Setting Yourself Apart: Differentiating Yourself From The Rest of ‘Em

 

Greetings,

     The other day I threw up a pretty general post encouraging people to establish their own Personal Brand.  I really can’t stress enough how important this is. Even more interestingly this concept applies to people who aren’t even in business for themselves. Everyone who is attempting to advance themselves professionally is the master of their own Personal Brand as well.

     Before I go much further in my post I want to define the word “Different.”

dif⋅fer⋅ent

–adjective

1.  not alike in character or quality; differing; dissimilar: The two are different.

2.  not identical; separate or distinct: three different answers.

3.  various; several: Different people told me the same story.

4. not ordinary; unusual.

      You may be asking why I linked that definition. The reason is this: I think it is important to understand what being different really means in all senses of the word. Standing apart from the crowd is not only a HUGE part of Personal Branding but it is also a hugely difficult task. You need to prepared to use a lot of different tactics to do so.

     Here are some tips to help you and your business meet that definition. 

1. Focus on bringing your unique point of view to your business. You are clearly a unique individual to begin with (why else would you be in business for yourself?) Why not show it? Feel free to express that individuality in everything you do. Build stories about your experiences into your Dems and Sales Pitches. Come up with your own catchy turns of phrase regarding your companies best selling products, Etc.
2. Focus on and build off of your Passion for the product you sell or represent. If you work for a cosmetics company, but are really more passionate about spa and relaxation products go for it. Don’t focus on products that don’t excite you because that lack of excitement will show… and guess what? They won’t sell. (Funny how that works huh?)
3. Work your talents. You know what you do well. Are you a great public speaker? Are you an amazing writer?  Do you make awesome gift baskets? Whatever your talents are you need to find a way to work them into your routine. If you are a great public speaker then you should feel comfortable building longer sections of you speaking into your dems. If you really prefer writing over speaking then perhaps a Blog or customer newsletter to keep people interested and build up reorder business.
4. Be an expert. This may sound easy, but its harder than it looks. Know your product inside and out and keep on top of trends in the industry. The bottom line is that most people won’t do that. At best they’ll know their own stuff.. so knowing the marketplace and the competition automatically sets you apart.

      Well there you have it folks. Some reasonable advice on how to work on establishing your Personal Brand. None of these are quick,  but establishing a brand isn’t exactly like throwing a switch. It takes time and effort.

      Does anyone else out there have any advice on this one? I’d love to have you put a comment in and share your advice and experiences. 

Stay Savvy,

Stephen Duetzmann

www.thesavvysolution.net

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