Brand yourself to gain a competitive advantage.
Branding is being known for making the most significant contribution in your particular area of expertise – it’s reputational power. If you’re high profile and well known … you’ll be the “hunted” rather than the “hunter” and you’ll have senior executives, board members and recruiters calling you.
Executives are hired for niche expertise (turnarounds, start-ups, infrastructure architecture, business development, SAP, ERP implementations, global outsourcing, CRM, next-generation technology strategies, etc.) and the ROI they deliver.
For example: If you’re a turnaround artist in a particular industry and you’ve marketed yourself as a turnaround artist … business leaders and recruiters will most likely follow your whereabouts and call you when they need a turnaround artist.
It’s imperative in this market to differentiate yourself and create individuality and a unique value proposition. The more you promote and market your brand, the more you distinguish yourself from your peers and the less you have to do to convince people you are the solution to their problem. However, you can’t leave this to chance, you must make a plan to position yourself to be noticed … to gain recognition and respect.