Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

By Dan Schawbel

I have often referred to myself as an "accidental brand." I was a brand before I even knew it. I just took what I heard and saw, and how people remembered me and then I exploited it. It became my USP (unique selling proposition). Now I teach others how to do it in my presentation, "Strike Up the Brand."

THE NEXT TELESEMINAR will be October 27, 2010 at Noon CST

Conversation with Mikki and Vinny Boles  (Major General (Retired), U.S. Army
4-3-2-1 Leadership - 10 Tools to Begin Using Right Now!

Do you know how hard it is to find really fabulous red shoes? No, I mean really fabulous! These shoes just called to me from a Vegas store window (where else?). Had dinner with a friend at The Four Seasons in Phoenix and I had the opportunity to wear these dazzlers.  Now I must admit the heel heights are indeed getting out of control, especially for those of us over 21.A gal could commit suicide by just falling off her platforms. Needless to say, the shoes were a hit. At least by the stares I got. Or were they just wondering how this "senior citizen" was managing to stay upright?

I am so happy to get your newsletter...I go right to the Shoe Feature.

Laura Berman Fortgang

Dave Nelsen
Entrepreneur and Social Media Guide
Dave's formal title is President, Dialog Consulting Group
From 2005 to 2009 he was CEO of TalkShoe, a social media company now serving more than one million monthly listeners...and the fabulous company I use to produce my monthly teleseminars.

Before you can sell your product or service, you must discover your prospective customer's "pain." And before a prospect will share that, you will have to establish rapport. Social media helps you do that in so many ways; just pick your favorite.

For example, before meeting with a new prospect review their LinkedIn profile to identify possible connection points (a shared college, hobby, sport, past employer, industry association, or professional acquaintance). Recently, a Baltimore-based CEO told me that his big break came when he discovered through LinkedIn that a tough prospect shared a background playing college lacrosse. That opened the door and, after lots more hard work, led to the ultimate sale.

When communicating more broadly, a current event or cultural touchstone can provide an equally effective connection point. Boeing cleverly riffed on the 20th anniversary of "Back to the Future" to explore the past and future of the airline industry. And in early September Microsoft did a humorous sendup of the YouTube video sensation, the Crazy Double Rainbow Guy, to promote its Windows Live Photo Gallery product. People loved it and told their friends.

So next time you venture into social media, try using this approach to get started.

'Twas Halloween Night

'Twas Halloween night as I leaped from my bed,

With thoughts of amusement going through my head.

Turned off my computer and thought as I may

Of vampires of old and vampires of today.

Of spooky old movies and Halloween parties,

Of course trick or treating (hope they don't hand out Smarties).

And witches and ghosts and gravediggers, I fear,

So that old haunted house, I will never go near.

When you see spooky places, just take my advice,

And don't go in rooms filled with ghosts, bats, and mice.

So don't risk your life going looking for spooks,

Just go to a party with some good friendly kooks.

Or gather your family, carve a pumpkin and think

What to have your kids do, and go pick up a drink.

Tell a joke to your friends, but be careful, you'll see

That a couple wrong moves might mean eternity.

Now put on that costume and dress yourself up.

You can be Ninja Nun or that RCA Pup.

But be very careful or else you might see

That ghosts and vampires aren't really PC.

So now you can think, as you turn out that light

That there's no such thing and that you are all right.

Look under your bed, though, and then you might see...

Nothing! We aren't afraid of ghosts now, are we?

Next Speakers School is February 3-5, 2011.

SIGN UP NOW!

 

"Beneath Mikki Williams' wide smile and wonderful stories there is a bedrock of careful thought and analysis of every aspect of what makes a successful speaker. The Speakers School is an interactive classroom for dissecting verbal presentation skills, gestures and body movement and then teaching the participants how to reassemble them into a new way of communicating with groups. The intense learning experience is balanced by Mikki's light touch and sense of humor and the whole experience is great fun."

Stephen J. Friedman

President

Pace University, NYC