By Elizabeth Boineau
Marketing Matters

You’ve likely heard the saying “it’s the sizzle and not the steak,” made famous by salesman and motivational speaker Elmer Wheeler back in the 1930s, and oft used in marketing-speak to denote the importance of selling excitement for a product rather than the vanilla blandness of the product itself.

For example, “When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight” is the sizzle, where as FedEx’s 24-hour delivery is the steak (or salmon, in my case).

In general, it’s not too different from the age-old features and benefits approach to selling your product, whereby we acknowledge that customers buy the benefits of a product, not just attributes/features of said product or service. We buy how the brand makes us feel, not just the fact that it is white or red or round or square. We lay dollars down for safety, comfort and thrills, not for four-wheel drive and a fancy new braking system, per se.

So just how well does your own personal brand sizzle? Summer seems as good a time as any to check how high your own brand is registering on the mercury dial. Can you define your special brand in a few words? What sets you apart? Why would others seek you out above the rest?

Psychologist Carl Jung didn’t work in advertising, but he did leave us with some pearls of marketing wisdom, including, “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

Do you have a vision for the sort of brand you want to be? We recognize that companies have brands and most spend millions to have their brand be the best in the pack.

However, each of us, as an individual, professional, friend or otherwise, may learn something from the way stellar brands are built and apply some of that knowledge to enhance our own brand equity for both personal and professional growth.

The best brands are always looking inside, taking an unabashed assessment of heart, body and soul, with all the inherent strengths and weaknesses within.

They constantly strive to become better at their game and are honest about what change should occur in order to become a winning brand. Just like strong corporate brands, desirable personal ones work tirelessly to nurture and strengthen themselves.

Desirable brands are those with solid values, brimming with honesty, integrity, character and a passion that fuels and motivates yourself and others.

Building relationships with others is what great brands also do well. They connect at an emotional level and their meaning and relevance in our lives transcends far beyond the product or service exchange itself.

The brands we come to care about, and hopefully can’t live without, invoke a sense of trust that certain expectations will be met, or ideally exceeded, and the result is a loyal and devoted following. Reliability and consistency are cornerstones of the brands we select and are willing to pay a premium for every day.

Why is it important to have the best possible personal brand? It’s a hugely competitive world out there, and the one who works to differentiate themselves, stand for something, communicate clearly and live up to the promise is the one far more likely to succeed, whether in your career—inside a large corporation or from the helm of your own ship—and in your day-to-day life.

Assessing your brand sizzle, developing your own brand vision and then reaching the goals you set for attaining those can be both exhilarating and rewarding, and it’s not a bad way to spend a more idle summer day. It’s quite possible that the brand you might one day have dreamed of becoming is there, waiting on the other side.

Elizabeth L. Boineau runs E. Boineau & Co., a Charleston-based strategic marketing communications and public relations firm. E-mail her at eboineau@eboneauandco.com.

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