Bach Seat

Dorie Clark of Clark Strategic Communications, recently posted an excellent article, How to Reinvent Your Personal Brand on the Harvard Business Review blog, The post offers a plan to follow if you want to reinvent yourself. I am on my third career iteration from teacher to techie to manager (I didn’t say it was for the better).

It happens all the time. Your path may make perfect sense to you, but how can you convince others to embrace your new brand, and take you seriously? Ms. Clark explains five steps to reinventing yourself for the business marketplace.

1. What’s Your Destination? The author says you need to develop a detailed understanding of where you want to go, and the knowledge and skills necessary to get there. If you’ve been a techie for the past decade, you may understand every new marketing toy out there, from Facebook (FB) to Foursquare. But can you effectively convey that knowledge to a non-technical audience? Learning the skills you need will help you gain the confidence necessary to start identifying (and publicizing) yourself in your new identity.

2. Leverage Your Points of Difference. In marketing, it’s called a USP, a “Unique Selling Proposition.” What makes you different from anyone else? That’s what people will remember, and you can use it to your advantage according to the article.

3. Develop a Narrative. Ms. Clark says it’s human nature to have many interests, to seek new experiences, and to want to develop new skills over the course of your life. Unfortunately, that makes you a dilettante. It’s unfair, but to protect your brand you need to develop a coherent narrative. This narrative should explain to people, in a nice, simple way so they can’t miss it, exactly how your past fits into the present. It’s like a job interview, you’re turning what could be perceived as a weakness into a compelling strength that people can remember (he’s got a different take on the industry because he has knowledge most other people don’t).

4. Reintroduce Yourself. The majority of people, regrettably, aren’t paying much attention to you the author says. That means their perceptions are probably a few years out of date, and it’s not their fault. With hundreds (or thousands) of Facebook friends and vague social connections, we can’t expect everyone to remember all the details of our lives. So we have to strategically re-educate our friends and acquaintances, because, especially if we’re launching a new business venture, they’re going to be our buyers and recommenders. That means a concerted effort to phone or email everyone on your list, individually, to let them know about your new direction and, where appropriate, ask for their help, advice, or business. (Blast emails are a start, but too often go unread.)

5. Prove Your Worth. Ms. Clarks says there’s a difference between knowing that you’ve launched a new business and trusting that you’ll do a good job. She explains that she may like you a lot, but unless she sees proof of your skills, she may hesitate to put her reputation on the line by sending you referrals. That’s where blogs, podcasts, videocasts, and other forms of social media come in. It’s critical to let potential customers see what you’re about and test drive your approach before they make a large commitment.

Related articles

• Reinventing Your Professional Persona with Social Media (adrsocialmedia.wordpress.com)

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.