Chapter 5
Presence
How to Be an Authority and Expert
Creating and Nurturing a Brand
A brand is a uniform expression of quality. It may be a work, a phrase, a logo, or a name. Your ultimate brand is your name, as in “Get me Jason Wilson.”
The three requirements for a powerful brand are:
1. You identify a market need that:
- Already exists and is vibrant (strategy formulation).
- You can create and make vibrant (remote coaching).
- You anticipate will be vibrant (the Brazilian market).
2. You have the competency to:
- Create intellectual property and provocative ideas.
- Trademark and protect proprietary models and techniques.
- Stand apart from most competitors.
3. You are passionate enough to:
- Accept the inevitable rejections.
- Constantly evolve and improve your approaches.
- Become an enthusiastic evangelist for your results.
Figure 5.1 shows the three pitfalls when even a single one of these three elements is missing. But if you have (or can develop) all three, then you can virally build your brand.
FIGURE 5.1 Requirements for a Powerful Brand
The Gospel
If you are a sole practitioner, the brand has to be about you. If you intend to build a company to sell someday, the brand has to be about the company.
Branding is best accomplished through repetition and consistency. When I was a beginning consultant with no money in my pocket and lost amid the noise and smoke of the profession, ...
