skills  Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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Figure 2 ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 There is also a life cycle of a brand as shown in figure 3. Our challenge is to reach our brand peak sooner than later and stay there. Obscurity exists at both ends of the curve.

Get Doug Caldwell!!! Get Doug Caldwell if you can.

Get someone close to Doug Caldwell

Get me a young Doug Caldwell.

Get me that guy Doug Caldwell.

Who’s Doug Caldwell?

Who’s Doug Caldwell?

 Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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Figure 3

As we create/promote our personal brand, to continue being famous for more than 15 minutes, you need to ask… Who is Selling Your Brand? So you’re in the business of widgets – just like everybody else. But what makes you different in the marketplace in the eyes of current and future customers?

The answer is your brand.

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 So what’s a brand? At one time a brand name was just intended to identify the goods or services of one group of sellers and differentiate them from those of competitors. Now we have these descriptions which you took a quiz earlier in the workbook. • • • • • • • • • • •

A brand is an unwritten contract of intrinsic value. A brand is an expectation of performance. A brand is a covenant of goodness with its users. A brand is predictable. A brand is an unwritten warrantee. A brand is a mark of integrity. A brand is presentation of credentials. A brand is a mark of trust and reduced risk. A brand is a reputation. A brand is a collection of memories. A brand can be – must be – more that the sum of all these parts.

Brands are a shorthand way of communicating critical data to the market to influence decisions. Brands are most influential when customers lack data to make informed product choices and/or when the difference between competitors’ versions of the same product is small to non-existent. Additionally, brands take on more significance when consumers place great importance on the decision being made. We shop and buy products just on the brand feeling. Why should we be concerned about the value of your company’s brand [that’s you]?

In one picture:

.

Does your brand deliver value to customers? Will they go out of their way to do business with you? Your customers could and should be selling your brand.

Brand Activism What kind of advocate is your current customers for your brand? One research firm slots them into five “working” segments. All “advocate,” but at different levels with different behaviors. All respond differently to marketing activities directed toward them. And, all are very valuable to the future of your brand.

The five segments are: 1.

Silent Loyalists. These people don’t volunteer information, but if asked, they will talk about, encourage, or refer others to the brand. They often owe their

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 loyalty/advocacy as much to an individual in the distribution stream – i.e., sales consultant, service advisor, or other “expert” – as to the brand itself.

2.

Friends and Family.

These people participate in a finite community of friends and family members. They are the first source of referral for these groups on “how to,” which generally means how to get the best deal, whom to see, who will represent you, and so on. 3. Enthusiasts. These advocates look upon themselves as “authorities” within a given category due to their interest, avocation, studies, and so forth. They meet and interact with peers through affinity groups, clubs, associations, and the like, and have considerable interaction with other users. 4. Early Adopters. These are the “Buzz-meisters.” They are confident and cool enough to be on the edge, ahead of trends. They have a huge Internet usage and influence. They are credible enough that others seek them out for advice. 5. Mercenaries. This group’s loyalty is related to their heavy usage and need for volume discounts, convenience, and other rewards. They have very broad representation in the population. They are the only segment that is really affected by traditional “relationship marketing” activities.

Which advocates do you have and how loyal are they to your business’s brand?

Your Brand = Your Customer’s Experience Customer loyalty is rooted in experiences – the experiences that each customer has in learning about, acquiring, using and sharing your products and services with others. Customer experience is the essence of any brand. There’s a lot more to branding than a logo or a consistent graphical treatment. Your customer’s experience with your brand includes how that customer feels when he or she is in your brand’s presence, whether on the phone with you, in your physical storefront, on your Web site, reading an email you sent, or using your product. Today’s business leaders understand that a key to success is building and sustaining a brand presence that delivers consistent value, resonates with the customer, makes her want to come back for more, and prompts her to tell her friends and colleagues about it. A satisfying customer experience is one of the most important elements in building a loyal customer, a customer who is loath to change her habits. Yet customers have become much more demanding. They now expect us to deliver a consistent branded experience.

