Promoting, Marketing and Selling ... YOU Inc.
Invest time, energy and money into developing, educating and power conditioning your most valuable asset - YOU!
What common denominators had people like Sir Richard Branson, Madonna, Princess Diana, Janet Holmes a Court, Dr Madeline Albright, Tim Shaw, Poppy King, Dick Smith, Gerry Harvey and numerous members of television reality shows such as Big Brother, the Block, the American and Australian Idol series share?
They developed personal marketing skills that quickly leveraged their unique personal style and achievements most people can only dream about.
Examples of World, Regional and Local Influencers
Dr Madeline Albright
Appointed US Ambassador to the United Nations in 1992, and the 64th Secretary of State for the USA in 1996, Dr Albright's personal style helped her achieve remarkable diplomatic successes.
As one of the most influential women and world leaders during the 1990s, Dr Albright's memorable words to Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 - "We are not negotiating" - set her apart as a leader of enormous stature and personal power.
Her unrelenting campaign to stop foreign aid to Belgrade for their refusal to cooperate with The Hague and the UN, toppled the Butcher of Belgrade, and brought an end to his regime of terror in 2001.
In one fell swoop Dr Albright's leadership was indelibly stamped in the pages of history.
Worldwide Success for Virgin in just 30 years
For just over forty-five years, Sir Richard Branson's personal style and marketing pizzazz has placed him and his Virgin Brand in the international spotlight.
Widely known for his astute mind and fierce competitive personality, Sir Richard Branson's unique brand of humour has earned him a reputation as an eccentric billionaire and sharp businessman in the airline, travel, soft drink, mobile phone and sporting industries.
His numerous attempts at circumnavigating the globe in a very sophisticated hot air balloon captured the attention of the media and public alike.
Branding his unique personal marketing style on everything he does, the attempts at this daring feat regardless of the success or failure, earned him tens of millions of dollars in free advertising on television, in the press and the world-wide-web for many weeks while he was on this adventure.
Janet Holmes a Court
Recognized as the wealthiest woman in Australia, Janet Holmes a Court was university educated in Perth, Western Australia.
Having raised a family and then, finding herself unexpectedly widowed, Janet Holmes a Court has been given full credit with saving her late husband's business empire.
Such was the strength of her personal style that over 1,000 employees were inspired to get behind her with a renewed sense of purpose and teamwork.
Despite the enormity of her loss and grief, she took centre stage and embraced the challenge in order that she might save the family businesses.
Armed with sheer grit, determination and her unique personal style, Janet Holmes a Court re-branded her late husband Robert's company as her own.
Indeed, nearly 15 years after his untimely death, her personal style established her as a woman within her own right.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
President of the Australian Football Club Collingwood and host of the very popular Australian television show 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire', Eddie McGuire's personal style sets him apart, securing incalculable publicity and career opportunities.
But wait there's more at McDonalds
McDonalds has two worldwide spokespersons, other than Ronald McDonald. They are USA National Basketball Legend Michael Jordan and Australian super salesmen Tim Shaw, who has marketed well over $100 million worth of products in the just ten years on television.
Having personally branded the catch phrase "But wait, there's more", Tim has seen this inimitable phrase used as a national colloquialism across Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and now to the world.
With a personal and professional mission to impact the products and services of Australian companies to the new enterprising economy of China before the 2008 Olympic Games, we eagerly "wait for more" from the incomparable Australian Tim Shaw.
Poppy's King Hit
Lipstick icon and 1990 Australian of the Year, Poppy King's lipstick business suffered a business downturn and king hit in terms of stacking debt, reducing markets and uncertainty.
A number of distractions off her core business and misreading her market led to near bankruptcy after an initial run of success.
Despite experiencing the downturn in business, Poppy King re-engineered her mindset, her markets, and re-established relationships with her suppliers, vendors and creditors as top priorities before entering the toughest and largest market of all, the United States.
Poppy King has done well despite her recent set back and now is re-awakening her company and energy into markets that are even more lucrative.
The Electronic Dick Smith
No stranger to personal marketing, Dick Smith succeeded in joining the ranks of Australian icons as a sportsman, Guinness Book of Records helicopter pilot and multi-millionaire businessman by the late 1980s.
His outstanding success with electronic goods and love of outdoor adventure, coupled with his larrikin sense of humour, quickly earned him the quirky media name "The Electronic Dick".
Single handidy Dick Smith has used his personal image as a virtual brand to successfully market an extensive range of locally made products and services from peanut butter and jams to a new wooden matches line called Dick Heads.
Big Brother is Watching YOU
Channel 10's first Big Brother series was a social phenomenon both in Australia and markets worldwide.
Who would have thought twelve people living in a house for three months, while undergoing a systematic eviction, would attract nearly 10% of the entire viewing national audience?
To put this viewing phenomenon into perspective, on the final eviction night the show had just over 2.8 million people waiting for the winner to be announced.
Big Brother's audience in its first year was only succeeded by the television viewership of the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympic Games and the final of Wimbledon in 2001 featuring Australian tennis star and US Tennis Open winner Pat Rafter.
Big Brother's marketing was particularly effective with Australia's young population.
Channel 10 attracted more than 50% of the 16 to 39-year-olds who are widely recognized as the X-generation and pre-X-generation.
In less than five months of advertising during the Big Brother show, Pizza Hut turned a $5 million advertising campaign into $60 million in new sales of their take home pizza and food products range.
Unlike "Survivor" in the USA and United Kingdom, where evictions were based upon physical prowess and team contribution, Big Brother contestants survived based upon their popularity with their own competing house mates and television voting audience.
