About Branding

by: Joan Marques
Branding, type-establishment, character-determination, name it whatever you like, we are practicing it all the time. Admitted, in business the skill of developing a rapid insight could be invaluable. Imagine how great it would be if we would all develop the ability to make a snapshot of every job-applicant, in order to see where his/her strengths and weaknesses were? Well, the positive side, according to the lecture I received today is, that we already do that - unconsciously. We "brand" people the moment we see them. However, the negative side remains that we don't always execute the branding process in the right way. It is this very branding - this first moment snapshot - that guides our approach toward another person. It is branding that makes us extra open to some and overly defensive toward others. There are some people that we just can't stand, no matter what they do... and others that just can't go wrong with us, no matter how often we will receive warnings from third parties! As I also learned tonight, we tend to ignore those warnings, and sometimes even their realization, because we don't like to admit to ourselves that our first impression was wrong?

Another funny thing I observed tonight is, that people will easily tell you, when asked, that they prefer to hire employees that are their opposites, "so that performance gaps can be filled." This, as we all know by now, is just an idealistic dream, a song that we know by heart and therefore sing so well; yet don't understand the words of. For in reality, it has been proven time and again that no one really goes for diversity, because we have an inborn tendency to stick with whatever is familiar to us, and that is...right!... the person with most of the characteristics we know best: the ones we own ourselves!

But in case we, as potential leaders, really want to establish an ideal work-environment with the necessary diversity in characteristics, backgrounds, and qualities; how can we, make a mental snapshot to be sure that we're hiring the right people given our current team of workers? Well, easy: if you know what you have, you also know what you lack, and ? therefore - need to find. If you know about yourself, for instance, that you are a fast-paced, goal-oriented decision-maker (let's call this type 1), you want to get an analytical and stabilizing element to balance your team. People with persuasive tendencies (type 2) usually don't mind showing their emotions, while the type 1 individuals ? the ones with controlling personalities - will hide their feelings and just go for the job? fast! People with stabilizing skills (type 3) will seek to solve interpersonal problems. The ones with analytical skills (type 4) will review and re-review the process endlessly before shooting it to execution. Interestingly, most people have 2 types represented within them: a dominant and an underlying type. The dominant one is the one you represent, while the underlying one determines how you get your results.

It's an interesting skill for leaders to look into. And an eye opener for people who thought they knew themselves for decades. However, a word of caution is in place here, no matter what personality test you take, remember that these are mere snapshots that are subject to change through time and in different situations: one can, for instance, predominantly be a controller at work, yet more of a persuader in the private domains of life.

Branding people on basis of a first impression is therefore never a good idea, even though it's hardly preventable. The only thing we can do, now that we are aware of this tendency within us, is to keep an open mind for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and even 5th impressions. Sounds reasonable? I thought so too!

For more information please visit www.honostreview.com

ARE YOU BRANDING YOURSELF?

by: Tom Falco
Are you placing your email address and URL onall correspondence?Many people forget to add this to importantmailings and even their business cards.Today, most people prefer to email messages thanmake phone calls, so it is very important to haveyour email address on all letters, invoices andbusiness cards.Make sure your URL (web address) is on everythingthat you send out. Keep "branding" your business.Keep that URL out where it can be seen.It's not enough to have your phone number and faxnumber on your business cards or letterheads. Addyour email address and URL if you have one.It's important also to have a signature on all emails that go out. There is a cool free "signature writing"service at: http://www.TheDiscountPrinter.com/freeads.htmcheck it out.Don't be left behind. Promote and brand your businessevery chance you get. It's the professional thing to do.Some say it takes up to nine times for people to see yourname before they will do business with you. If that istrue, then it's very important to have your name andemail address out there.Try to encourage email exchanges. The more emails you havegoing back and forth, the more credibility you will buildin your potential clien't head.Offer something free. Make people email you for information.This way you are opening the door to email correspondencewithout spamming. Your goal should be to have the personemail you first asking for information or just a simplequestion. Once the ball starts rolling, your various emailexchanges can easily turn into sales.It's important to have a pop account or an account thatreflects your company or website.Using generic @aol.com or @hotmail.com really puts a damperon your look and makes you appear unprofessional. Plus, when you email a person with your own private "branded" email address, you are actually advertising your company just by the mere action of sending a message.Joe@bikeseller.com sounds better than joe@aol.comOr Mary@thegiftstore.com is much better than mary@hotmail.com.Isn't it?Brand yourself. Brand your business. Do it today.

For more information please visit www.honostreview.com

*Winning* With Branding

by Laurie Rogers

If I were to ask you what K.D. was, you would undoubtedly know it is a short form associated with Kraft Dinner. Thereprobably aren't many people who have not heard of "KraftDinner" or who have not eaten it at one point in their life. Infact, if I was to ask you to take a look in your cupboard now, chances are, the majority of you would even have a box of it in there!

If asked you who Eminem was, the chances are, you wouldknow who he was too. You may NOT exactly like him or hismusic, but the fact is, you still know WHO he his. There's nopossible way you could miss hearing about him, as he is themost talked about "BAD Boy Rapper" currently in the music industry today.

Now, I am certainly not going to tell you to go out and break the law to make yourself famous online. Because you want to be able to actually spend all YOUR hard earned money!Although branding yourself *effectively* consists of a lot of work, it isn't worth that kind of fame. If you apply the correct techniques it will not seem like much "work" at all! Now that we have that covered I'm going to tell you, what has worked for ME.

When I first became a publisher - I was "widely known" formy "tell it like it is - attitude". In fact, if you were to go to mysite http://www.optinfrenzy.com/about.html and read all the testimonials, that's exactly what you would read. My fellow publishers loved the fact that I had the "guts" to tell people what I really thought and because they liked my demeanor,they would send me "referred subscribers" on a regular basis.

Most people are familiar with me because I co-authored a best selling ebook with Jimmy D. Brown, (Ezine Resource Guide). But despite that there were a lot of people who still had NO idea who I was. So, I began writing a lot of articleson a VERY controversial subject - "SPAM", which in turn,gave me the opportunity of becoming a "Featured Writer"for one of the internet's most "prominent" ezines - DEMC.If you want to WIN with Branding, this is what YOU need to do:

1.) Give people ONE thing that they can associate YOUR name with. And as an eg., the VERY first thing that people see in my signature file is - Laurie Rogers is the Co-Author of Ezine Resource Guide. Hundreds, if NOT thousands of people own that book, so when people read it, they know right off the bat, WHO I AM.

2.) Don't be afraid to step outside YOUR comfort zone attimes to get "KNOWN". Write about popular topics, BUTuse a different approach than other people do. Comparetopics to applicable scenarios that you see in "real life", just as I did above with "Kraft Dinner and Eminem". Makeyour article one to REMEMBER!

3.) Express YOUR TRUE feelings to your audience and beYOURSELF, you will get more referrals and RESPECT for it in the long run.

4.) Be CONSISTENT! Just as it does with everything else,being consistent PAYS OFF in the long run. This is exactly where people FAIL because they are NOT consistent withtheir efforts. They don't advertise on a regular basis, whichmeans LESS sales - Branding works the exact same way,the more promotion you do, the more recognition you willreceive. By using the techniques above, YOU can easily WIN withBRANDING - I guarantee it.

For more information please visit www.honostreview.com