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

Customers want a high-quality, predictable experience combined with high-value products and services. When we improve how the customer is treated we can positively affect our customer relationships.

Building Trust with Your Brand Customer relationships are built on trust. You build trust with your brand by paying attention to the qualities that matter to customers, such as good value, reliable fulfillment, and ease-of-decision-making. Our success is when we deliver these valued conditions: • • •

Integrity. They set customer’s expectations and deliver on promises. Value. Customers believe they are receiving good value. Reliable fulfillment, delivery, and support. Customers can count on receiving the products they’ve ordered in the promised time frame. Customers can count on proactive and prompt service when and, as they need it.

These companies make:

•

Efficient use of the customer’s time. company respects their precious time.

Customers believe that the

These companies offer: •

• •

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Ease of Interactions. Customers don’t need to make multiple phone calls and/or visits to accomplish their desired outcomes. Ease of Doing Business. Customers can do business with the firm in the ways they prefer, by visiting a physical outlet, going online, and/or picking up the phone. Are you an E.T.D.B.W. company?1 Ease of Decision-Making. They provide all the information and tools that customers need to help them make quick, informed decisions about which products and services to purchase or use.

Easy To Do Business With

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

On Your Mark…

So where do we start? Begin by creating a strong brand identity, including a brand personality, a core driving idea that customers relate to, differentiation from other brands, and innovation within the brand. Understand your brand image. • •

Identify and define your own company brand Develop ideas to strengthen the company’s brand image

And ask yourself who

is doing the “selling” – you or the customer? Bibliography

Dearlove, Des and Stuart Crainer. The Ultimate Book of Business Brands, Capstone US, Dover, NH, 1999. Reichheld, Frederick F. and Thomas Teal, The loyalty effect: the hidden force behind growth, profits, and lasting value, Harvard Business School Press, 1996. Seybold, Patricia B., The customer revolution: how to thrive when customers are in control, Crown Business, New York, NY, 2001. Schultz, Don E., Valuing a Brand's Advocates, Marketing Management, Winter 2000, Vol. 9 Issue 4, p8, 2p

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 What can I do to sell my personal brand? You might be selling already. How many of the activities in figure 4 are you already engaged in? Some are more valued by the decision makers. Their market gravity is stronger. The market decides which is valued more. One resource, social media, is a new 21st Century influence of brand identity and recognition. The proper use of the Internet to merge your personal/social/work/community interests and ambitions can accelerate your personal brand growth. Beware; being inconsistent between media [fun & games on Facebook vs. business focus on LinkedIn] will tarnish your brand identity. You strive for brand congruence, coming together of your brand.

©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

Creating Marketing Gravity Pro bono work

Commercial publishing

Products Alliances

Position papers

Teaching Radio interviews

Your Services and Relationships

Print interviews Referrals

TV appearances

Social Media

Print Newsletters

Advertising

Third-party endorsements Speaking Trade association leadership

Passive listings

Networking Word of mouth

Electronic newsletters

 Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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Figure 4

Here’s an exercise, make a PBS. Personal Brand Statement (PBS)2 1. Hearing it makes people go "WOW!" Providing good or excellent service is not enough these days. If you want to create a livelihood from your business (i.e. it's not just a hobby), then you need to stand out from the crowd. Clients are attracted to people who make them go "WOW!" 2

http://topten.org/public/AF/AF74.html ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 2. One out breathe long. You should be able to say your PBS in one out breath. This is like creating a "sound bite" that people can easily remember. Test it: can the other person repeat back to you what you said, verbatim?

3. Clearly state practical benefits. The practical benefit of what you are should be clear or at least clearly implied. 4. Reflects your own personality. Your Personal Brand Statement should be uniquely identifiable with you. If any one of your peers can say the same statement in the same way as you, then you need to inject more of you in it. Stay away from the generic "I help you increase your profits." Your personality can be projected in how you phrase your statement, in the words you use, your tone of voice, etc.

