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Better living through better branding

Published: Apr 07, 2010

 Law       

Are you a quicker picker-upper? The ultimate driving machine? Do you think different? According to Karen Shapiro, a lawyer and certified life coach, lawyers should consider developing a personal brand and even a slogan to represent themselves personally and professionally. “Branding,” she says in a Legal Intelligencer, “is one way to get more deeply connected to your particular and unique set of offerings and to outwardly convey them to the world.”

The benefits are internal as well as external. As Shapiro notes, professional “malaise” often kicks in once lawyers realize they are just another “’cog in the wheel’ of legal machinery.” Cultivating your own brand can help you recover a sense of your uniqueness. Not only does branding boost your self-esteem, Shapiro says, it “also contributes to your own self-knowledge and can serve as a guidepost or motivational tool to help you stay true to the best of who you can be.” In terms of career development, Shapiro observes, “when you work on branding yourself, you help other people know better what you do well and why they should appreciate you.”

Shapiro suggests some tips to develop your own brand:

“Ask yourself what makes you unique.” What distinguishes you from your peers? Select a handful of qualities you think “most authentically reflect your true self and that you can deliver most reliably and consistently,” and then “memorize them,” so you can act “in accordance with them.”

“Let your interests and preferences be your guide.” Identify some of your favorite activities or product taglines and note why you are drawn to them. Then come up with your own “short and punchy” tagline that you can use “ to inspire yourself and remind you what you stand for.”

“Consider your ‘packaging.’” Think about the outer attributes that, together, “project your style”—e.g., “your look, communication style, tone of voice and attitude”—and make sure that is the image you want to present to the world.

Then, once you’ve got yourself all neatly packaged, maybe you can contact this brand integration expert for some high-profile product placement.

- posted by vera

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