You are an effective networker and you have a personal brand–can you build one without detracting from the other?
There are four elements that make up your personal brand within a networking context:
- Being a listener.
- How you dress and your outward appearance.
- What makes you different or your collective differentiators.
- Making a strong first impression.
Shaping “brand you” takes on a slightly different context within the world of networking. These four points are the outward you, the frame you place yourself in when you are out and about networking. These four constants don’t change from event to event whereas the key messages of who you are (the deeper you) will surface as you get to know the individuals you will encounter and then qualify for further discussion and engagement. Going deeper, your personal brand is comprised of:
- Your name or label (“The Relentless Networker” or “Alice from Dallas,” for example).
- Your digital footprint (Google, LinkedIn and similar profiles; owning your name as a domain name).
- Writing, researching and being a “thought leader.”
- Being identified with those with whom you associate.
The consistency of your brand through whatever medium you are communicating through (social media, networking, the traditional press, other marketing channels) is critical. Having a name (which you’ve earned, not just invented) is usually a follow on to the work you’ve done and reputation you’ve built. but the point is, you are paving the way for yourself as you walk into each room to engage new as well as established contacts.
Once you’ve established or can identify your brand and its attending messages you can go out and engage and build that brand within the context of networking. As with social media, networking is just a vessel to carry you where you need to go. To that event where that CFO is you need to meet, where your colleague is who can help write that white paper, to where you need to be to notice and reach out as well as be noticed.
Patience, persistence and remembering your audience and their needs is the key to success in both building brand you and then extending it through your network.
