1998 Lorenzo Marini & Assoc

This is short excerpt from Chapter 12 of my book Career Transition-make the shift Rebrand Yourself into a Fresher Version of You.

“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Maria Robinson
When I first saw this picture, it caught my attention immediately for obvious reasons. It’s subtle, but immediate in making it’s point.

Discovering, uncovering, reinventing, and nowadays, rebranding yourself are truly adventures no matter what your age or stage of life. For me, it’s been a combination of many new discoveries (along with a healthy dose of some fear and doubt). Anytime we change things we’ve been doing for a long time or that we’re comfortable in and familiar with, it’s frightening!

“Today we are all tasked with trying to stand out and get noticed, followed, and recommended. The only way to do that is by developing an attractive personal brand and presenting and sharing it by using all of the amazing tools and platforms available today.”

“How do I do that?” is usually the question I get asked by small-business owners and professionals I work with and who comment on my articles. The answer is not always simple, but we all know that the brands that do stand out and make an impact on connecting and being remembered have a few things in common.

Here are 3 things that brands that stand out for me have in common.

1. They are laser clear on knowing  who they are, what they do, and whom they serve.
That clarity allows the recall, even if it’s one word that someone associates with them. Apple is technology: iPhone, iTunes, iPad. So, write down that who, what, why, and how about yourself and your business now in a few sentences or even what’s your word? Ask your clients, friends, family or get some professional help if you’re stuck.

2. They differentiate their companies and themselves from their competition.
They create a brand story, which is a more personal approach to telling the who you are and how you got to where you are. When you tell your story, people will naturally relate and find commonality with you and they will naturally want to know more about the what you do and the what you sell. What do you do better than your competition? Why should they choose you? Ask customers and colleagues for their perspective on this along with your own. Try to demonstrate in your story how you and your product/service have directly or indirectly helped others. Written or video testimonials are great for this!

” When you work on connecting, relating, and engaging others by being authentic, the potential for the rest (such as a referral, introduction, and/or sale) becomes possible.” Write out your story, both personally and professionally and connect the history, lessons, experiences into the story. It’s more interesting, relateable and memorable that way.

3. They’re always evolving the ways they serve and the ways they present themselves through their brand story.
Nothing stays the same for too long today. Why is it so important to keep telling your brand story? “Branding is the combination of your tangible and intangible characteristics that make you unique. Branding is the development of that internal and external persona, with the promise and potential delivery of your results to match.” Telling people about you and your company through your experiences and things you learn in life and business and the mistakes you made and how you bounced back are real for all of us.

The technology revolution has given all of us low-cost, no-cost, powerful, and effective tools to keep ourselves out there. We can change in an instant, become viral in an hour, ruin our reputation with one sentence and get discovered in a day!

Branding is not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact it’s going to be talked about, analyzed and elevated more and more. Branding is in the spotlight right now because figuring out how to stand out, set yourself apart and  make an impression has become more difficult. Too much noise, clutter, relentless info, but that’s where we live now.

Branding is you and your business in action. Keep defining it,  telling your brand story and always be keeping it fresh!

How have you re-branded yourself and your business into a fresher version, so that you and your business stand out?