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Strategic Personal Branding - And How it Pays Off
Rangarajan, Deva
Rangarajan, Deva
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2017
Journal
Business Horizons
Book
Publication Volume
60
Publication Issue
5
Publication Begin page
657
Publication End page
666
Publication Number of pages
Collections
Abstract
Unlike companies or products, individuals possess intrinsic personal branding as a result of personality qualities, past experience and development, and communication with others—whether they know it or not. In this sense, every person already has a personal brand of some kind. The challenge is to manage that brand strategically. We offer a process for doing so, beginning with self-analysis. Then we review published sources and summarize interviews about the personal brands of 33 U.S. and European sales executives and managers, salesforce members, and professionals who sell their own services. The interviews indicate roughly equal emphasis on competence and personal qualities in creating personal brands, as well as significant interest in distinctiveness, and the respondents provide a range of examples of how personal branding pays off. This investigation leads to our basic recommendation: Follow a strategic self-branding process based on one's values and competencies, similar to the branding methods of companies and products, but with the understanding that personal branding will change as one's career advances.
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Keywords
Marketing & Sales, Branding