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Building a Personal Brand

Written by John McCarthy - Director LeadSure

When we begin our business life we meet a great many people and they get to know us. We form friendships and associations that may be with us for many years. Some of the people we do the most businesses with become an integral part of our daily working lives. This is a natural part of business life.

As we rise in our chosen field of business people talk about us. In fact the further we rise the more the people talk about us. We become know in the business community we work in. Like it or not your business associates talk about you when you are not present. This is a doubled edged sword. They may say wonderful things about us or they may say things like

“That John McCarthy, he is a real push over”

Whatever they say it is often based on our past actions. People judge us and we have our “brand” We may be known for several things, good and bad.

Building your own Brand

One of the key elements in building our own personal brand is trust. This is not as simple as it seems. We may feel that we are completely trustworthy and I am sure you are. What I am talking about here goes deeper and is vital for building positive relationships with others. When in negotiations trust plays a vital role in successfully completing a deal, without it we will always struggle.

Let's take a look at what I seek from a person I am going to do business with and therefore I should have these qualities myself.

Are they trustworthy in the traditional sense?
Put simply are they reliable, straightforward and honest.

Are They Competent?
Can they do what they say they are going to do? Many people in business get so over eager to make a sale or build a business that they will take on tasks or contracts that they cannot fulfil. They think that they can sort out problems later. This always ends in trouble.

Are They Empowered?
If they can do it will the organisation they work for allow them to do it? They may want to do businesses with you in the way you are negotiating but do they have the power and influence in the organisation they work for to make it happen?

I have seen examples of all of the above causing problems and sometimes it is very hard to get back to the table and sort them out. Whatever the reasons our brand is damaged if we go too far down the line without making sure that they and you can fulfil what is needed.

Your brand will always outlive your last deal. If we make too many mistakes our brand will be tarnished. I have found that if I am straight forward with people and tell them that I cannot do it for whatever reason early on they still respect you and often more so.

You cannot buy your brand and you get one even if you don't want one so you may as well build a good one. If not it will always come back to haunt you.

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