Part of my own strategy to build my brand, gain business, and establish myself as an expert in my field is using my blog to write about and interview other experts and companies. Through these means, I can promote them while continuing to build and strengthen my own relationships with them.  Last Friday was no exception.  Through a simple LinkedIn “invitation to connect” message (yes, LinkedIn) , I was able to secure an interview with best selling author (and one of my personal favorites) Jeffrey Gitomer.

While his followers and fans are generally sales professionals, I am a firm believer that each and every person works in sales in some form, at some time.   It may not always be obvious, but when acting as a job seeker selling yourself to a company, dating or meeting your prospective mate (the ultimate sales job), or even when making a major life purchase like a car or house, you are acting in a selling capacity.  In all three of these scenarios, solid sales, negotiation, networking, and presentation skills are very important .

Jeffrey’s three hour seminar focused a great deal on how a solid sales, marketing, and branding plan can impact your success.  The bottom line is that people buy from other people, and those that are ordinary end up in second place.  If someone wants to sell you something, and you perceive them as being just another ordinary joe, why should you be interested in what they have to say?

If you want to make an impression, and ultimately a sale, you need some way to stand out. This is why I was surprised to learn that less than 10% of the 300 or so attendees utilized social media tools as part of their sales, branding, and lead generation strategy.

Jeffrey then discussed the power of social media, and how it can help you engage decision makers (buyers) as well as hiring managers. He says, “The challenge is for you to understand that we are the bailout.  The challenge is not just about sales tips and ideas but what you do that’s pretty ordinary.”  How, then, do we become extraordinary?  Gitomer offers the following pointers as quick, easy ways to boost your image in the eyes of those you need to impress the most.

• Get a creative voice mail. Be different from everyone else.  Humor is an excellent tool to define who you are and differentiate yourself from the rest. You’re tired of that boring old recording.  Don’t you think everyone else is too?

• Schedule a three way lunch. If someone you want to meet is giving you the run-around, invite someone who you know, that they need to know, with you to lunch.   Call your contact and invite them again.  You will build instant rapport and credibility with both parties.

• Be the Best. Don’t settle for ordinary.  When you are the best at what you do, everything else shows up.

• Business cards matter. Find creative ways to keep people talking.  Your business card is a representation of yourself.  How do you want people to remember you?

• Get a flip video camera. Video testimonials and video references are extremely powerful on your blog or website, lending you instant credibility.  Use a flip video camera to interview experts and promote them on your blog or website, building solid rapport and relationships not only with the interviewee but also your blog audience.

Check out my video interview with Jeffrey Gitomer below and don’t forget to visit his website at JeffreyGitomer.com.  A special thanks to the Journal Record.

Create a Remarkable Web Presence at Brand-Yourself.com

Once you’ve built your personal brand, it’s time to create a visible web presence around it. Did you know that more than half of employers are more likely to hire you if you’ve spent time developing your personal brand across social networks? To help you do this, we built a platform to manage your online reputation from one central hub. Create your Brand-Yourself account today and see how our tools can help you build, optimize and promote a remarkable web presence that gets you hired.

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As job seekers begin their quests for employment, research and preparation are the two most important, yet also the most overlooked, parts of the job search.  Eager candidates often dive into the super-competitive world of resumes and personal branding without developing a proper self-marketing strategy.

Just like any project, it’s important to understand the  features and benefits of your product (yourself!), your target market, as well as your current competition, while having a clear plan and strategy to ensure success.  Whether you are currently waist deep in the job search or just preparing to begin the process, here are some books to consider when developing your personal marketing and job search strategy.

• Internet Your Way to a New Job:  How to Really Find a Job Online , by Alison Doyle.  Alison is one of the leading job search experts on the internet and is a featured contributor on About.com.  Her book, now in its second edition, includes expert advice and opinions from recruiters and career coaches to help you navigate the world wide web as a job seeker.  She discusses the importance of social media strategies, personal branding, and  how to use technology effectively in the job search.  Her book is a must read for the serious job seeker.
• Crucial Conversations:  Tools for talking when stakes are high , by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, & Al Switzler. I am currently half way through this book but am loving every minute of it.  I have already begun using its wisdom to have those difficult yet crucial conversations.  What I really like about this book is its applicability to both my professional and personal life.  I particularly recommend this book to those who are currently employed but who are considering taking the plunge into the job search. This book can help you work out issues with difficult bosses and destructive co-workers.  Vital Smarts, the company behind Crucial Conversations, offers real world case studies, webinars, and other resources.
• Jeffrey Gitomer’s Little Red Book of Selling , by Jeffrey Gitomer.  I had the pleasure of listening to Jeffrey speak several years ago.  He speaks and writes with a no-nonsense, engaging, and motivating style.  I left his seminar pumped up and ready to take the tips and tools he provided me out into the real world.  Sales is very much a part of the job search.  Just as a car salesman must know how to sell cars, a job seeker must know how to sell themselves, and this book will teach you to do that.  Gitomer writes that “In sales, it’s not who you know.  In sales, it’s who knows you.”  You know where you want to work, but do they even know who you are?  Follow Jeffrey’s tips, and get your face on their radar.
• Hire With Your Head , by Lou Adler.  Lou’s company, The Adler Group, along with his book, is focused on the concept of Performance Based Hiring.  The book discusses how companies should use a combination of techniques to ensure that they are hiring quality candidates who will meet and exceed performance expectations.  One bad placement or hiring decision can cost a company thousands and thousands of dollars.  This book discusses techniques for businesses to get beyond just a gut feeling when making a job offer.  As a candidate it is important for you to understand the methods, strategies, and decision models that businesses use when making a job offer so that you can prepare yourself accordingly.
• Me 2.0 , by Dan Schawbel. Dan is a widely recognized leader in personal branding.  At age 24, he wrote, Me 2.0. Although his book is geared towards young professionals, it provides insight to career-minded people of all ages. Whether you are currently in the job market, or just have an interest in personal marketing and development, Me 2.0 has something for you.   Dan’s book is easy to read and offers a real-world Four Step strategy for discovering, creating, communicating, and maintaining your personal brand.  Additionally, Dan offers insight into how businesses can grow and develop their own personal brand to promote their products, services, or recruiting efforts.  For more information regarding personal branding, visit his Personal Branding Blog.

