This document provides information on personal branding and networking. It discusses defining personal attributes and core values to develop a personal brand statement. Personal branding is presented as a way to increase authority and encourage interactions that create opportunities. The document also covers networking best practices, including developing relationships and defining mutual benefits. Challenges some may face in networking related to gender, appearance or personality type are acknowledged, with advice on emphasizing strengths.

1. Personal Brand

2. About Me
•Avid Networker
•Started a Mentoring Program
•Founder, Web Content Mavens
•Digital Strategy Consultant

3. Roadmap
•Networking
•Brand
•Personal Brand
–What it is
–What it isn‟t
•Brand YOU
–Defining Your Core Brand
–Defining Variations on Your Core Brand
–What to emphasize & deemphasize
–Challenges -Owning It, Adjusting It, Ignoring It
–Brand Signals (identifiers)
•Creating the Brand (wrapping it together)
•Brand & Reputation Management
•Practical Networking

4. Networking

5. Value of Networking
•60% of jobs are found through networking – some estimate higher
•70-80% of positions aren‟t even advertised
•Examples include getting your roof fixed (aren‟t you more likely to pick a neighbor who has a clean yard and a sign out than a stranger) to this very class (now that we‟ve all met, we'll be more likely to help each other).

6. Networking is about...
–Creating relationships
–Establishing 2-way communication
–Building trust networks
–Defining & supporting mutual benefit
–Achieving momentum

7. Relationships Generate Business
When people know you and have a relationship with you, they are more likely to:
–Advocate for you
–Remember you when an opportunity opens up
–Help you with issues and challenges
–Give you a better deal than a stranger

8. Developing a Network
1.Understandyourself
2.Know how to communicate your value
3.Identifynetworking opportunities that reach your target audience
4.Buildrelationships at the event
5.Follow-upto continue the relationshipLeads to a pipeline of connections

10. Networking is NOT about...
–Using others to advance yourself
–Short term job seeking or short term benefit seeking (see Sales)
–Taking from people without giving benefit
–It‟s not short term

11. 10 Golden Rules of Networking
Ten essential items to keep in mind when planning for an event and when out networking.
1.Be open to others
2.Be kind and positive –not just because it‟s good, but because it serves you better
3.Be aware of your time and others (guiding rule: 8-10 min per conversation, unless in a group)

12. 10 Golden Rules of Networking
4.Be clear and concise about what you are looking to gain from the interaction.
5.Be honest but don‟t overshare.
6.Be aware of your clothing and posture – you want to present the best possible “you”.
7.After talking, ask for contact information if you want to follow-up. Don‟t wait for the other person.

13. 10 Golden Rules of Networking
8.Be interested in the other person.
9.Don‟t worry if you‟ve forgotten a name. Just be honest and say “I‟m afraid your name is escaping me at the moment”
10.Use honest and direct language. Best opening line: “Hi, my name is…”

14. Ecosystem
Networking is an interaction, a relationship between you and other people.
But networking begins before that meeting.
–It begins with you knowing yourself -your skills your abilities and your challenges
–And ends with you presenting an honest, accurate & compelling person at an event
–With a lot in between including
•finding the right event
•talking to the right people
•presenting the right external package
•communicating successfully
•being memorable
–And can continue with email and follow-up

15. Branding

16. Terminology
Brand & Brand Management
Personal Brand
Your Core Brand
Your Personal Brand (and variations)
Reputation

17. Brand Management
Brand managementis a communication function in marketingthat includes analysis and planning on how that brandis positioned in the market. Developing a good relationship with the target marketis essential for brand management. Tangible elements of brand management include the product itself; look, price, the packaging, etc. The intangible elements are the experience that the consumer takes away from the brand, and also the relationship that they have with that brand. A brand manager would oversee all of these things.
-Wikipedia

18. Brand
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer‟s decision to choose one product or service over another.
-Seth Godin

19. Brand
People use brands as shortcuts to make purchasing decisions
-Allen P Adamson, BrandSimple

20. Brand Shortcuts
Consumers evaluate 5 main factors in brand shortcuts (aka engagement):
•Competence
•Excitement
•Ruggedness
•Sincerity
•Sophistication

21. But they CHOOSE based on varied criteria
Brands communicate many things. You may know several elements of a brand.
BUT...you select based on what is relevant to you –and that changes

22. McDonalds
Mom-child-friendlyTeenager-cheap, place to hangoutLate Night Worker–open late/open early

23. StarbucksTraveler–familiarity, consistencyConsultant–wifi, consistencyJasmine–remake it if it isn‟t right

24. With Personal Brand, just like with Brand, you want to know why people come to you. And communicate the ones that will help you achieve your goals.

