The Most Important Thing to Build Your Successful Personal Brand
You guessed it: Generosity!
Maybe you ever questioned, what do you need to build in the already saturated market, especially if you’re building your own personal services like design or marketing consultant. Well, let me tell you this: regardless of the service you offer to your target client, what makes you truly extraordinary is YOU, as a human being.
You, as a human being that gives value to other people. How you deliver that value plays an important part in building your personal brand. Strong, enviable brands are held in the hearts and minds of those who know you. So you need to give. Generosity is one of the most overlooked ways of growing your personal brand. It’s perhaps the most powerful way to become known for all the right reasons, and it has a desirable byproduct: When you are giving to others, you build your confidence and feel great about yourself. So how can you use giving to build your brand?
Let me give you 3 ways:
Share knowledge
When you are willing to share your expertise with others, you help make them successful while demonstrating how smart you are. This could include your peers in your organization and colleagues outside your company who work in your field.
Give feedback & advice
Be willing to help your target client, even if you haven’t nailed a deal with them. That means providing guidance that will help them get unstuck with their problems. It could be advice on how to build a stronger social media plan or tips on how to rebrand their business.
Feedback is also important for all of us. It helps us refine what we do and how we do it so we can be more accomplished and build stronger relationships with others. It also helps us identify what we are doing really well so we can do more if that. Providing it consistently and regularly — even if it isn’t all positive — will be a career booster for those with whom you share it. Just remember to be delicate and supportive when delivering feedback that might be considered critical. When you’re on the receiving side of feedback, always assume positive intent.
Give real-time support
When others are on a deadline and could use some help or need to vent, be the person in their corner exactly when they need you most. When you show people that you have their back and are willing to pitch in when they’re desperate for it, you build enduring trust and loyalty — two of the key building blocks of strong relationships.
When you do that, you will take an indirect role as a mentor, you’re committing to the success of someone else, and you will gain trust even if you haven’t nailed a deal with your target client yet. As a mentor, you’re sharing the experience you gained to help others excel more rapidly — learning from your challenges and mistakes. Many entrepreneurs say that their mentors were instrumental in accelerating their success. And if you’re just starting your own business, mentoring can help you connect with more senior leaders by sharing your expertise or perspective on topics like branding, digital marketing, social media, or other topics. The other benefit of mentoring is that you build a special relationship with someone who could be much more senior than you — something you’d otherwise be unlikely to do.
So, from now on, be generous. Give your value to others who need it the most, and you will be surprised by how far you can achieve in your own personal entrepreneurship.
