The Importance of Building your Personal Brand – Guest Blog – Lucy Rennie

The Importance of Building Your Personal Brand

by Lucy Rennie, LRComms

Jeff Bezos is famous for saying “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

And it’s true. Whether you like it or not, you are your brand and this can have a massive impact on your business.

I go on about this all the time….. but it is really is something that I believe in more than ever. People buy from people, and understanding and recognising that the people behind each brand is fundamental in creating that know, like and trust factor that enables someone to connect, engage and ultimately buy from you.

Or not! Haha don’t be afraid to accept that you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea either….. and that’s a good thing! I want you to be attracting your ideal clients, the ones who love what you do, who’re willing to pay for your products and services and of course are super easy and delightful to work with.

So if you want to become a magnet for these people, then you need to be communicating in such a way that reaches out to them, that resonates with them and ultimately connects with them.

You want them to be thinking that you’re talking directly to them, that you understand their challenges and where they’re at and that you can help and support them. Whether that’s helping them to feel more in control of their business by having a plan, finding the right way for them to say thank you to their teams this Christmas, or by simply creating the most beautiful ceramic vase that they can put their flowers in.

And the best way to get started is to get absolute CLARITY on who you are as a brand. If you can take some time to really dig deep, to get under your own skin and ask yourself what you believe in and why, I promise it will help you to not only stand out from the crowd, but it will help you to tell your story and Communicate more easily more confidently, in a more authentic way.

Some people say as a business owner, you have no control over your reputation and what people think or say about you and of course, they’re right. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t be intentional and strategic about it, does it? I’d like to encourage you to work out what it is you’d like people to be saying and what you want to be known for and then start to communicate in such a way that reinforces that and demonstrates your values, your expertise, and your experience. And of course your personality, so if you’re a Star Wars fan like me, then add a bit of Yoda and Jedi magic in there or maybe you have a love for dogs or climbing, let people see and help them to connect with you and your brand more.

A really good and simple question to get started is to ask yourself ‘If you were a fly on the wall and you could hear your clients and customers talking about you and your brand, what would you like them to be saying and why? And also, what you wouldn’t like them to be saying and why?

This is a great exercise to help you dig a little deeper, think out of the box, and be honest with yourself. And if you have a team or a partner, get them involved and ask them what they think people would or wouldn’t say.

Once you’ve thought about it, can you cross-check that with what they’re actually saying? Do you have any reviews, feedback or other data that will allow you to listen and see? How close are you?

What can you do, say or change in order to let people know more about who you are and become that super magnet, attracting more of your ideal clients? How can you be more intentional about what you communicate?

If you’d like to dig a bit deeper and would like some help to work through the stages then you can download a free copy of my 5 Steps to Building your Personal Brand here.

Let me know how you get on,

Lucy Rennie