Personal Branding

Here are the steps to follow to identify the influencers and win their approval:

☛ Identify the influencer

☛ Create descriptions

☛ Create a contact plan

Example:

If you are on the sales team and you want to help your boss, the sales team leader, achieve a sales goal, go to him or her and discuss what the goals are. Discuss ways that the team has succeeded in the past. Ask about any ideas the team has had recently for increasing sales. This conversation will bring opportunities to light and you will know exactly what you can work on to achieve results.

Create a description of each person that influences your target. Make a description for each of the important connections on social media as well as the people involved in the publications. These descriptions will help you to better understand who these people are and how you can earn their trust and get them to mention you when talking to your target.

Look at the social media profiles of your target. If it is a real person you can look at theirs and if it is not a real person you can identify a handful of people that fit your description and look at their social media profiles. You are looking at the people this person is following or connected with. The people they follow are people that occupy their attention. Also look at connections.

Once you know what motivates your target audience it is time to formulate ways to help them achieve their goals, thus helping yourself achieve your own goals. You can do this on your own, but another way to find opportunities is to go to your target audience and have a conversation with them.

Put together a game plan for taking the opportunities and achieving results. Look at the way others have done things before you. There is no reason to start from scratch. Look for examples within your company. Look for examples outside your company. Take the things others have done to achieve results. See if there is room for any improvements. Then start taking each step to achieve the desired results.

Example:

If your target audience is your current boss, the sales team leader. Their motivation might be two-fold:

1) Move up to the next position in the business, which is probably regional sales manager or a similar position.

2) More free time to spend with his or her growing family.

As you build the profile of your target audience you will get inside their head and figure out their motivations. This is important because when you know what this person's motivations are you can help them achieve their goals as a way to achieve your own goals (you get what you give).