new audio posted - brand expression, the ABCs of presentation

Thanks for stopping in to hear the 2-minute tip - a 2 minute recap of this week’s Business Coaching tip on CBS7:

Click here to listen! We covered Power Point Tips on Thursday Morning!

Personal Brand Expression: The ABC’s of Great Public Speaking

Public speaking can really “fast forward” your position as an expert in your industry, a go-getter in your company or as a leader of your team.

What can you do to make that great?

• Get plenty of speaking practices (get rid of those USELESS and WEAK words such as you know, ummmm, uhhh, and “stuff like that”) I was listening to a VERY WELL PAID professional speaker who was doing a teleseminar and representing a fairly large supply company - within the first 15 minutes of her “talk) she said “ummmm” 47 times!! I had to hang up - I couldn’t hear any of her information over the ummmms.
• Move with purpose! Stop those flailing and flapping arms (I know one guy who does that and he looks like he is seriously smacking some invisible someone around when he’s talking). Stop that pacing (I know one woman who paces in this circular motion so much and on top of that she’s extremely heavy set - so with her circular motion she truly looks like a weeble wobbling - she looks like she could teeter and fall any moment when she’s talking).
• Stop shuffling the papers! If you can’t speak with limited to NO NOTES, then find something else to talk about - a subject that you really know.
• Clearing your throat, fidgeting with your clothes, or constantly fiddling with your presentation equipment just makes you look super nervous and less confident.

 

People Are The Brand-

Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!

Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|a personal branding agency

think before you link: manage your on-line brand

I’m a member of LinkedIn - a professional, grown up version of “my space”. I have already made some great connections, done some business and found old friends by being proactive in utilizing the LinkedIn system.

There are some of the school of thought to LINK WITH ANYONE THAT FOGS A MIRROR. I don’t believe in that. I still believe that “on-line” access is just another form of communication (who knows what other more modern forms or communication are coming down the pipe). So, just like in a face to face contact, I want to know someone before I connect them or even introduce them to anyone I know. So, while some people are linking like CRAZY and boast numbers of contacts from 500+, I still believe the quality of a relationship is far better to focus on than the quantity.

So, as you get started in “thinking before linking”, here are some first steps on the path to managing your on-line brand -

Sign up for GOOGLE ALERTS - it’s free and it will email you everytime your name appears on the web. You can’t manage what you’re not aware of so purposely put yourself in the loop!

Google yourself right now. Try a few ways: “First Name Last Name”; “First Name Maiden Name”; “Nicknames your known by”; First Name + Last Name.

(Women - you have a really tough job because you have a dual identity. Who you were with your maiden name. And, who you are with your married name.) Click here to read some compelling “whys” to managing your personal brand.

Check WEB and IMAGES. (Look at the very top left hand corner of google and you’ll see that you can search the WEB and IMAGES. Look at both so that you’ll know everything that’s out there about a brand called “YOU”)

Check ZoomInfo.com to see what’s been tracked about you already.

Come back and visit as we continue our conversation on “thinking before linking”!

People Are The Brand -

Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!

Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|a personal branding agency

companies and personal branding: fear #5 - it’s just about image

Fear #5 - “Personal branding - that’s all about image, right? I know that branding, for a company, is the logo, stationery, business cards. So, personal branding means that our team looks the part, correct? I just don’t know that image is such a big deal.”

 

Personal branding is MORE than image. While there is great business in the field of image consulting and great benefit (often an image consultant or even graphic artist is needed when people are working on expressing their personal brand), personal branding is about focusing on your authentic strengths so that you stand out as visible, memorable, credible and eventually profitable!

Your image is definitely one of the components of EXPRESSING your personal brand and is very quickly assessed (in 7-15 seconds is when you make a first impression that’s lasting). But, image with out substance behind it is nothing. Or, image that portrays one thing yet is not genuine can leave a negative impression.

For companies, understand if your mission statement and your customer service vision, don’t match with the way your team interacts with the customer; or the way they portray themselves and your company; or in the very energy they exude — your company will suffer. Ever call someone at a company and get a hold of someone who is unhappy with the company and life in general? It leaves a bad taste that’s hard, if ever, to get rid of.

