Celebrating a Personal Brand: Your Advocates

Whether you are a seasoned or emerging professional or embarking upon a new small business venture, it is important to take stock of your Advocates.

Advocates come in many different shapes and forms. They may be neighbors, other professional colleagues, friends, family, or the coveted client/customer.

Different from a reference who willingly responds when asked, an Advocate proactively sells your brand for you. A simple ‘I know someone you should speak to’ or a ‘Let me put you in touch with someone I believe will help’ will go a long way to not only promoting your personal brand but will, hopefully, bring in revenue to your top line. Sometimes an Advocate appears where and when you least expect. That is when you know you are truly making a positive difference in what you are doing.

We are all selling something, whether it is a product, a service, intellectual property, or simply your ability to get a project done, we all are promoting something or someone. You can certainly do it alone but from your Circle of Trust to your extended acquaintances, why not enlist those who can and will support you in your quest?

Consider whose Advocate you are, are they yours, and if not, should you be theirs? Some people are naturally in a better position to advocate but you may be surprised how much business is accomplished on a sporting field, at the gym, at your neighbor’s house or over a fence. The places are truly limitless.

As this year comes to an end and we all begin a new chapter, take stock of those around you. Identify who is in a position to help promote your brand, reach out to them, seek their support and it may surprise you where they come from, but if you are good at what you do, you can build a network of Advocates that just might stumble across your next big project for you.

Make the most of your brand by identifying the people best suited to carry your flag. Your cadre of Advocates can never be too broad nor too expansive. It is indeed one aspect of your business that truly does not have any constraints.

Cheers to 2020 and the new opportunities it may open up for you!