Here’s a sample story-supported branding statement from my partner, Randall Hansen, that branded his career as a college professor:
Branding Statement: Dr. Randall Hansen is an educator who thrives on empowering people to achieve their personal success.
The story behind the statement: Education is not about lecturing; it is not about describing the steps or procedures of something - it is about opening someone’s mind to learning, and that’s what I am all about. It’s about turning the helpless or lost person into someone who is self-actualized and can find his or her own way out of the situation. For example, I had a graduating senior who was feeling great pressure to find a job, and while he knew some basics of job-hunting, he was allowing circumstances to overwhelm him. I did not need to lecture him about the best methods of finding a job, nor did I have to create or edit his resume; instead, I served as the calming voice in his head that mentored him and allowed him to truly start his job search. Because I worked one-on-one with him and provided guidance and support when he needed it, he was able to develop and follow up on several job leads that eventually led to a job offer that was the perfect opportunity for him. And by accomplishing this task on his own, he not only was able to land this job, but he also now has the skills, confidence, and ability to move forward in his career and conduct future job-searches with ease.
If the preceding exercise didn’t provide enough food for thought, consider Chris Hilicki’s challenge: Write your autobiography in 300 words. Another exercise, which Hilicki attributes to business coach Scott Jeffrey, is to imagine you have only 24 hours to live; “What would your message be to the world and who would your audience be?” Also think about Hilicki’s belief that “the best brands are built from true stories that have been picked apart and analyzed and edited.” Ponder the following types of stories as the potential basis for your statement, then pick apart, analyze, and edit your results:
- A story that demonstrates your understanding of and experience with your audience’s needs (in most cases, your audience will be employers or clients)
- A story that shows how you are uniquely qualified to meet your audience’s needs
- A story that illustrates how passionate you are about your field
- Stories that exemplify the validity of your point of view or school of thought
- Stories that demonstrate that your previous audiences hold you in esteem, respect you, trust you, and contribute to your credibility and excellent reputation
- Stories that illustrate alliances and partnerships that support you
- Stories that describe life-changing events and how they’ve shaped your values and beliefs
- Stories that reflect recurring patterns in your life/career and what those patterns mean
- A story that shows how you fit in with the history of your field
- A story that illustrates how you’ve positively changed people you’ve worked with and/or organizations you’ve worked for
- A story that exemplifies how you’ve contributed to the success of people you’ve worked with and/or organizations you’ve worked for
- A story that demonstrates a pioneering idea you’ve developed
- A story that shows that people seek you out for your skills and expertise
- A story that explains how your work has developed and improved
- A story that includes an award, honor, accolade, testimonial, or other positive quotation that exemplifies your value proposition
- A story that illustrates that you consistently seek continuing education and professional development to enhance your value to your audience
- A story about volunteer or philanthropic work that shows what you are passionate about
- A story that demonstrates the roots of your ethics and values
Tell Me About Yourself: Storytelling that Propels Careers, Quintessential Careers Press, ISBN-10: 1-934689-00-9. Find out the ways you can own the entire book.