As a company or team:

• Get some feedback on what your clients are saying (liking and disliking about you). Remember, THIS IS NOT A SALES CALL. So, the key is to listen - not to sell, explain, expound - just listen to what they’re saying. There’s fortune in the feedback!
• Ask your best clients - “if you could change one thing about our relationship, for the better, what would it be?” Then, again, listen to the answer! No explanations, or explaining policies, just listen.
• Ask your staff members -”What’s our single biggest goal in the next 3 to 6 months?” Now, listen again. If you’re getting a myriad of answers, chances are you’re getting a myriad of impressions about your company.

It’s challenging and difficult to work with a company that is inconsistent or has no definition to what they do and what their strengths are and what they’re striving for.

People Are The Brand-

Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!

Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|personal branding agency

new audio, brand expression: presentations

Tune into the 2-minute tip! A 2-minute recap of the coaching tip on CBS7 this past Thursday.

Click here for the audio!

Brand Expression: Professional Presentation

The number one fear is that of public speaking and yet it’s a powerful way for your to express you brand and position yourself for expert status.

Do you believe that you’re not so great at public speaking? Well, what are some things to change that an make yourself a believer?

1. Run to the nearest Toastmaster club. I am a believer that you cannot just “think yourself” through public speaking. Just like you can’t be an expert swimmer and not get wet. You MUST have continual opportunities to speak. Put some experience under your belt. Now, even though I’m a president of a Toastmaster club, I’ll be the first to tell you that there are some bad habits that you can pick up at Toastmasters (such as learning to pause but too long, or too much eye contact and eye motion and the worse - eyebrow action thinking that you’re “connecting” with anyone.) Yet, none of these things can deter the great experience that you’ll get from standing in front of a group and exercising your “presentation muscle”.
2. You will eventually get rid of those butterflies. There are ways to use them to keep you on your edge. And, there will always be a small flutter for you as you take the stage, podium or the front of the room. But, you do eventually get over the discomfort and fear. You must, in order to do that, keep expanding that comfort zone - by putting yourself in the front and doing presentations.

People Are The Brand -

 

Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|a personal branding agency

companies and personal branding: fear #4 - just for top managers?

Fear #4 - It seems like this would make sense for my top managers but I don’t see how it will it make sense for the rest of our employees.

This is the first concern that I agree with SOMEWHAT. In that I definitely subscribe to the thought that the speed of the leader determines the speed of the pack. Yet, at the same time, I also believe in the saying that a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

So, “yes” I do believe that if you bring personal branding into your company then you do need to start with those in charge. They are the ones who will set the policies, who the employees will go to when they have questions, concerns or complaints; and they will be the first who can support it or who can kill it.

Yet, it is NOT ONLY for those in management. Organizations succeed only if they can create and sustain a competitive advantage. What many senior execs tend to forget is that businesses are comprised of people, not just budgets or profit and loss statements.

In their book, True Leaders, written by Bette Price and George Ritcheske, the cite that: “Gone are the days when a company’s success could be measured by profits alone. Today, a successful company must balance human values with economic values. Managers who lead with an awareness of this convergence of people and profits seek significance in their own lives as well as financial success. They are true leaders.”

And, as John Maxwell states in his up and coming book, Leadership Gold, to be released the first week in April 2008, “if no one’s following you then you’re not a leader”. “If you believe that it’s lonely at the top, then you’re not doing something right.”

So, take care of the managers with the plans to include the team.

 

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|a personal branding agency

companies and personal branding: fear #3 - too touchy, feely

Fear #3 - “I feel like this would be some type of “touchy, feely” kind of training and I just don’t think that would be a good fit for our company. We’re manufacturing based and don’t see how personal branding would work?”

I think you’ll find it interesting to know that I delivered a great authentic strength workshop to a group of manufacturing plants. They sent 800 of their employees to this workshop with 95% of the attendees being men who worked directly “on the plant floor”. Branding is about tapping into your personal strengths and communicating it in a way that fits your style.

