In the last installment I talked about the value of branding and its importance in the world of self promotion.  But how do you brand yourself?  First you need to get very clear about who you are, what your core business values are and who your target client is. 

It's time to get honest.  Are you someone who loves mountain lodges and the great outdoors, you love to wear hiking boots and flannel is the mainstay of your wardrobe? That's great, hopefully you are targeting clients who either love the outdoors as well or clients who do not know anything about the outdoors and are looking for your expertise.  Your core business values might be about being down to earth, straight shooting, refreshingly honest.  Fabulous! 

The problem some people run into is that their passion and their target audience don't jive.  I am in the luxury condominium market, I live and work on the Wilshire Corridor minutes from Beverly Hills, million dollar listings are on the low end of value in this market.  At least once a year I will see a fresh new agent out in the field, not from my company, who is hoping to make a killing in this market, dressed casually. Yes, I have actually seen flip flops!  Perhaps someday the market will change, but currently people do not want to entrust a $3 million dollar sale to someone who is not dressed professionally.  So make sure that your core business values are in alignment with your passion and your target audience.

Now that you know who you are, what your core values are and who you are targeting its time to look at the emotional angle.  What emotion do you want to be associated with you whenever a prospective client thinks of you? What is the main message you want to convey? Trust, confidence, experience, expertise, intelligence, luxury, wealth?  Emotions will lead you to color choices, main messages will lead you to visual imagines.  Remember that you don't need to be literal.  If you want them to think you are a shark, you could create a shark logo, but I find that subtle and symbolic generally works better than literal.

Join me for the next installment where we will talk about the final steps in branding; you won't want to miss it!