By Rachel Brushfield, The Talent Liberator and founder of EnergiseLegal.
What is a brand?
A brand is a product or service with a unique or distinct territory or character that occupies a space in the minds and hearts of its target audience.
What territory do you want to occupy in the minds and hearts of your target audience, i.e. clients/prospects and/or employer?
Why do you need a personal brand?
The digital age is full of content and attention spans are getting shorter. The amount of content on-line is overwhelming.
A personal brand enables you to ‘cut through the noise’ and to get the attention of your target audience quickly and stand out from your competitors so that you are noticed and not invisible.
Examples of lawyer personal brands
Two distinctive lawyer personal brands are ‘The Naked Lawyer’ – Chrissie Lightfoot, and Nick Freeman, ‘Mr Loophole’. Nick is the owner of Manchester based legal practice Freeman and Co. His personal brand originated as a nickname given to him by the British Press, and he has trademarked it.
Examples of non-lawyer personal brands
Philip Lewis, founder of Philip Lewis Professional Services, has a distinctive personal brand ‘Business Matchmaker’. Short, easy to remember, relevant and emotive. Do you want more business? Would you like someone who introduces you to relevant contacts?
Other examples of personal brands:
• Network Navigator
• Talent Magnet
• Health Activator
Can you summarise yourself in 2-3 words?
Good personal brands do exactly that.
It isn’t easy.
Why creating a personal brand for yourself is difficult
People are too close to themselves to create their own personal brand, and lack the skills, knowledge and experience to do so. Creating a brilliant personal brand takes time. Like a good quality coffee, percolation is needed.
What isn’t a personal brand?
A personal brand is not a gimmick. I have found that many lawyers have limiting beliefs about marketing – some really strong beliefs such as ’marketing is fluffy’.
Many lawyers when asked ‘What do you do?’ reply ‘I am a lawyer’. How does this help people to remember you? People you meet when networking could be potential clients and introducers.
A distinctive personal brand and a verbal business card that is memorable, relevant and emotive really helps this.
Why emotion helps
The best personal brands are emotive and purpose driven. People buy with their emotions – it is ‘the sizzle’ (benefits) not the ‘sausage’ (features).
My first personal brand was ‘The Energising Connector’. I am a natural connector of people and resources and connecting insights is at the heart of who I am and what I do.
My current personal brand ‘The Talent Liberator’ works across BOTH individual lawyers and firms. It works better than ‘The Energising Connector’ because it is emotive.
I have never met anyone who says, ‘No thanks, I don’t want any/any more of my talent liberated.’ When expressed, it creates a consistently positive reaction and evokes curiosity which is what you want from a personal brand.
The role of career capital
Career capital is what makes you marketable. It can be many things: a legal specialism, keynote speeches, thought leadership e.g. published author, who is in your network, accreditations and qualifications etc.
A good personal brand helps you to focus your career capital.
Quotes about personal branding
“Your personal brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” Chris Drucker.
“Your personal brand is a promise to your clients; a promise of quality, consistency competency and reliability.” Jason Hartman.
Summary and conclusions.
A distinctive personal brand is a must have in the digital age. It will help you be visible, distinctive and memorable, and have impact both face to face when networking and on-line, e.g. LinkedIn and on your web site. It will help you to attract clients and be successful. What action will you take having read this article?
What next?
How can we help you create your personal brand? Get in touch for a free no-obligation initial meeting. E mail rachel@energiselegal.com or call 07973 911137.
Rachel Brushfield, The Talent Liberator and founder of EnergiseLegal, established in 1996,
She offers bespoke programmes for law firms and works one-to-one with lawyers. Strategic, practical and down to earth, she demystifies marketing. Rachel is an author in multiple topics for the Law Society and Globe Law and Business including ‘Smarter Legal Marketing: Practical Strategies for the Busy Lawyer.’ Her latest article ‘The rise and rise of the consultant lawyer’ is published in the October 2024 issue of Modern Law magazine.