Unlock the Marketing Magic of Positioning

Don’t wait longer. It is always the right time for the right action.

―?Debasish Mridha

Are you as successful as you'd like to be?

I want to share a story about someone I'll call Mary who sought me out because her career was flatlining. She had spent some 20 years in a non-profit where her career had stalled. She wanted to spread her wings but couldn't do so where she was.

In her search for a new path, she made an astute observation.

That being reasonably good at what you do won't get you the next job or notch in your career. That's only a piece of it.?

An equally large, if not larger part, is how people perceive you. That's your personal brand.

Mary wanted to know if it was too late for her to be branded and positioned.

The fact is it is never too late.

We all know the stories of people who succeeded late in life:

• Julia Child,?the celebrity chef, wrote her first cookbook when she was 50 in 1961.
• Actress Judi Dench became?around-the-world famous at 60
• Ken Jeong was a doctor before becoming a comedy star at the age of 40.

It's easy to dismiss these folks as celebrities, their success not applicable to you.

And while they're a rung of famous far beyond the norm, the fact that they raised their profile at an older age, offers a lesson.?

Yes, you can change your stripes, grow and evolve later in life.

What makes it easier is to create a robust personal brand.

How the heck do you do that?

The first step is to?position yourself so you don't sound like everyone else.?

Here is an example.

One of my clients had called himself a leadership expert on his LinkedIn profile, which could be a zillion other people.

What I discovered in talking with him is that he was able to?help businesses?increase profits by 30% a year. Now we're talking. But that was MIA in his marketing materials.

We changed that, giving it pride of place in his marketing.

Remember this: Don't hide what makes you special. Proudly show it.

Want to start doing just that?

Here are some preliminary actions to take to help you define what's special about you:

?Ask some friends and colleagues to say in a few sentences what's?distinctive about you

?What accomplishments are you proudest of?

?What do your achievements say about you? What skills did they involve?

?What results have you achieved for others and for yourself? Be as specific as possible.

?What do you find easy to do that others often find more difficult?

Ready to show your colors of distinction? Please share them in the comments.

I help small business owners, including coaches and consultants nail their positioning, messaging and marketing to growth their business. Book a free Power Positioning call with me here.

#branding #marketing #smallbusiness #positioning