If You Want To Succeed In Business Banking, Start Building Your Personal Brand Today!

If a business prospect, referral source or prospective employer is interested in learning more about you, the first thing they will do is a web search! The quality of the search results will determine if they take the next step! What they see in the search results is the new “first impression.” You are no longer required to be physically present to make a very good or extremely bad first impression! The online search results is your “personal brand.” If you don’t invest the time optimizing and nurturing your personal brand, I guarantee that you are going to miss out on a lot of valuable opportunities!

Your personal brand is the combination of skills, experiences and character traits that make you who you are! Your personal brand speaks directly to your target audience. The search results (aka your personal brand) will immediately let your target audience know who you are, what you, how you get it done, and the results they can expect by working with you. Building and nurturing your personal brand will help you advance your career and achieve your professional goals.

If done correctly, your personal brand will:

• Help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
• Quickly build a connection with your target audience .
• Help your target audience quickly determine what you are able to do for them.
• Develop credibility by showcasing your skills and achievements.
• Establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry.

Why building your personal brand matters:

• 92% of employers use social media sites to find talent.
• 54% of companies have eliminated a candidate based on their social media feed.
• Up to 70% of employers use social media to screen potential hires.
• Business prospects and referrals sources are increasingly relying on social media to size you up!

We live in a 3-second world which means your personal brand needs to get the job done fast. Keep it simple and relevant. Taylor your personal brand to your target audience: business owners, referral sources and prospective employers. Below are some simple strategies that you can immediately execute to start building your personal brand:

• Regularly Update Your Profile: be sure to identify and remove inaccuracies or outdated information
• Update Your Profile Across Social Platforms: business owners, referral sources and prospective employers use almost all social platforms
• Create Your Elevator Pitch: who you are, what you do, how you get it done and what your audience can expect to achieve by working with you!
• Monitor Your Posts: if you wouldn’t put in your resume, you should think twice about posting it on a social platform! Ensure that your posts provide valuable insight to your target audience or are showcasing your skills and/or accomplishments.
• Go To Your Target Audience: research your audience to determine where they are consuming content and promote yourself there!
• Be A Thought Leader: establishing yourself as a though leader or advisor means that you have to deliver value upfront. You need to regularly post “valuable” content on topics & events that are important to your target audience. Don’t be shy about showcasing your accomplishments!

Don’t know where to start? Take a look at my LinkedIn profile! I copied the format from LinkedIn Pros that were doing a much better job of building their personal brands! You don’t have to reinvent the wheel…you just need to figure out how to make it your own!

Bizpetrol has information, knowledge and tools that will help you become a Business Banking Rockstar!  You can start elevating your business credit skills using the free Commercial Lending Toolkit at www.bizpetrol.com. You can see all the Business Banking News articles (like this one) at www.bizpetrol.com/blog. You can access a series of how-to business banker guides https://www.bizpetrol.com/Downloads-Free.

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