25. Personal Branding

26. You too are a brand. Whether you know it or not. Whether you like it or not.
-Marc Ecko

27. Definition 1
Personal brandingis the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands.
While previous self-help management techniques were about self-improvement, the personal branding concept suggests instead that success comes from self-packaging. The process is further defined as the creation of an asset that pertains to a particular person or individual; this includes but is not limited to the body, clothing, physical appearance and areas of knowledge, leading to a uniquely distinguishable, and ideally memorable, impression.
-Wikipedia

28. Definition 2
Personal branding is the process of developing a “mark” that is created around your personal name or your career. You use this “mark” to express and communicate your skills, personality and values. The end goal is that the personal brand that you develop will build your reputation and help you to grow your network in a way that interests others. They will then seek you out for your knowledge and expertise.
-marketing.about.com

29. Definition 3
Personal Branding links your passions, key personal attributes, and strengths with your value proposition, in a crystal clear message that differentiates your unique promise of value from your peers and resonates with your target audience.
-Meg Guiseppi

30. My definition
The accurate, positive, concise and compelling statement of who you are that will engage others and create relationships and opportunities.

31. Translating into a Process
1)Evaluate your attributes & characteristics
2)Create a value proposition
3)Ensure that it resonates
4)Share the message

32. Personal Brand:
-Increases your authority or value
-Encourages interaction
-Associates you with a profession or area of expertise
-A memory helper very valuable

33. Personal Brand Isn’t:
•A science
•About selling yourself
•About pretending
•Self-image

34. Outcome: Personal Branding Statement
1.Who you are (your skills & specialty)
2.What you do (your industry/service)
3.Who you work with
4.A leading attribute

35. Brand You

36. Attributes of a Strong Brand
Your Personal Brand Is:
•Positive
•Accurate & Authentic
•Relevant
•Memorable
•Succinct

38. Positive
•This is the best version of you.
•It needs to be accurate but also highlight the strongest parts of you.

40. Accurate & Authentic
•You need to promise something accurate & authentic.
•You do not need to share every flaw
•You DO need to be authentic

42. Relevant
•Make sure your brand aligns with a need.

44. Compelling & Memorable
•People need a way to differentiate between brands -a way to remember you and what you do or offer
•If there are already lots of XYZs, don't focus on that. If you do something very esoteric, find a way to package it that is still unique but not so specialized.
•IE if you do user research for startups, talk first about user experience and startups.

46. Succinct
Clear
Succinct
Enough Said

47. Personalizing YOUR Brand

48. Brand You
Your Personal Brand is roughly how you want to be perceived –so a mix of a few qualities including:
1.Your personality
2.Your personal values and interests
3.Your trustworthiness and consistency
4.Your value to others –your benefits and talents
You communicate items 1-3 by your actions, by how you speak and communicate, how you follow-through and interact. It is the last item (#4) that you need to verbally communicate. Don‟t make people work to see the talents you bring to the table.

49. The Process -revisited
1)Evaluate your attributes & characteristics
2)Create a value proposition
3)Ensure that it resonates
4)Share the message

50. 1 –Evaluate your attributes & characteristics
•Personality
•Profession
•Accomplishments
•Abilities
•Lifestyle
•Interests
•Appearance
•Friends & Family
•History
You can start by creating a list.

51. Alternately, this pyramid formula can be useful.
credit: sparkbranding

52. Core Brand
Essential attributes that are positive and professionally relevant which either won‟t change or you don‟t plan to change formed into a simple core brand that can then be customized into sub-brands.

53. Core Brand
Core Elements
I.List of core elements (unlikely to change easily)
i.Personality Traits
ii.Fears/Issues
iii.Strong likes/dislikes
iv.Cultural influences
v.Etc
II.Pull out non-professional elements
III.Pull out the negative
i.See if they can be made positive
ii.Decide if you can and will work on them –and if you ought to
IV.Pull out the non-core elements

54. Non Core Elements
Areas where you are flexible
Areas where you have some strength
Self-improvement list
Challenges

55. Disclaimer #1: Not a Political Conversation
(I will repeat these when we move into this part of the conversation and go into more detail.)
Not a political conversation
•Gender, sex, discrimination will come up.
•This is a practical class –not an aspirationalone.
•Focused on how the world is, not how it ought to be.
•We want a better world but that‟s not what we get every day.
NOTE: That doesn‟t mean you should tolerate or accept bad behavior. These are tools –you use them based on your particular circumstances.

56. Disclaimer #2: Not all options are for everyone
When I present a tool or option, I am NEVER saying that you should change. I am saying knowledge is useful. Tools are helpful and you can choose how to respond.

