You have thought about your personal brand, you have put it out into the universe, now have you considered how others think of you? What is the first impression people get when they meet you? What do you leave them thinking or feeling after your first encounter? What do they think or feel when they have not yet met you, but have seen your Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, or your website?
According to Kristi Hedges, How Important Is Your First Impression Really? (Forbes, September 25, 2014), “Malcolm Gladwell contends in Blink that our first impressions are fairly accurate and stand the test of time. He’s a proponent of a theory called thin-slicing, which states that we make a pretty accurate assessment of a person based on knowing them for only a few seconds.” First impressions are immensely important in business and in life. When you work on your personal brand and you live your credo, you are working toward developing your first impressions.
What do you want to be known for or who do you want to be known as? Do you want to be known as someone who is creative or analytical? Is honesty and integrity a part of your brand image? Are you introverted or extroverted? What value do you bring and what is your mastery? A person may determine your wealth of assets or you lack of assets by how they first perceive you.
Tonight I met the amazing Sheryl Roush whose slogan is “Bringing Out Your Brilliance.” Sheryl is the perfect example of someone who lives and breathes her brand identity. It was a very informal gathering and she sparkled every second of it literally and figuratively. Sheryl introduced herself with a big hug, a sparkly purple blouse and sparkly headband. She is the epitome of sparkle! During the impromptu 2-hour brainstorm Sheryl led her students through a series of thought-provoking questions to help each woman understand her massive value, gain focus on her area of expertise, and find the right words to describe what they offer to their own market. She did this with intuition and expertise.
Sheryl is the owner of Sparkle Presentations, Inc., a professional speaker, and author. On her second website, she claims she is “known for highly-tailored, “how-to” presentations” and she “gets ‘inside’ your organization to understand the greatest challenges and help you find real solutions.” She also does this for individuals as she exhibited in the round table with her participants. Sheryl is a natural mentor with a superb ability to get into the minds of her clients and bring out the best in them. If you ever get an opportunity to hear from Sheryl, take it. She will help you bring out your brilliance too.
Have you determined your brand identity? Do you live it out in everything you do? Does your first impression sparkle? If the answer is yes, bravo! If you need help, find a business coach to help you gain clarity so you can sparkle too!
About the author: Jennifer “is a powerful, enlightening, positive force to be around!” Jennifer Darling is a business growth coach. She has worked with 1,000s of small businesses in strategic planning to grow their businesses and helped 100s of women in business find their grooves. She provides consulting for small to medium businesses, and personal development coaching for individuals. Jennifer possesses 20 years in sales, marketing, leadership and personal development for companies such as NBC, CBS, and Comcast. She holds a Master’s Degree in Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising & Promotion.