At the recent MarketingProfs Finders Keepers event, I heard, among others, William Arruda speak on Branding, during which he touched upon Personal Branding...


...as a way to perceive and to evaluate one's unique worth within the marketplace, as well as to inform one's life.
Mr. Arruda himself possesses a clearly articulated personal brand, distinctive and comprehensive in expression, and he thereby inspired many at the conference to think about and to discuss his concepts. At one such discussion, a new acquaintance told me of one brand attribute she now ascribes to me -- transparency -- and the aptness of her perception struck me. Transparency indeed represents a hallmark of my personal style -- my "brand," if you will; you can see right through me; I'm no good at dissembling.
Transparency also informs my brand of sales. I don't believe a sales person's job consists of persuasion, but rather of accurate representation; I'm no good at hidden agendas anyway, so a sales methodology based on manipulation or deception wouldn't work for me. Rather, my strategy consists of representing the product as accurately as possible so that a prospect may see if it fits their needs and may perceive for themselves the relative value of the offering to reach their own decision.
At the conference we enjoyed seeing William put his intellectual precepts to work in his personal and professional life and I find it gratifying to realize that my own brand, authentic and consistent, transcends my person to inform my profession. Now I guess I need a logo.