Big Brother showcased "personal marketing" as an art form with contestants living under a microscope of cameras twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week until they were evicted or won the grand prize.
While not quite winning the coveted first prize of $250,000, bum dancing, breast bearing, bunny-eared Sarah-Marie from Queensland certainly won the adoration of the viewing public in Big Brother show number one.
Understanding the power of being outrageous and uncompromising in her personal behaviour, Sara-Marie took risks with her larrikin behaviour and has reaped the rewards in product endorsements.
Famous for being famous, Sara-Marie turned bunny ears and pink and white pyjamas to her advantage and remained in the public eye two years after the first show concluded.
Big Picture Marketing
US author and speaker Brian Tracy is a recognized authority on sales and marketing.
He has said, "The success or failure of a marketing strategy determines the success or failure of any company or individual. If a company or individual is succeeding, it is because their marketing strategy is really good and is positioned correctly at the clients and the competition.
You can absorb mistakes in every area of a company but if you make mistakes in marketing you can be out of business or in a downturn very quickly. It's vitally important that you make the clear distinction between selling and marketing."
Marketing is the process of determining a customer's needs and then tailoring products or services to satisfy and fulfil those needs. Selling is reinforcing the marketing proposition, the benefits of that product or service, and delivering on that promise.
The core company focus then becomes earning the trust and confidence of the buyer; building a close relationship with the client; maintaining client loyalty through loyalty programs and managing client relationships with a view to enjoying long term relationships.
Personally and Professionally Marketing YOU Inc.
If you are to succeed in positioning YOU and your product in the mind of your target audience, it is imperative YOU are positioned in mind as YOU Inc. and your business as the platform for YOU Inc.
To do so, you must undergo an honest assessment of your talents, knowledge, abilities, experience, interests, weaknesses and achievements.
A good starting point is to first ask yourself what are you enthusiastic about? In what recreational or professional field of endeavour do you shine? When are you most content? What brings you the greatest joy and satisfaction?
It is accepted that those who enjoy the greatest successes in business and in life, have the ability to focus on one thing for extended periods of time. While a change of direction or fine-tuning may take place, on the whole, their vision and focus remains intact.
As observed with these brief case studies, successful people share one common denominator and that is an enthusiasm, passion and belief in what they do.
They champion their cause like missionaries, fuelled by personal power and enthusiasm while persuading others as to the value and benefit of their products or service.
Power Conditioning YOU
Everyone wants to earn more money, but few are willing to invest in that which will help build themselves up as a marketable asset.
More than ever before, a strategic representation or competitive advantage is a vital part of personal and career success.
Implementing an action plan that will re-calibrate, re-educate and re-brand YOU Inc. is one of the best investments one can make in their future.
One of the biggest challenges facing business people today is in determining self worth and value as it relates to their chosen career or employment track.
So how do you learning how to develop the skills of promoting and marketing your personal and professional style?
Take the coins out of your purse and invest them in your mind and your mind will fill your purse with coins
Author and statesman Benjamin Franklin who lived between 1702 & 1790 coined this famous saying. He believed that by investing time, energy and resources into his mind through education would make a difference in his life.
Evidenced by the fact he lives on in American history as America's first self-made millionaire, the investment he made was a wise one by any measurement.
Success leaves clues
A common trait of successful companies today is the investment in their employees' skill development and future.
Progressive companies and business people understand that success and a long-term career is the result of building a solid foundations as a platform from which they can promote themselves with confidence and conviction.
A good starting point when investing in your own intellectual property is to become skilled at the mechanics and art of self-promotion.
Invest whatever it takes to undergo a thorough personal assessment, obtain expert advice, set goals, focus on outcomes and develop a firm grasp on the mechanics of self-promotion by watching and learning from those that are good at it however, not over the top in it.
Doing this will prevent disappointment and advance your career quicker than you thought possible. Tremendous fortunes have been made and lost based upon an individual's ability in the personal marketing stakes.
Discovering direction and maintaining focus
"A ship that never leaves harbour is fundamentally safe but that is not what ships were built for" has been stated or quoted many times over.We would be hard pressed to find someone honestly say in public, "I am waiting for my ship to come in yet I find myself on the wrong peir of life".
Most people drift through life without investing time to discover their passion or discover what is important to them. Little wonder they find themselves in a dry dock stuck in a no where journey.
Developing short and long term career goals is a great way to find that enthusiasm or passion to achieve. The impact of a pad of paper, pen or pencil and 30 minutes to perhaps a few hours in concentration is unmeasurable to finding new excitement again.
High achievers pay a price to reach the top of their field. Their focus not surprisingly in goals and activities over days, weeks, months and years of intensity and desire to reach the pinnacle of their expertise.
So set a goal and get started today!
Secrets of Success
One secret to successful personal marketing lies in developing one's particular expertise and understanding how to convert skills as an amateur in everything to an emerging expert at a local then regional then national then international area of impact.
In developing YOU Inc., make the investment in learning the fundamentals of how to promote, market, sell and position YOU effectively.
Invest your energy into training, educating, grooming and encouraging your most valuable asset - YOU.
The return on your investment will be discovering that YOU are your most valuable asset.
About the writer / author
Rob Salisbury, B. Com, CSP has addressed over 450 Australian companies and over 2000 teams / events in the U.S. New Zealand, Singapore and SE Asia over the last 20 years.
Rob served as 2001 to 2003 President of the NSW National Speakers Association and five years as a Director on the Australian National Speakers Board. An industry recognised sales and marketing strategist, he was tranferred from sunny Scottsdale, Arizona in 1997 to Sydney Australia.
For more information, contact Rob in Australia at 0412 414 835 or our web site at www.strategicresources.com.au or
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