57. Disclaimer #3: Everyone has prejudices
When we discuss prejudices and issues, this includes women.
Not all men are unhelpful & backwards.
Not all women are your friends.
(we are often hardest on other women so self awareness is important too)

58. Disclaimer #4: None of this is personal
None of the examples here are real –and none of this is personal.
All examples decided before I came in today.

59. To Own, Adjust, Ignore
•Owning It
•Adjusting It
•Ignoring It

60. Immutable You
•Elements of your personal self that can be relevant in networking. Even if that‟s not ok.
•Sex
•Height
•Weight/Build
•Attractiveness
•Age
•Accent (usually)
•Race & Ethnicity

61. Being Judged
It happens.

62. Mutable You
Somewhat Changeable
•Voice & Accent
•Personal Style
Highly Changeable
Personal Presence
•External
•Clothing
•Shoes

63. Personal Style

64. External Image
Judging others based on immediate visual and behavioral cues becomes habit, then instinct. –Peter Montoya

67. Stop Being Perfect!
Big issue especially for women.
Fear of disapproval.
Need for approval.
Seeking perfection.
Critical of others.

68. Brand Evolution
Your brand is will change and evolve

69. About You

70. Shyness & Introversion

73. Imposter Syndrome
For women, feeling like a fraud is a symptom of a greater problem. We consistently underestimate ourselves. Multiple studies in multiple industries show that women often judge their own performance as worse than it is, while men judge their performance as better than it actually is.” –Lean In, p 29

76. Confidence
For women, feeling like a fraud is a symptom of a greater problem. We consistently underestimate ourselves. Multiple studies in multiple industries show that women often judge their own performance as worse than it is, while men judge their performance as better than it actually is.” –Lean In, p 29

77. Raising YourHandOr just shout it out!

78. Give Yourself Credit
“Ask a man to explain his success and he will typically credit his own innate qualities and skills. Ask a woman the same question and she will attribute her success to external factors, insisting she did well because she „worked really hard,‟ or „got lucky,‟ or „had help from others.‟” Similarly, when a man fails, he points to factors such as his lack of time studying or lack of interest in the subject. When a woman fails, she‟s more likely to say it was due to her lack of ability.

79. Nurturing
•“Our entrenched cultural ideas associate men with leadership qualities and women with nurturing qualities and put women in a double bind,” [Deborah Gruenfeld] said. “We believe not only that women are nurturing but that theyshouldbe nurturing above all else. When a woman does anything that signals she might not be nice first and foremost, it creates a negative impression and makes us uncomfortable.”

81. Being an Authority

82. Speaking Up
“From a very early age, boys are encouraged to take charge and offer their opinions. Teachers interact more with boys, call on them more frequently, and ask them more questions. Boys are also more likely to call out answers, and when they do, teachers usually listen to them. When girls call out, teachers often scold them for breaking the rules and remind them to raise their hands if they want to speak. –Lean In, p 20

83. Sex

84. Ambition
•Work, money and success are listed first as a value for men.
•Not for women.

85. It’s about RESULTS
Networking is not about friends. It‟s about results.
-Focus on it.
-Put energy into it.
-Expect results.

86. Men & Women in Networking
•"The problem is that women speak to men to relate and men speak to women to impress," Walker said. "Because women speak to relate, men think they're not serious about their business, they always get personal. They're just as serious as the guys are; they just do it differently." -Hazel Walker, author, Business Networking and Sex
•As a sales trainer, I‟ve noticed that men ask for the sale much more readily than do women, who need additional coaching in this area. I‟ve witnessed this phenomenon for years.
•(response from the survey)

87. Ecosystem

88. Define a Value Proposition
The Value Proposition answers the question:
Why should this person want to talk to you?

89. Pieces of the Ecosystem
•The networking environment: the type of event, ratios of men to women, ways of dress, alcohol, etc.
•The people you interact with and understanding their motivations, unspoken views and opinions.
•And how to mix networking best practices with your personal brand and networking challenges.

90. Architect
DO IT!
Preparation -> Action -> Followup-> Next Steps

91. Where You Network
•Now -what are the not ideal situations
–people don't want to talk to you (not the perception)
–everyone is way dressier/fancier
–not your field

92. Environment
•The situation you find yourself in
•Closed group
•Out of place: age difference, clothing (casual/stained/etc)
•Social vsnetworking event

93. Lean In Networking: Steps
•Know your personal brand
•Learn the mechanics of networking
•Understand your challenges and strengths
•Perceive the needs and views of those around you
•Want to Lean In
= Lean In Networking

94. Questions?
Jasmine Sante
Sante Strategies
mjsante@santestrategies.com
@mjsante