Your Brand

You know, of course, that your name is your brand. Anytime someone hears your name that conjures up a mental image — not just a physical image (boy, I’d be in trouble if that’s all it was!) but an idea of who they think you are and what expectations they have of you.

For example, if you watch any television show you can pretty quickly figure out its target audience by the commercials that sponsor it. After all, nobody is advertising to five-year-olds during NCIS, and there are few bank commercials during Saturday morning cartoons.

So where is your brand found? If you see yourself as a “the higher ed major gifts gal” does your name come up at CASE conferences as a possible speaker in the major gifts track? If you are the “go-to guy” in foundation relations, are you mentioned at the local grant maker’s meeting (positively, of course)? Is your brand where you want to be?

There’s lots of ways to do this … writing, networking, speaking, and more.

Your career move this week? Write down your brand. What is it that you want to be known for, professionally? (Major gift money maker? Special events superstar? Direct mail diva?) How do you want to be known in your personal approach to your work? (Approachable? Efficient? Warm or cold?) Then ask … where is my “placement,” and is it right for me? Are you in the NCIS slot or Saturday morning fun?