Personal branding doesn't involve turning you into a product, says personal coach Domonique Bertolucci. "It's about tweaking the areas that are negatively affecting your life. It's not about being perfect, it's about being the best you can be. Think of yourself as the marketing manager of You Inc and decide on the three things you want people to recall instantly when they think of you."
If your professional life needs tweaking, the first step is to sit down and work out what your goals are. Then give yourself a performance review to see if you're on the right rack. "You should look at the leaders int he profession or company," suggests Bertolucci. "Look at what they're recognised for and use that as a benchmark to evaluate your personal brand. Compare their communication and presentation skills, time management abilities, performance and efficiency with your own and set yourself a few improvement goals. If your problem is that you're being overlooked for promotion, take a look at the people who are moving up - is there anything they're doing differently to you?"
It's also important to remember that old motto: "Dress for success". "While the surface stuff isn't a replacement for good quality work, people often make quick judgements about what your work is going to be like based on how you present yourself," says Bertolucci.
While it's not a good idea to go around shaving your new brand in people's faces, there's nothing worse than contradicting the new message with your actions. "It's important to actually be the new brand an confirm it in the way you speak and act," point out Bertolucci.
Gemma Crisp
Cleo, November 2004
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