Every employee - and I’ll say it again to be clear - every employee makes a difference to a company. If that mindset is not already a basis of your organization, then personal branding would not be a good fit - there are other things that your organization would need first and certain values that would have to be part of your organization’s foundation.

Often those driven by numbers and results, overlook the importance “reflective has to being productive”. Personal branding brings the opportunity to tap into and fine tune how each person can make a huge difference in their company. It’s empowering and provides tools to be responsive versus reactive to the ever changing work force.

For example, companies such as Microsoft, Proctor and Gamble, JP Morgan, Disney, Discovery Channel, Adobe, Warner Brothers are just a sample of companies already actively involved with a personal branding strategist working with their employees.

So, operating on the foundational value that every employee is important to the company, personal branding provides your team members the chance to see how they uniquely fit into the structure of the company. This is not touchy, feely yet it does get them “in touch” with what matters most to each employee, what is their unique strength, how they make a difference to the company, and how they can measure their own contribution in a way that productive and constructive.

Successful companies who thrive and flourish (and grow profitably) create conditions for people to seek responsibility and take ownership in their work.

People Are The Brand-

 

 

Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!

Buzz To Bucks Connections– grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
www.buzz2bucks.com Buzz To Bucks Connections|a personal branding agency

new audio, the branded professional - part one

It’s here - the first series for the month of February regarding the X’s and O’s of a professional brand.

Click here to listen!

Brand Expression: The X’s and O’s of working with a team.

Why do people call it quits? For all the same reasons you would…

1. You’re no longer interested in what you’re doing.
2. You’re bored.
3. You don’t feel valued.
4. You don’t feel they value what’s important to you.
5. You feel used.
6. You don’t feel important.
7. You don’t feel that you’re making a difference.

When a relationship ceases to be mutually beneficial to both people involved, then somebody leaves (this happens in business; in friendships; and even in marriages).

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
www.buzz2bucks.com - grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a confident personal brand”

Buzz To Bucks Connections | personal branding agency

Companies and Personal Branding: Fear #2 - No Time

Fear #2 - This is something that will just take lots of time. We’re already overwhelmed with the amount of work we have - where am I going to find the time to do this?

The real question is how much time do you have to keep losing employees, finding employees, training employees, finding new ones, retraining new ones, etc.? I could quote numerous studies that show the cost of finding a new employee are phenomenal as opposed to keeping and working with an existing employee. Yet, employees are rather savvy when it comes to investment and value. Little candy dishes and even raises aren’t the only things they want. In fact, a saying that is very common in the personnel industry is that “employees don’t quit companies they quit supervisors”. So, are you supervising for success?

A Personal branding investment within a company is a very powerful employee retention program.

Why? Because your affecting them at a personal level versus a positional level. Yeah, yeah, yeah - we all hear about how “important the position” is to the company; how valuable the task; how vital the responsibilities are - now, how about the person? Just as leading by title is the weakest form of leadership (according to John Maxwell, Leadership Guru) valuing a person by title is the weakest form of retention.

What have you done for your employees (your team) at a personal level?

Personal branding provides the avenue for employees and team members to connect the dots between their personal brand (strengths, experience and reputation) to the company’s brand.

In a recent article in “Business Know How”, the reasons employees quit was reviewed. Here’s one I think you’ll find interesting: Management doesn’t allow the rank and file to make decisions or allow them pride of ownership. Hmmm..

In fact, in another recent book, “The 7 Hidden Reasons That Employees Leave”, Leigh Branham, states the following reasons:

According to Leigh the seven reasons employees leave are:

1. The job or workplace was not as expected
2. Mismatch between job and the person
3. Too little coaching and feedback
4. Too few growth and advancement opportunities
5. Feeling devalued and unrecognized
6. Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance
7. Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders

A personal branding program within a company answers: #2 - The mismatch between job and person AND #3 - Too little coaching and feedback AND #4 - Too few growth and advancement opportunities AND #5 - Feeling devalued and unrecognized AND #6 - Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance AND #7 - Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders.

