PERSONAL BRANDING IS ESSENTIAL FOR COACHES

Personal Branding has emerged from the application of marketing principles to the personnel recruitment field (Cable & Turban, 2001). And Montoya & Vandehey (2003) said that "personal branding is a process that will bring the person's unique skills, personalities and characteristics and then wrap it into an identity that has more power than competitors." Differentiating from others and standing out from the crowd by identifying and articulating a unique value proposition, making it a platform with consistent messages and images to achieve specific goals. Enhance self-image; Self-image can build behaviour; generating image values among employees.

Unlike companies or products, individuals possess intrinsic personal branding as a result of personality qualities, past experience and development, and communication with others — whether they know it or not. In this sense, every person already has a personal brand of some kind. The challenge is to manage that brand strategically. We offer a process for doing so, beginning with self-analysis.

Managing a personal brand appears to have at least two dimensions: (1) keeping it up to date given changing circumstances and (2) measuring its effectiveness.

Therefore, as a coach, you have the power to help people transform their lives and achieve their goals. However, in a crowded market, it can be challenging to stand out and impact the clients, especially when completing your Success Profiles when wanting to progress in your civil service career.

This is where personal branding comes in. By building a strong personal brand, you can differentiate yourself from the competition, build trust with clients, and make an impact with your clients, ultimately leading to long-term success.

And by building a personal brand, you can set yourself apart and make a lasting impression. Your personal brand encompasses everything from your values and mission to your personality and style. It's a reflection of who you are and what you stand for, and it can help you attract clients who share your values and beliefs.

When you have a clear and authentic personal brand, clients can get a sense of who you are and what you offer. They can see that you're not just another coach, but someone who is genuinely invested in their success. This builds trust and credibility, making it more likely that they'll choose to work with you.

When you're clear on your values, mission, and working with the client, you can tailor your branding to appeal to this audience. By doing so, you're more likely to impact clients who resonate with your message and are a good fit for your coaching style. This can lead to a loyal following and long-term success.

Building a personal brand is an investment in your future as a coach. It can lead to increased visibility, authority, and career opportunities. As your personal brand grows, you'll become known as an expert in your field, and clients will seek you out for your unique perspective and coaching style. This can open up new opportunities, such as speaking engagements, book deals, and collaborations with other professionals.

And as a coach, you cannot shy away from personal branding. It is you, as a person, as a brand, who forms the backbone of your coaching profession. Yes, you might be a person who shies away from the limelight, but your prospective clients will form opinions of you and your coaching based on the information that is available to them.

Therefore, it is crucial for you to present yourself as a brand that exudes the positivity and confidence of your coaching sessions. And many people find the prospect of building a personal build quite overwhelming. However, if you follow a few simple actionable steps and arm yourself with the tips and knowledge, it will help you leverage your coaching skills and build an effective brand around you.

What Does Personal Branding Mean For Coaches?

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

You’ve probably heard that old saying and it’s more relevant and accurate now than ever before.

It tells people who you are, what you do, and what you stand for as a coach – sometimes without you having to say a word!

At the highest level, a powerful personal brand is a sophisticated blend of your persona at work. Personal branding can also include what you look like. For example, how you dress, walk, speak, your tone of voice, your energy, etc. Personal branding for coaches is about how you show up and connect with clients channelled through pathways that have the potential to reach a massive audience such as your social media presence, your website, your videos, blog posts, and other digital and in-person content and appearances.

The 5 Pillars Of A Powerful Personal Brand For Coaches

• Personal branding works to attract clients only where there is deep trust and this is why trust is the key element you need to aim for.
• Being authentic is about speaking from the heart and showing up as yourself.
• Being reliable is essentially about being consistent.
• A confident coach is someone who radiates certainty and this gives the audience a sense of knowing that you believe in what you teach and share.
• As a coach, choosing and living by strong values is possibly the most important thing you can do to build a powerful, trustworthy personal brand.

And here are six steps for building a genuine personal brand and growing your coaching career along the way.

1. Find out who you are.

To build a personal brand that accurately reflects your personal and professional identity, you must first know who you are. Be introspective and make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Ask yourself:

- What areas am I particularly good at?

