Introduction: Nicole Normand’s 7 Steps to Personal Branding

At a swanky location on Richmond Street in Toronto, Nicole Normand, a member of the Ellevate Toronto leadership team, wooed the audience with her 7 Steps to Personal Branding. She stated, “Personal branding is your calling card to create and attract opportunities for yourself.” There are so many people talking about building your personal brand, but few know how to do it very well. Normand mentioned a Jeff Bezos quote, which was food for thought, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.” You have to take the time to build your personal brand, and it evolves as you evolve. Your personal brand is about reputation, unique value, increased visibility, and is memorable. It’s the perfect time to conduct a vanity search – Google your name and see the results. In the excellent book, Catching the Catfishers by Taylor Cohen Wood, who works for the Defense Intelligence Agency Deputy Division Chief for Science and Technology, Department of Defense, she shares some excellent tips on how to build your reputation and how to remain safe online.

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Highlights from 7 Steps to Personal Branding

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 1 – Commit to the 3 Cs

1. Be very CLEAR about what you do and do not represent.
2. Be CONSISTENT all the time – present yourself the same way in every situation.
3. Be CONCISE, striving to build trust to create opportunities for yourself. People do business with those they know, like, and trust.

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 2 – Define Yourself

Be very specific and clear whenever you are defining who you are. Think about the following points:

• Identify your uniqueness, what makes you uniquely you?
• Soar towards your strengths. What do you do better than others? What do others say that you are good at?
• Play with happiness. You have one life to live, so have fun with it. There are things in life that you love to do, do them more often.
• What are your passions, pursue them?
• Be very conscious of your weaknesses, ask yourself, “Do I need this skill or ability to move forward in my career?” Your response will inform your next move.

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 3 – Tap into Your Values

Without knowing what your values are, you cannot communicate your vision. Take for instance, Martin Luther King, one of the greatest leaders, who ever lived – he was able to articulate a powerful vision of racial harmony. Because of this, he was able to galvanize both blacks and whites to support his cause. As a professional, what is your vision for your career? What are your values? Do you know where your line in the sand is? Can you articulate it clearly and concisely?

Take the time to identify your top five values – the things that are important to you.  Do you want to promote authenticity? Is operating with integrity and honesty important to you? Invest some time to figure out your core values.

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 4 – Link and Articulate Your Clear Promise of Value

Have a clear promise, that’s compelling and relevant, one that will appeal to the right audience. Make sure that it is one that differentiates you from your peers and competitors. Clearly articulate how you can impact the bottom line. What can you deliver? Your brand must be able to meet people in three different ways – emotionally, intellectually, and inspirationally.

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 5 – Promote Your Personal Brand Mission

Choose one area of expertise to focus on. Others should be able to recognize your brand in everything you do. Complete your social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. And that’s not enough, have an active presence – share status updates. Join communities and start commenting. Network, network, then network some more. Invest the time to build relationships. And invest in your professional development.

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7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 6 – Build Brand Ambassadors

No one ever achieves phenomenal success without help from others. Ask for support. Share what you do with family, friends and colleagues. Tell them what your goals are. You need support to help you achieve your career goals.

7 Steps to Personal Branding: Step 7 – Review Your Progress

Where are you now? Where do you want to go in the next one to three years? How do you bridge the gap? What does success look like for you? What are your critical success factors? Have a plan for yourself with timelines attached to your goals. You have to hone in on your expertise to attract the people whom your message resonates with.

Nicole Normand shared some great tips with the audience. Start implementing the 7 Steps to personal branding – TODAY!

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Image Credit for Jeff Bezos photo is Wikipedia