Six out of seven aren’t bad odds. The truth is you will SAVE time, energy and money with a personal branding program within the company.

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
www.buzz2bucks.com - grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
Buzz To Bucks Connections | personal branding agency

Companies and Personal Branding: Fear #1 - My Employees Will Leave

FEAR #1: “If my employees go through a personal branding process, it means that they’re going to leave soon. I mean they’re preparing their personal resume, they’re managing they’re digital reputation - what else could that mean?”

There’s lots of fears and myths around “personal branding” and what that means for a company. The assumption when someone starts truly managing their personal brand is that they’ve in essence ‘thrown their hat’ in the job hunting pool. While this is the case sometimes, and more of the case in the past, we now find people becoming more proactive in managing their personal brand as they search for their authentic strengths, purpose, set forth personal goals and realize that in our internet-driven global economy that reputation, now more than ever, means everything.

Will you lose employees? The answer is -yes, yet not due to their personal branding efforts. You would of lost them anyway. Personal branding, supported by an employee’s company, instead satisfies some basic employee needs. According to Patrick Lencioni, in his recent bestseller, “The 3 Signs of a Miserable Job”, employees leave for one or more of the following reasons:

• Anonymity - the first sign of a miserable job. An employee feels that they don’t count, not valued, not important.

Personal Branding Answer: Companies that support and even bring personal branding into their companies provide their employees with this:

1. A sense of value and importance. The impression is that “my employer understands that I am unique and that my skills and experience and frame of reference are important”.
2. A chance to ensure that authentic strengths equal job duties. John Maxwell, in his upcoming book, “Leadership Gold”, writes to “not send your ducks to eagle school. It will frustrate the duck and frustrate the eagles.” Even Jim Collins, in his best seller, “Good To Great”, touts that the most important step in forming a team is to “have the right people on the bus”. There are times, in the personal branding process, that a person discovers they’re not in the position that is the ‘right fit’ for their strengths. The key phrase is ‘right position’. Could there be another position in the company that would deliver value to both employee and employer? Could that position adjusted to be a better fit for all? We know that when people are doing what they’re authentically good at and they are positioned to do that then great things happen. Look at Tiger Woods!

• Irrelevance - they don’t feel fulfilled. We all want to know that we’re making a difference.

Personal Branding Answer: When an employee is in the right position, with the right tools that match what they’re best at they’ll feel like their important and making a difference.

1. Personal branding is a fantastic way to engage employees at a core basic need - to feel like they belong (according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs).
2. It also begins a powerful process of connecting the company brand to the employee’s personal brand and vice versa. This is the building block to create employee brand advocates. And, don’t you want your employees speaking positively about your company?
3. Engaging your employees and their sphere of influence (people who know, like and trust them) is critical to building a strong corporate brand. It IS the people who are in contact with your customers (those who are belly to belly) that ARE your company brand - not some lofty mission statement on a plaque in an office nor a tagline on the back of a brochure.
4. Employees are the NUMBER ONE overlooked source of word of mouth. Understand - word of mouth the MOST POWERFUL form of advertising and engaging others (who doesn’t appreciate a recommendation from a trusted contact?). Yet, keep in mind, word of mouth is a double edge sword. While positive word of mouth, will gain you credibility quickly; negative word of mouth can tear down a great reputation in SECONDS.

• Immeasurement - employees (along with team members) like to know “how they’re doing” and be recognized (even if it’s just a smile or good word) for doing a good job.

Personal Branding Answer: While accolades, certificates and gold stars, are not what everyone needs - having a way to know, to communicate and to measure that they’re making a contribution or have some importance is.

1. Personal branding gives them a way to assess their importance. From internal communication tools to having a ’say so’ in company activities, all help nurture brand advocates to brand evangelists.
2. While most appreciation is “one interaction at time”, a personal branding effort in a company outwardly and consistently shows that employees are important, that they individually and collectively make the company and empower them to see how their authentic brand is a part of the company brand overall.

Synergy, as opposed to ‘command and control’ and even worse the “seen not heard” mentality abound in a company where personal brands and company brand are working in tandem.

