Comment below – have you ever seen that post in a LinkedIn group asking if you would share their resume with your contacts (and then, yes, they do attach their resume)? My first question is “why should I? What have you done to compel me to speak positively on your behalf?” Just asking me to schlep your resume is not compelling enough.
The person “making this ask” wants people to speak positively on their behalf but the way they’ve asked gives off that bad brand impression that no one wants to share with their best contacts. Job seekers are not the only ones guilty of this. People in business do the same exact thing with their fliers, brochures and that ever rote and blah text on business cards that reads, “The highest compliment our customers can give us is to recommend us to a friend. We appreciate your referrals!” (oh, please!)
If you want someone to risk their reputation and refer you, then you have to be better than that. [tweet this]
1. Get really clear and concise about what benefit there is in working with you or having you in a team. I mean, clear, like 140 characters clear. If you can’t say it in a Twitter tweet, then craft and re-craft it until you can. (It’s easy to go on..and on, and on about what you do. The hard work that yields good word of mouth to you is to condense it to something portable and easy for someone to share.)
2. Before giving anyone any paperwork (i.e. resume, brochure, flier), know what you want them to do with it. Take it even one step further – be sure to know who the document is best suited and intended for. It takes work to know who your target is. Anybody that can use my services or help is not the answer – in fact, all that is clearly saying is that you have no idea who to talk to and your hoping the person you are giving the paperwork to does. This is not the best first impression by any means.
This means knowing who you serve; how do they benefit from what you do; what are the demographics and the psychographics of that person or group that would benefit from working with you. If you can’t communicate that succinctly, then you’ve got some work to do before you ever ask someone to help you.
Last week, we covered many things that will help you in discovering and expressing your brand.
- The Power and Importance of Language in Branding by Skip Weisman
- Independent Contractor by Kevin Monahan
- How to Evaluate and Negotiate a New Job Offer by Ceren Cubukcu
- How Your Brand Changes After Graduation by Heather Huhman
- How Five Types of Personal Brands Attract Perfect Clients by Nance Rosen
- Why Didn’t I Get the Sale? by Elinor Stutz
- Is Personal Branding Your Second Job? by Roger Parker
- 3 Ways New Grads Can Increase Job Search Luck by Glassdoor.com
- Honey, I Shrunk the Job Market by Richard Kirby
- LinkedIn Profile Is More Important than Resume by Alex Freund
- Women Who Don’t Wait in Line: An Interview with Reshma Saujani by Bill Connolly
- You Manage Your Online Reputation by Maria Elena Duron
- Optimize Yourself With a Mind-Body Connection by Sharmin Banu
- Recognize Greatness by Jeff Shuey
- How to Become an Ideal Workplace by Beth Kuhel
- Knocked Down 7 Times? Stand Up 8 by Erik Deckers
- Focus on Benefits and Buyer Motivation to Make Sales by Leslie Truex
- Should Baby Boomers Care About Their Personal Brand? by Marc Miller
- Second Impressions by Kevin Monahan
Here are seven great takeaways for you from our insightful authors:
- I’ve been there so many times. Knocked down so many times I’ve lost count. And I will be again. But I get up. Every time. (Author, Erik Deckers)
- When you Recognize Greatness on a regular basis you will start to be known for this and it will become part of your brand. (Author, Jeff Shuey)
- There may be great qualifications listed on your LinkedIn profile, but if you limit those you allow to view the profile, who do you think is losing out? (Author, Alex Freund)
- The big question you need to answer is this, Is your second job contributing to your personal brand building? (Author, Roger Parker)
- You cannot be all things to all people. As we say in marketing, find a target rich market. (Author, Nance Rosen)
- Now that your livelihood actually depends on your job search, you need to make sure to build a strong network to help you succeed. (Author, Heather Huhman)
- Enjoy the idea of building the business of You, Inc. (Author, Kevin Monahan)
Plus, here are some great tweetables from last week, too!
Consumers don’t care much about your great features. What they care about is how your great features can help them. http://ow.ly/pL5xi [tweet this]
If you get knocked down seven times, get up eight – because one of those times will be when you see your opportunity. http://ow.ly/pL6uv [tweet this]
Showing you care about your employees will increase productivity at your firm: there is no downside to showing the love. http://ow.ly/pL6Ta [tweet this]
A company’s ultimate outcome or purpose is everyone’s job, eliminating the “it’s not my job” attitude. http://ow.ly/pL6WZ [tweet this]
Has anyone engaged you in a stellar way that really moved, touched and inspired you to speak positively on their behalf? Please share by commenting below – I would love to hear how someone did it right!
This next week in the Personal Branding Blog, we’ll focus on:
• The importance of Googling yourself
• The clash of generations in the workplace
Thanks for reading and commenting! Make it an amazing week for you!
Author:
Maria Elena Duron, is managing editor of the Personal Branding Blog, CEO (chief engagement officer) of buzz2bucks– a word of mouth marketing firm, and a professional speaker and trainer on developing social networks that work. She provides workshops, webinars, seminars and direct services that help create conversation, connection, credibility, community and commerce around your brand. Maria Duron is founder and moderator of #brandchat – a weekly Twitter chat focused on every aspect of branding that is recognized by Mashable as one the 15 Essential Twitter Chats for Social Media Marketers.
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