“The holy grail of personal branding is having your own book,” says Julie Guest.
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Did you know that one of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs still lives in the same grey stucco house he bought in 1958 for $31,500? Indeed, Warren Buffett’s Omaha, Nebraska home has appreciated but is probably worth less than $750,000 today.
“If you’ve ever doubted the power of personal branding to convince large numbers of people to give you thousands of dollars, look no further than Warren Buffett,” says personal branding expert Julie Guest.
Guest is a bestselling author and popular speaker. She is the CEO of Bolder&Louder, a full-service marketing agency, author of the book The Client Stampede, and is host of the popular podcast, The Client Stampede.
So, what if your business is not a multinational holding company that manages $900 billion in assets like Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway does? (For full disclosure, I am a Buffett fan who owns a few shares of Berkshire Hathaway B stock and have coauthored a book on Buffett published by McGraw-Hill.)
If you want to attract high-paying clients, Guest says building your personal brand is just as important as the Oracle of Omaha.
“Whether you’re a consultant, a CEO, or a serial entrepreneur, your business is just as dependent on building trust and staying out front as a thought leader,” says Guest. “In today’s ultracompetitive environment, business building has become personal. To scale, it’s time to step out into the spotlight and become known independently of the companies you help build. No more hiding behind a big corporate brand.”
Which used to be enough, back when consumers trusted big, corporate brands. So how does Guest advise building your own personal brand, quickly and easily?
“The holy grail of personal branding is having your own book, and ghost-authored is an excellent choice to get it off your to-do list,” says Guest. “The next best expert positioning tool is a downloadable case study, audio, or video that helps your buyers solve one of their problems.”
Here are seven other steps from Guest:
Know your buyers (almost) as well as yourself. “By identifying who has the urgent need for what you sell—and who holds the checkbook—you’ll be able to craft a personal brand that speaks to them deeply. Then, when a client says about your marketing, ‘I felt like you were talking directly to me,’ you know you’ve hit the right note. Ironically, building a personal brand isn’t so much about you, it’s really about how you help others solve their problems. Which is why they’ll be happy …….
