Personal Branding Workshop: Effectively Market Yourself for Career Success
IASA 2016 Session #621
Presented on Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Speakers
Darin M Reffitt, Director, Demand Generation & Campaign Management, EIS Group
Darin Reffitt is responsible for driving leads into the sales funnel at EIS Group. With nearly
20 years of experience in marketing and communications, his focus is on lead generation
and lead nurturing in marketing core system software to insurance companies. He is also a
volunteer with the IASA and chairs the Solution Provider Enrichment Committee, leading
the efforts of the IASA to better educate vendors and solution providers to meet the
evolving needs of insurance carriers. He volunteers with other organizations, writes about
marketing, social media and networking as a Market Expert for Business.com, and golfs,
poorly.
Beth Mercier, Vice President & CIO, Small Commercial, The Hartford
Beth Mercier is the Chief Information Officer of The Hartford’s Small Commercial
insurance business with premium of approx. $2Billion. Prior to joining The Hartford in
2015, Beth held roles of increasing responsibility in technology, operations, and
strategy at Travelers, Cigna, and Aetna. Beth has been a volunteer with IASA forever;
was President, Board Chair, and held other leadership positions.
Beth is a CPA who holds a MBA from the University of Hartford, a BS in Accounting
from the University of Connecticut, and is a Certified Internal Auditor. Beth received
2012 “Woman in Insurance Leadership” Award and a 2013 “Women in Innovation”
Award. Beth can be found in Connecticut with her husband, Dave (also an insurance
executive) and two sons Rob and Joey – all cheering on the Uconn Huskies!
WHAT IS BRANDING?
Branding Defined
Branding is the practice of
differentiating a company or
product by developing a unique
name, logo, and/or package and
by then tying them to a consistent,
predictable
customer experience.
Elements of a Brand
Credibility
Trust
Value
Experience
The Cumulative
Levels of Credibility,
Trust, & Value Brand Equity =
Brand Examples
Fast
Affordable
Fun
Consistent
“I’m lovin’ it”
Brand Attributes
Original
Happiness
Community
Togetherness
“The Real Thing”
Brand Attributes
Playful
Trendy
Affordable
Accessible
Branding and Corporate Value*
Apple’s brand is valued at
$170.3 billion
The next four most valuable
brands are:
Google – $120.3 billion
Coca-Cola – $78.4 billion
Microsoft – $67.7 billion
IBM – $65.1 billion
#23: Facebook – $22 billion
*Source: Interbrand, October, 2015
WHAT IS A PERSONAL BRAND?
Personal Branding Defined
First coined by Tom
Peters in Fast Company
in 1997
Personal Branding is the
process of creating and
maintaining a consistent
image or impression in
the minds of others about
an individual
Personal Branding Defined
You already HAVE a
personal brand.
It’s what people hear
about you before they
meet you. It’s what
people say about you
when you leave the
room.
Personal Brands Have Value Too
Oprah Winfrey: Buys 10% stake in
Weight Watchers 10/16/15; shares up
88% since that announcement as of mid-
May.
Howard Stern: Signs new 5 year contract
with SiriusXM Dec 2016; departure would
have cost SiriusXM $240 million in lost
annual revenue (per Bloomberg).
Warren Buffett: Apple shares drop after
weak iPhone numbers reported; surge
3.7% on news that Berkshire Hathaway
took a $1 billion stake in Q1.
• I.T. Department
• Reliable
• Knowledgeable
• Fast
• Helpful
“Mr. Fix It”
Personal Branding in Action
• Marketing Department
• Never responds to emails
• Waits till the last minute to
respond to deadlines
• Holds everything up
“The Bottleneck”
Personal Branding in Action
Our Personal Brands
Gregarious
Organized
Creative
Motivated
Gets things done
Our Personal Brands
Leader
Friendly/Social
Organizer
Successful
Exercise #1: The Basis of Your Brand
Write down 3-5 adjectives that
you believe your boss, peers,
and/or subordinates would use
to describe you.
Johari Window
Developed in 1955 by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham
Known by others
Unknown by others
Known by self Unknown by self
OPEN BLIND
HIDDEN UNKNOWN
Why does Personal Branding Matter?
In your career, your personal brand impacts: What projects you get assigned
What promotions you receive
Amount of face time you get with
senior management
Degree of freedom and autonomy
you are allowed
Authenticity in Branding
Branding is NOT about
faking behaviors or
pretending to be
something you’re not.
