Developing and Pitching Your Personal Brand · Developing and Pitching Your Personal Brand ... •...
Transcript of Developing and Pitching Your Personal Brand · Developing and Pitching Your Personal Brand ... •...
Karen M. Landolt • Founder Engage Leadership Consul3ng, LLC (people-‐posi3oning)
• Lecturer, Business, Government and Society, McCombs: Teach Business Law, Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship to undergraduate students at UT Aus3n.
• Relevant roles at UT since 2004: Director, College of Natural Sciences Career Design Center and Health Professions Office, Senior Associate Director MBA Career Services
• Prac3ced IP law at a large venture capital/intellectual property firm. Founding partner of a bou3que business & IP firm. AdmiXed to the MA bar.
• Before the Bar: Worked in the non-‐profit arena as an Emergency Housing Counselor with the YWCA, a Development Officer with St. Vincent de Paul Society, and as a Community Organizer with the Hunger Ac3on Network of New York State.
• Degrees: Juris Doctor at Northeastern University School of Law; Bachelor of Arts in Government from The University of Texas at Aus3n.
Personal Brand
• Brand provides the big picture – – Who you are and what you stand for
• Conveys what makes you different • How you are perceived by others
• Results in: Your Pitch or Tagline
Starting Point - Introspection • Know Yourself –
– Goals, passions, skills & motivations – Formal & Informal assessment
• Brand is based in authenticity- what is genuine and real to you
• Assuming you’ve done this introspective work…
Perceptions Are Reality • What Others Think Counts
– have a complete and accurate understanding of their perceptions of your brand attributes
• Conduct a 360 interview – what do they think are your greatest strengths,
most serious weaknesses, & attributes that make you stand out
– www.reachcc.com/360personalprofiler
• Compare -realize that what you project may not match what you feel or intend
The Art of Storytelling • How do you spot a good story?
• Translate what you already know about what makes a story compelling to create your own stories.
• Have enthusiasm and an interesting story about your work/project
• Tell me about yourself – Foundation to self-pitch, cover letters, interviewing, profile
Selling “Brand You” • Personal Marketing Plan
– Summary Profile/Objective – Industry Sectors/Companies – Preferred Locations – Education – Expertise – Experience
• Benefits of Marketing Approach – Focuses search – Blueprint for an action plan – Enhances networking conversations
Value Proposition • value proposition is a clear statement that • explains how your product solves
customers’ problems or improves their situation (relevancy),
• delivers specific benefits (quantified value),
• tells the ideal customer why they should buy from you and not from the competition (unique differentiation).
Value Proposition
• Mercedes-Benz: Engineered like no other car in the world
• BMW: The ultimate driving machine
• Southwest Airlines: The short-haul, no-frills, and low-priced airline
• Avis: We are only Number 2, but we try harder
One Word Value Proposition
• Mercedes = “luxury”
• Volvo = “safety” • Sheryl Sandberg = “Lean In” • Brene Brown = “Vulnerability”
Positioning Statements
• We are a fitness studio that offers personal training and group exercise classes to individuals in Austin. We’re the only a la carte center in town providing support for healthy lifestyle goals.
Positioning Statements
• We are a CPA firm that offers audit, tax and accounting services to small businesses in the San Antonio area. We support businesses that do not have their own accounting departments, working as part of their team.
Positioning Statements
I am a certified life coach that provides one-on-one training to stay-at-home moms re-entering the workforce. I have a limited client load in order to provide consult on a more personal level.
Creating a Tagline
Simple Concrete
Unexpected
What do you do and why should I care? Start developing yours now
Joel Lang – iSchool Alum
• Was the GRA for the Business Library at UT & Intern for Austin Ventures
• Straddling multiple fields—looking for common thread
His tagline: “ I accelerate the process of
business discovery.”
The Pitch
What you say when you talk about yourself
– Conveys who you are and what you’re looking for
– Gives a sense of your value and focus
Concise – 15 to 30 seconds is ideal
Make sure you… • Include how you’ve made an impact
• Differentiate what sets you apart from the competition
• Define what you are seeking
The Dentist
I’m a dentist” is too vague and short to be unique. What type of dentist? “I’m a dentist who has sensitive teeth, so I built my practice to make dental visits painless.”
Your Turn! • Take 2 minutes to jot down your own elevator
pitch, always tailor your message to your audience.
• For this exercise, you are delivering your pitch to a recruiter
• Grab a partner and practice your elevator pitch with one another.
Personal Brand Tips 1. Be authentic 2. Have a distinctive headline 3. Be consistent 4. Increase your visibility 5. Build strategic brand associations 6. Regularly add to your knowledge 7. Share your expertise 8. Give generously http://blog.linkedin.com/2012/06/26/personal-brand-on-linkedin/
LinkedIn Best Practices • Have a Professional and
Approachable Photo • Connect with Super Connectors
(more than 1000 connections) • Join groups for the industry you want
to work in • Make sure your profile is 100%
complete • Get recommendations
Summary tips • Unique selling points (USPs) • Be HUMAN and interesting • Light-hearted summary
– No big words – No jargon – No “generic mission statement”
• Powerful and attention-grabbing words – Challenge, Creativity, Inspiration, Vitality, Love, Passion
• Keywords (future job)
Summary • Karen M. Landolt has been teaching, coaching, and leading in nonprofit,
legal, and academic settings for over 20 years. Equally obsessed with pop culture and coaching others to find engaging careers, Karen finds creative ways to integrate service, experiential learning, and YouTube clips into her teaching. Professor Landolt teaches Business Law, Behavioral Ethics, and Entrepreneurship at the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. She served as Director of two UT Austin career services offices (HireTexas Interview Center and the Career Design Center for the College of Natural Sciences) and is a founding partner of Engage Leadership Consulting. In her spare time, Karen can be found reading YA books with her Forever Young Adult book club, gluing tiny objects to wood (creating found art mixed-media collages), and indulging in her obsession for pop culture by attending film and television festivals.