- What motivates me?

- What qualities have others admired me for?

- What projects have others helped me with many times? If you find it difficult to answer these questions, ask your friends, family, and colleagues how they would describe you.

Once you notice the different facets of your personality, you can decide how best to brand them. Remember that many people struggle to choose a particular coaching niche because they don't want to limit themselves. Please be aware that it will change. The best strategy is to choose a specific area to focus on and let it evolve over time.

2. Decide what you want people to know.

Your personal brand reflects more than who you are today. It's a roadmap of where you dream to go. In addition to understanding your existing skills and competencies, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses in relation to the coaching industry.

In this way, you discover the skills and qualities that set you apart from others and the areas in which you need to improve or acquire new knowledge to move forward. If you can predict where you want to be in 5 or 10 years and what you want to be known for, you can better judge the steps you need to take to get there.

3. Research the coaching industry and follow the experts.

When starting to plan your desired coaching career, search for the best in the field. Find the industry leaders in your coaching niche. Don't just follow them, do your research on their posting habits, the type of content they post, and the way they engage with their audience. Look for successful people and see what they do. See what they do, and what you can add on to make it uniquely yours. The goal when building a personal brand is to differentiate yourself from them.

4. Prepare an elevator pitch.

Once you start conceptualizing your personal brand, take the time to create your elevator pitch. This is a 30-60 second story about who you are. Whether you're attending a networking event or an informal party, having an elevator pitch makes it easy to explain where you're going (or wanting to go) with your work and career. Shorten the elevator pitch to focus on a few key points you want to emphasize.

5. Start Networking

While developing your ideal personal brand, it's important to network regularly (and effectively) to expand your professional circles. Connect with peers and industry thought leaders at formal and informal networking events. The more connections you make and the more value you can provide, the more likely your personal brand will be recognized.

Don't be afraid to invite other attendees to an information session or casual coffee chat at these events. And if you don't get the chance to meet at an event, reach out via email or LinkedIn to keep the conversation moving.

6. Expand your online presence.

One of the most important aspects of personal branding is making sure your online presence resonates with your values. Use the ideas we built in the last chapter to develop your social media strategy.

The level of values and motivation is presented by the mission, values themselves, the expert status and the legend. The mission is the most important global, fundamental idea of your activity. Values reflect the life philosophy, basic personal and professional principles, orientations, personal worldview. Being an expert means to be highly qualified, be a real professional in your area(s). The legend includes the best personal qualities and unique life experience, individual history of achievements and success.

The level of activities is built by goals, unique competitive advantages, static and dynamic image and personal content. Goals are our aspirations, socially significant aims. Unique competitive advantages are qualities that distinguishes a particular expert, as a coach from others, his/her strengths. The static image is a portrait in various sources of information (official webpage of the educational institution, social networks, etc.), visual image, style, appearance, manners. The dynamic image reflects our actions, projects, manner of speech, channels and style of communication.

Personal content is individual content, key ideas that are promoted. In the digital age, this model of a personal brand can be implemented through social networks, where the teacher can promote it through expert opinions, professional recommendations, reviews, video lectures, photos (family, colleagues, photos from various professionally significant events), expression of opinion, personal position in relation to important social events, storytelling (stories about

things that inspire, motivate, or, on the contrary, stories about something "behind the scenes" but that can be interesting to the target audience, etc.) and so on.

In conclusion, a personal coaching brand that enhances your credibility, you are certainly faced with the need to build your own visibility and to stand out from the sea of others. Regardless of how well your coaching practice is doing, you want to ensure that you have a solid reputation in the coaching profession.

REFERENCE:

Frendika, R., (2018), Research Article: 2018 Vol: 17 Issue: 1, Academy of Strategic Management Journal (Print ISSN: 1544-1458; Online ISSN: 1939-6104), The Power of Personal Values and Cultural Competence towards Personal Branding of Employees (abacademies.org ) [accessed on 28/03/2024]

RESOURCES:

Choice Magazine for Professional Coaching

Division of Coaching Psychology | British Psychology Society

Coaching Today quarterly journal ( bacp.co.uk )