You cannot brand
yourself on a lie.
Brand Examples
Healthy
High-Quality
Classy
Brand Attributes
Low Calorie
Healthy
Good for your teeth
Brand Attributes
High-Fashion
Exclusive
High-Quality
Our Personal Brands – The Flipside
Ambitious
Pushy
Cocky
Demanding
Gloryhound
Our Personal Brands – The Flipside
Demanding
Tactical
Loud
Opinionated
Bossy
Exercise #2: The Flipside of Your Brand
Look at your list from Exercise #1.
Are any of the attributes negative?
What negative traits do you think
would come to mind?
List 2-4 adjectives that people might
use that you wouldn’t want to brand.
ANALYZING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
Physical
Appearance
Areas of
Knowledge
Communication
Styles
How You
Dress
Skills and
Abilities Behaviors
Elements of a Personal Brand:
Physical Appearance is tied to Brand
“Dress for Success”
Other Branding Emblems
Other Branding Emblems
Other Branding Emblems
Exercise #3: Emblems of Success
Examine how your choices impact
your perceived brand: Emblem Message Consistent with Brand?
Car
Office/Desk Space
Watch
Phone
Computer/Tablet
Dress/Jewelry
Other
Communication
Styles
• Word choices
• Speed
• Inflections
• Use of Sarcasm
• Confidence
Elements of a Personal Brand:
Exercise #4: Non-Verbal Brand Inputs
Examine how these elements affect
your perceived brand: Element Weak or Strong? How to Improve?
Posture
Stance
Facial Expressions
Eye Contact
Hand Gestures
Voice – Speed/Volume
Voice – Tone
Taking Control of Our Personal Brands
Ambitious
Pushy
Cocky
Demanding
Gloryhound
Driven
Confident
Taking Control of Our Personal Brands
Demanding
Tactical
Loud
Opinionated
Bossy
Pragmatic
Enthusiastic
Driver
Exercise #5: Keep/Change/Replace
Use your words/phrases from
Exercise #2.
Determine what you’d like to:
Keep
Change
Replace
You Can Take Control of Your Brand
Behaviors
• Passions
• Habits
• Trust
• Consistency
• Expertise
• Helpfulness
Elements of a Personal Brand:
Our Personal Brands – Poor Behaviors
Interrupting people
Being closed to
other people’s
ideas
Not saying “please”
or “thank you”
enough
Our Personal Brands – Poor Behaviors
Multi-tasking instead
of focused listening
Not asking enough
questions
Talking too fast
Always organizing
the outside activities
Exercise #6: Bad Behaviors
Write down 3-5 behaviors you
think may be tarnishing your
brand.
Exercise #7: New Behaviors
Write down 3-5 new or
replacement behaviors to take to
improve your brand.
SOCIAL BRANDING
Does your Social Brand Reflect You?
*Source: 2014 study from
43% of employers screen candidates
on social media, and rising*
51% of those have found information
on social media that factored into
decisions to NOT hire a candidate*
But 33% of those have found
information on social media that
factored into decisions TO hire a
candidate*
Photographic
Appearance
What You
Post
How You
Post
Secondary
Imagery
Where You
Post Sites You Use
Elements of an Online Brand:
How You
Post
• Word choices
• Logic
• Humor
• Use of sarcasm
• Personal attacks
Elements of an Online Brand:
LinkedIn vs. Facebook
LinkedIn vs. Facebook
BRANDING MISSION STATEMENT
Branding Mission Statement
Darin is a person who makes
things happen. He leads by
example and uses his skills
and abilities to create plans,
build consensus, and enable
the team to succeed.
Branding Mission Statement
Beth:
Genuinely cares about
people
Can be counted on for
relentless execution
Has her priorities straight
Is someone you want to
work with, hang out with,
be related to, know.
Exercise #8
Write a short branding mission
statement that captures the
behaviors and traits for which
you want to be known.
Homework
Ask three people how they would describe you to someone
new at the company and confirm your self assessment
Consider the Johari Window
Check your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles – how do they
communicate your brand or conflict with your ideal brand?
Read your branding mission each day, and use it to help
guide your day-to-day interactions
Implement at least two of your actions from exercise on
changing perception of brand.
Q&A
Thank you for your time!
Any questions for today’s
speakers?
Darin
Reffitt
Beth
Mercier
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