Two Roads Diverged – The One-Word Personal Brand Dilemma

How hard is forging a one-word brand? As hard as: choosing one road over another; letting go to attract; giving up to get. These thoughts today are stimulated by the fantastic Personal Branding Telesummit just presented on November 8.

Those of us who take “the road less traveled” of branding get nervous about turning down jobs or clients who are offering us money! We’re afraid not enough people will want our "unique promise of value" (thank you William Arruda!). Drilling down to the one-word essence of our brand is even harder.

I think about what Volvo had to give up to capture “safety” as their one-word brand. They had to turn down these possibilities: reliable, cool, high-end, sophisticated, well-engineered, sporty, green, high-resale-value, playful, counter-cultural, macho, etc. Volvos may even offer some of these, depending on the model. But by making the decision to sell safety in almost every ad, Volvo goes a long way towards capturing that (huge) market that wants safety before anything else in a car. Yes, they may well have to lose out on engineering excellence to BMW, on individualism to Saab, on green to Toyota Prius. On the other hand, Volvo doesn't have to totally relinquish some of those other attributes/qualities, just elevate "safety" to the top of the list to capture market share.

As I think about my colleagues in the careers industry, some one-worders come to mind: high-end, knowledgable, entrepreneurial, assertive, caring, successful, professional, brilliant etc. Clients will almost certainly gravitate to the one-word brand they resonate with. For me and my careers practice, the word "intuitive" rises to the top. And I find over and over again that clients who have a strong felt need to get to the heart of who they are in their career are more likely to sign up. I also know that I may lose prospects who aren't interested in that quality but prefer another emphasis. But both my client and I will be more satisfied if they want what I offer.

If the match between client and service provider - or job seeker and employer - is really good, the results are likely to be outstanding. And leading with our key strength, as Robert Frost said in his poem The Road Less Traveled, will "make all the difference."

Comments

[David Sandusky]

You know why it is so hard for people? Because being defined by one word is not a good idea. In career alone, or for a product, pretty easy. But career does not define who you are. I ask people to define them self in one word, but it is in context with other words, meaning, pressure is less because it is not so all encompassing. What word would you want to represent the dash between dates on your headstone - budget? Top-Sales? Writer? Speaker?

In my case there happens to be 'a' word. Passionate. Can't be an empty word without daily proof. For me, passionate is used by others defining me because of experience they have with what is obvious to them. My passion for my wife and her dreams, health, community, clients, partners, public speaking and businesses. Defined by them, my personal brand lives.

What is your greatest core value? Do you love that word?

[billiesucher]

Jean, I love your post. In fact, since listening to William Arruda's powerful presentation last Thursday morning, I have been trying to think of the one single word that best captures my brand. I asked family, friends, others for feedback. Not quite satisfied, I told myself I knew I would know it when I heard it, or when it simply came to me, the one single word that well represents my brand. This morning, there it was. I was listening to a speaker talk about values and attributes. And the word came to me. Invested... the one single word that embodies me, who I am, what I stand for. Invested - in my family, my relationships, my clients, my flowers, my community, coaching/counseling, writing, poetry, passion for learning, excellence, etc. While all of the Brand You Global speakers were outstanding, I especially liked William Arruda's Volvo analogy. If you get a chance to listen to the recordings, take advantage of this wonderful learning opportunity. You will indeed learn a thing or three! : - )

[Jean Cummings]

Billie, that's fantastic! I clicked through to your site and saw the following:

"Billie's work is in her heart; her work is in her soul"

That is "invested" for sure! What is so amazing about the one-word brand is that we are often unaware of it. I only came to mine because of the feedback from others. Thanks again to William Arruda for his magic in opening this kind of thinking to us with the 360 Reach tool and personal branding process!

I think the reason we are unaware is that our "one word" is so intrinsic to who we are. It so infuses our actions and informs our reactions it can be almost invisible to us.

David, I know what you mean about how limiting it feels to be reduced to one word. But I think of it more in terms of what rises to the top. Which is not to say that a lot of other attributes aren't competing for attention and matrixed in there! It was interesting reading your post because it was passionate and you indeed confirmed that by the end of your post. And that "passionate" is part of your "immortality."

[Vikram Rajan]

"Outstanding"

~ Vikram
PersonalBrandMarketing.com

[Wendy Terwelp]

Nice post Jean!

In another of the presentations on Nov. 8 "Brand You World" event, word-of-mouth marketing expert Andy Sernovitz said, "There is no "and" in Brand." He asks, what one thing are you known for? The 360 Jean mentioned is a great tool to capture your one word. When taking the 360 myself the word "positive" shines throughout. A cool word.