Photo Credit The Independent

Jessica Miller-Merrell, SPHR is an author, new mother, and human resources professional with a passion for recruiting and all things social media.  She has over 10 years of experience in human resources & recruiting.

Her company, Xceptional HR provides businesses with social media, recruitment, and human resources strategy and consulting.   Jessica’s book, Tweet This! Twitter for Business will be released in February 2010.  Follow Jessica on Twitter, LinkedIn, & FaceBook.

Create a Remarkable Web Presence at Brand-Yourself.com

Once you’ve prepared for your job search, it’s time to create a visible web presence as a platform to drive your job search and to develop and monitor your personal brand. Did you know that more than half of employers are more likely to hire you if you’ve spent time developing your personal brand across social networks? To help you do this, we built a platform to manage your online reputation froCm one central hub. Create your Brand-Yourself account today and see how our tools can help you build, optimize and promote a remarkable web presence that gets you hired.

Support me by sharing this post:

I hope you had a great holiday week and a happy New Year!

Each new year brings change. As for Brand-Yourself, we’re about to officially launch our online reputation management / personal brand management web service. As for you, this is the perfect time to make some positive change in your life.

I’ve been reading Jeffrey Gitomer’s “Little Book Of…” series lately. They are chock-full of great and practical tidbits to start the new year off right. In his Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, there is a list of 20.5 attitude gems that I’d like to share with you.

Your attitude in life determines how you perceive yourself and how others see you. So here are 20.5 attitude adjustment tips straight from Gitomer to help you achieve your new years resolutions:

1. Change your input to change to change your attitude. If you seek a positive mind and a positive attitude, you MUST expose yourself to positive information and hang around positive people. If you want to achieve positive, you have to surround yourself with it and live it
2. You were born to win. But, “You must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.”
3. “The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare to win” (A Vince Lombardi quote)
4. You will get whatever you want if you help enough people get what they want. A quote that many claim to have said. It doesn’t matter who said it – just live it.
5. Make every day as productive as the day before you go on vacation. That’s the day EVERYTHING gets done.
6. Ignore people who tell you, “You can’t.” (Except your boss.) People will try to discourage you for fear that you will pass them. Don’t let it happen.
7. If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.
8. Don’t dwell on (whine about) the problem; concentrate on the solution. Resolve how you can; don’t lament why you can’t.
9. Forgive and go forward. Grudge blocks positive. Until you clear the past, you are destined to repeat it.
10. Self talk equals self-performance. Look at any athlete. Self-talk is a crucial part of expected positive performance.
11. What is the picture you have of yourself? That is what you will become. Spend 15 minutes a day focusing on a positive picture.
12. You will hear the word “No” 116,000 times in your lifetime. (Maybe more.) Try converting just 1,000 of them to “YES!” and the world is your oyster.
13. What you do off the job determines what you are likely to do on the job. Uh oh.
14. Strengthen your weaknesses and strengthen your strengths at the same time. Combine positive with negative for better personal development results.
15. Failure is an event, not a person. Think of failure as “it,” and not “me.”
16. ”It’s not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you.” Sounds familiar? Attitude manifests itself in your response to events
17. Every obstacle presents an opportunity, if you’re looking for it. “Revel” and “Lament” are choices. Your choices.
18. Hard work makes luck. Nothing affects positive circumstances and results more than hard work.
19. How many of your problems are cured with ten grand? If money makes your problems go away, attitude can make them go away as well.
20. It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it. The tone of your verbiage determines the atmosphere of your environment.

and finally…

20.5 Resign your position as the general manager of the universe.

I hope that these have helped you as much as they have helped me and wish you the best in 2009!

Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Little Golden Book of YES! Attitude. President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts Internet training programs on selling and customer service at www.trainone.com. He can be reached at 704/333-1112 or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com © 2008 All Rights Reserved.

Author: Trace Cohen

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