5. Projects confidence and energy. Your Personal Brand Statement should roll off your tongue easily, without tripping. You must be able to project it. 6. Gives enough to cause them to ask for more. Your PBS is a "teaser" to start a dialogue with your customer. You're not trying to sell them right then and there. 7. Real and grounded - fits with who you are. Going beyond reflecting your personality, your PBS basically describes how you express your personal mission in the physical world... your role in the world. Use "I" phrasing instead of trying to create the impression that you're something bigger or other than who you are. (This is a tendency especially with selfemployed people.)

8. Can be truncated into an even shorter form. Your Personal Brand Statement should be able to be truncated into even shorter forms that become slogans, brand names, product names or themes.

9. Changeable with time. Your Personal Brand Statement evolves with time, reflecting what you are passionate about in the moment. A PBS eventually becomes stale. As soon as you get bored with it, simply change it!

10. Can be repeated well by others. The ultimate success of a Personal Brand Statement is how well it creates "word of mouth." ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

My PBS is ________________________________. Sidebar: Make your PBS an irresistible offer understood in a ‘blink’. These two books are useful to create a personal brand.

Synopsis: Your customers are going to give you three seconds to make the sale. Do you know what to say in those three seconds? The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less by Mark Joyner

Synopsis:

“…discover what underlies our gut decisions, exploring when we can (and should) trust them even whether we can learn to make good ones.” Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

And something else to read: Boles, Richard, What Color is Your Parachute, Ten Speed Press, published annually. Crilley, Jeff, Free Publicity, Brown Books Publishing Group, Dallas, 2003. Leider, Richard J. and David A. Shapiro, whistle while you work, BerrettKoehler, San Francisco, 2001. McNally, David & Speak, Karl D., BE your own BRAND, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco, 2002 Peters, Tom, The Project50 (Reinventing Work), Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. Roffer, Robin Fisher, Make a Name for Yourself, Broadway Books, New York, 2000 Schultz, Don E., Valuing a Brand's Advocates, Marketing Management, Winter 2000, Vol. 9 Issue 4, p8, 2p Spillane, Mary, Branding Yourself: How to Look, Sound and Behave Your Way to Success, Pan Books Limited, 2000. Weiss, Alan, Organizational Consulting: How to Be an Effective Internal Change Agent, Wiley & Sons, 2003. Weiss, Alan,How to Establish a Unique Brand in the Consulting Profession, Wiley & Sons, Oct 2001. Weiss, Alan, Organizational Consulting, Wiley & Sons, 2003. Weiss, Alan, Value-Based Fees: How to Charge and Get What You are Worth, Wiley & Sons, 2008. ©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009 Keller, Ed. And Berry, John. The Influentials, The Free Press, 2003. [Note: For jigsaw puzzles used in the 16th Minute presentation contact

www.compozapuzzle.com]

Putting it all together • • • •

Identify your brand’s ‘sweet spot’ Adapt to keep your personal brand at the peak Use various brand promotion resources Test your brand strength and identification – S*M*A*R*T *= specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely – Thirty Five @ http://www.pdfcoke.com/doc/39344/Thirty-Five – http://www.slideshare.net/caldwdo/the-16th-minute-creating-apersonal-brand

 Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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The 16th Minute: Creating a Personal Brand Workbook ASTD International Conference, Washington, DC. June 2009

Moving organizations from conversations to action

•

Doug Caldwell, Facilitator Extraordinaire

• Creator of O*M*G* Moments • +1.214.641.4084 • [email protected] *Oh My Gosh!  Caldwell Consulting, Ltd. 2009, All rights reserved. www.dougcaldwell.net, 214.641.4084.

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©Copy write 2009, All Rights Reserved. Caldwell Consulting FLP, www.dougcaldwell.net, 214-641-4084

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