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
www.buzz2bucks.com - grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”
Buzz To Bucks Connections | personal branding agency

 

personal brands and company brands

Normally, on Thursday mornings I make the trek to the studios of CBS 7 so that I can provide business coaching tips LIVE in the studio. Yet, this Thursday morning I received a phone call from CBS Morning Anchor, Krista, at 4:54 a.m. letting me know that the young seven year old boy who had been missing since after school the day before was STILL MISSING. They were going to utilize their air time to cover what was happening with the search, the volunteers involved and to repeatedly air pleas for help from the public to check for areas that a small child might hide for warmth from the cold night. I called back to the studio and everyone was genuinely concerned and even provided me a personal update before the station even aired the morning show.

Their brand is that they are “your eye on West Texas”. And, from the phone call to the updates and information - they really WALKED THE TALK. They were concerned - for the boy, the story and for the relationships. When the company brand and the personal brands of those who are “belly to belly” with the customer (or who are answering the phones and representing the company) are aligned, it’s powerful! It really set the stage for RELATIONSHIPS and eventually LOYALTY (to both the company AND the person - or people). Yes, it really is that WIN/WIN situation!

When the personal and company brands, ARE NOT aligned it’s a LOSS for all involved. For example, how many of you have heard that ENTERPRISE RENTAL CAR commercial of how they’ll come to “pick you up”? The latest one features a women, with children in tow, at a repair shop badly in need of transportation. She calls “Enterprise” and they enthusiastically say, “they’ll come pick her up”. ‘Tan-ta-da’, her HERO! Or, at least that’s the scenario that’s portrayed.

So, here goes my husband - preparing for a company trip. He calls ENTERPRISE for a rental car in the midst of finishing up work at the store, meeting a repairman to take care of our washer that just stopped in mid-wash (with every pair of jeans that my son’s own in there), and coordinating pick up times and rooms for the other team members that would be traveling in this vehicle. As he’s finishing the transaction, here’s the “rest of the story”:

My husband: “I need to be picked up so that I can get the car on time before you close”

Enterprise employee: “Can’t you find someone to bring you here?”

My husband: “No, I really need you to pick me up.”

Enterprise employee: “You mean to tell me that you can’t get anyone to pick you up and bring you here? We really can’t do that for you.”

My husband: “Aren’t you the company that runs those ads that say you’ll come pick us up? I really need you to pick me up.”

Enterprise employee: “I know. You’ll have to wait a really, really long time. And, I don’t even know then if we can come pick you up. I’ve got lots of work here and I just don’t think I’ll have the time to get that set up for you.”

WOW! How’s that for a huge disconnect between personal brand and company brand! Now, whenever we see that ad (you know, the one with the car wrapped in brown paper and twine giving you the “impression” that it’s delivered to you) we just laugh and say, “only if they have the time and they feel like it that day.”

Personal brands and company brands that are NOT ALIGNED is a loss for everyone. I don’t care how much “promotional materials” and advertising you purchase. Anyone can buy “air time” that will say that their “wonderful, terrific, the best things since sliced bread” - but, WORD OF MOUTH can discredit that in an instant. Brand mis-alignment might be something that your company’s reputation cannot recover from.

Take Deloitte & Touche - they understood that some of their employees were “blogging” about their unhappiness in working with the company on social websites. Leaving comments like that out there and unmanaged, would of cost them business and their reputation. Nobody lost jobs from what they posted on their personal blog or social site. Instead, Deloitte & Touche opened d’street (a social network for employees and where employees can blog and share their concerns, comments and suggestions).

Managing internal communications facilitates personal and company brand alignment.

Providing opportunities for employees to feel valued and important and facilitating interactions that connect their personal brand to the company brand makes them brand evangelists and advocates for the company.

So, are you connecting your employees to your company brand –or are you hoping that will all just manage itself ?

People Are The Brand-
Maria Elena Duron - click my name to Google Me!
www.buzz2bucks.com - grow your personal brand today
“dedicated to helping executives & entrepreneurs connect strategically through a compelling personal brand”

Buzz To Bucks Connections | personal branding agency