How to decide what your "IT" factor is
TO ACQUIRE THE "IT" FACTOR, ONE MUST WORK HARD TO BUILD THEIR BRAND.
As a Brand Ambassador, your job is to help grow and sell the brand you represent and your brand within the company, the industry, and beyond.
Merging your brand with your business also lays the groundwork for expanding your career in the future. If you decide to start a new business, write a book, become a public speaker, or consult up-and-comers, having a solid personal brand tied to a company's success can be the perfect bridge to your next endeavor.
If you don't develop your own story, others will do it for you. Developing your brand is a proactive way of controlling your career development and perception in the marketplace.
Anne Louise Marquis: National Portfolio Brand Ambassador for Campari America- Winner of Tales of the Cocktail Best Ambassador Award
Best Practices to Follow While Building Your Brand
To get your brand to feel less like an ignored sweater and more like a tailored suit, you must get to the heart of what makes you "you."
Below are some steps you can take to get you there:
1) Determine your goals: Before you begin putting yourself out there, you need to decide what your personal & professional goals will be. A great way to determine this is to ask the question:
- When people hear my name, I want them to associate me with? Ie. Incredible mixologist, great speaker, creative strategist, designer, etc.
- When you think about your next steps, think about how you want to be spending your time: Do you want to be:
- Solving other people's problems?
- Managing others?
- Creating spreadsheets?
- Being creative?
- Developing experiential activations
- Developing strategy
- etc etc.
2. Decide where & how you want to spend your time?
- Traveling?- How much traveling? 30% of your time, 70% of your time, etc? Where do you want to be traveling? Globally? Nationally?
- In bars and restaurants? If so, what do you want to be doing there? owning it, running it, head bartender, etc.
- In an office? If so, what kind of office? (Creative or Corporate). In the liquor business, there are many different types of companies. Some drinks companies have very corporate atmospheres where employees spend 90% of their time creating PowerPoints, while others are most relaxed, and you spend most of your time being creative.
- Working from home or anywhere there is wifi?
- Working with a team?
- Traveling?- How much traveling? 30% of your time, 70% of your time, etc? Where do you want to be traveling? Globally? Nationally?
3. Answering these questions will help you determine your goals and what you would like to focus your time and energy on, such as:
- What meetings should I be attending so I can learn?
- Who should I be networking with to help me grow in my role?
- What should I start doing now so people associate me with that skill set and that role? Ie. You are doing the job you want before you have it.
- What courses can I be taking now so I will have the skills I need to do this job.
4.PINPOINT YOUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION: Deciding what you want to do in the future can be challenging. A good way of narrowing it down is to understand better what you do better than, or uniquely from, others.
Chances are there are lots of people doing what you want to do, but that does not mean there is no more room in the category for you to be a star. Everybody, and I mean everybody, has a unique perspective to bring to the table, so don't try to be somebody else. Just be you.
Below are a few questions you can ask yourself to help you figure that out:
- What benefit would you like to be offering people? Ie. I wanted to empower others to succeed, so I created the Beverage BA Academy. What would you like to do for others? You may like to make people happy; how would you like to do this? The second item to consider is, do I have all the skillsets needed to follow this pursuit. Then, list what you believe is required and plan how you will fill in the gaps. Ie. Take courses, read books, etc.
- What benefit do you currently offer other people: ie. I make them laugh, have the ability to connect, break complex concepts into simple terms, be super creative, etc. Or you can ask yourself what people compliment you on or say you are so good at; you may take it for granted because it comes easily to you. This is your gift, listen to people and figure out how to use this in your career.
- Who is your target audience - To figure this out, you need to ask yourself who you want to spend time with. For me, it was people who were creative, thoughtful, hardworking & fun. Ie. Brand Ambassadors, Brand owners... for you, it may be bartenders, cocktail enthusiasts, corporate executives, etc.
- What problem do you want to solve? Ie. For me, proper training provided to Brand Ambassadors prepared them for the role, so I created Beverage BA Academy. What problem do you want to solve? The 2nd question is WHY you want to help this group or WHY you want to solve this problem? This question is the most important because whatever path you decide to go down, realize that you will be spending over 70% of your time working on it. So it has to be something you are passionate about, and if your WHY is not strong, you will lose momentum and give up.
- What makes you different from others like you? As a Brand Ambassador, if your goal is to move up in the company or land a better job at another company, you need to stand out amongst the others. Are you: a great presenter? Creative? Able to close deals? Great mixologist?... or if there are skillsets you would like to perfect or acquire to make yourself stand out, create an action plan to achieve it.
Pick one or a combination of 2-3 things above to help you figure out your UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION.
5. Craft your professional story: People remember stories. Think about someone you admire - a CEO, a head bartender, another BA- and ask yourself why you admire them. There's a compelling story to tell about that person. Determining your story arc will be crucial to crafting a brand narrative your audience will relate to and remember. Your brand narrative will come naturally if you ask yourself the right questions.
- What obstacles have I overcome?
- What desirable goals have I reached or am in the process of getting?
- How have I changed for the better?
6.Craft your character personality:
(IAN BURREL, SELF-APPOINTED GLOBAL RUM AMBASSADOR)
Your personality is essential to what makes you. As you ponder your personality traits, remember that people typically describe themselves differently from others. And since "others" will be the ones engaging with your brand online, theirs is the most crucial perception. Your audience is never wrong.
Don't run the risk of expressing an inauthentic or ineffective personal brand. Ask your friends, family, and colleagues to choose some adjectives they would use to describe you. Consolidate them and select the ones that connect with you.
*ONE NOTE
You do not have to be famous to be a great Brand Ambassador but think of all the benefits when you are, for you and the brand. Nobody has to explain to others who you are or why they should listen to you. Your reputation shows up in the room before you do, and people are excited to hear what you say.
Don’t wait for others to help you. Ask for the education you need to need to excel. Figure out what you are good at or passionate about and put it out there in the world. But always remember it should connect with your brand in some meaningful way.