Personal Brands

By: Monika Evers

The rules of influence apply just as much to personal brands as they do company brands. So if you are a consultant, personality or a CEO, this article is for you.

As you may be aware from the previous Evers Report we are commencing our Inner Circle Program on July 1. A number of personal brands put up their hands to be considered. That surprised me, although in retrospect it shouldn’t have.

The same market forces that affect businesses also play out in the personal arena, especially if you are a CEO, business consultant or corporate adviser.  Recently, a consultant approached me about their personal brand. Their counterpart overseas was on a five million dollar annual income, yet they were only receiving a small recognition of that in Australia. It soon became apparent to both of us that it was a combination of their personal style, positioning and social proof mechanisms that had been undermining their personal brand and costing them the recognition they should have seen in income.

They are not alone. In my experience the majority of personal brands in Australia are underdeveloped.

The rules of influence apply just as much to personal brands as they do company brands. Being able to differentiate and position yourself in way that makes it easy for a Board or employer to understand your relevance, or recommend you to others, is vital in this time poor world. Therefore, preparing yourself to be recommended or endorsed in as few words as possible, needs to be as much a part of your personal preparation, as your business attire and cards.

Recently, I was impressed by a venture capitalist that used the first hour of our meeting to story tell his way through his social links that extended to royalty on two continents, major share holders of some of the biggest companies here and abroad and of course his own family background. He used them to establish his financial and social influence so he could strike a more effective deal for himself and his investors in the boardroom.

Here is the second point to this story. He was the one with the money, so he could take as long as he wanted. When the shoe is on the other foot you had better be succinct. What makes you great in 21 seconds or less is where you should be aiming. After eight seconds, fifty percent of your audience have already made up their minds about you and tuned out. To turn around any counter impressions you will have to make two extraordinary comebacks, not just one in that remaining time.

Lack of time reduces us to being in a commodity marketplace. Your job in influence conversations is to become differentiated, memorable and easy to recommend. Creating that kind of influence should also be the major focus of every resume and business profile and where many people fall short.

Social proof is just one of the six ways you can increase your personal influence. It can be the kudos you gain from being employed or engaged by the big guns or rising stars of your industry. Consider how many consultants use their stint at Deloittes or PWC  to boost their credibility and launch their personal consulting careers.

Leveraging from influential brands immediately transfers some of their brand's value onto yours. Although I wonder how many consultants owned up to working at Andersons after their collapse...and that is always the problem with brand leverage, you live and die according to a brand you have no control over.

Degrees, MBA’s and grades while they are an indicator of a standard of education wade into the brand leverage stakes, with an MBA from Harvard or Melbourne University I am told by graduates, having more influence and prestige than an MBA from other institutions. (An interesting form of marketing, using graduates to deliver social proof.)

Who you know, testimonials, recommendations, press, books, even who you breakfast and lunch with, all fit into a version of social proof that allow you to leverage onto your personal brand and increase your influence.

I remember eating at Café del Sol in Bologna, Italy. While we were feasting on what I have to admit was the best meal I have ever tasted, period, I was informed that staff there were prepared to forgo wages just to be able to say they had worked there. This form of social proof impressed me as much as the food and the 3 Michelin star rating.

CEO’s and celebrity Board members are now becoming the other big brands of business. Every CEO has the potential to add to shareholder confidence and therefore add value to its share price. Remember when Jack Welch resigned from GE after his meteoric stewardship. The best indicator of the value of his brand happened on the day of his retirement announcement. The share price of GE halved overnight from around $60 per share to just over $30.00 (where it still travels today).

Celebrity branding has become a global phenomenon, even in share markets. Just like the movie stars that can influence box office sales, big business, will pay more for a CEO that can increase a share price just for coming on board. Therefore CEO’s are not only responsible for the growing the value of the brand of the business they steward, they also need to manage, grow and leverage their own brand as they develop in their careers. Their personal brand can make a difference of millions to their income when it develops that influence to increase a company's share price.

Consultants, advisers, CEO's and employees can increase the success of their personal brands. Future Evers Reports will continue the conversation of the additional Principles of Influence to support that journey, so stay tuned.

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