Gaurav Bhagat is the very definition of “self-made, he was dabbling in entrepreneurship even when he was 16 and formally started his first company, Consortium Gifts, at the age of 19 years. After having garnered overwhelming success in the business sphere, Gaurav then turned his attention towards training large corporates, business owners, and working professionals so that they can achieve their goals and 10X success as well. Towards this purpose, he launched the Gaurav Bhagat Academy in 2018, it’s an organization dedicated to training and mentoring businesses and individuals, so that they can enjoy the 10X life.
Since personal branding is meant to create a positive influence by an expert in her/his respective field, showcasing the strengths of that person to the target audience is the most vital aspect. And, the biggest strength of any brand lies in its credibility among people as unique, original, confident, and trustworthy. To evoke such feelings confident and consistent communication is the precondition because a brand stays alive so long as it doesn’t stop talking with chosen audiences in an effective manner. All this is not the crux of personal branding; it meets the purpose when the influencer simultaneously achieves better productivity and confidence.
Value realization
Monetization is one of the cornerstones of personal branding. Every investment deserves some measurable rewards, including monetary benefits. Undoubtedly, money triggers confidence of making more money with extra efforts that eventually boost one’s productivity. Even an artist who lives like a recluse in a deserted domicile dreams about selling his paintings at a premium price. Although monetization is not the sole purpose of personal branding, it is the unavoidable one. A vast outreach and enhanced credibility that an expert earns from personal branding also improve his/her market value, which plays a phenomenal role in creating a desirable impact on followers and prospects.
Confidence catapults
Conversely, lack of confidence creates communication barriers and gradually the brand loses its grip on the followers. They doubt on claims that the brand makes to them and often find these claims substance-less or excessively promotional. And, if things continue like this in the long-run, the brand severely loses its recall value and trust in the market. On the other hand, confidence cannot be copied or mugged-up, beneath the iceberg, there lies a mammoth base of smart and persistent efforts, commitments to delivering excellence, and authenticity of maintaining quality. Personal branding helps to make these assets conspicuous, beneficial, and accessible to the target segment.
Trust factor
Highlighting the strengths and exhibiting limitations as nuance value should be the approach of the expert and consultant responsible for personal branding. But, it doesn’t mean that one should not try to overcome his/her weakness, in fact, constant efforts should be applied in this direction without tampering with one’s self-confidence. Learning, unlearning, up-skilling, and re-skilling should occur parallelly besides strengthening the bond with the audience, consistently and confidently. To promote oneself as an expert, thought leader, or social influencer, one should win the trust of the followers through proving expertise before them and keeping them engaging sharing successful and motivational stories. One’s achievements will not please others until they find some solutions in them for personal sake.
Confidence matters
So, above all, beyond making people aware of one’s self-worth, a personal brand should also know the ways of convincing them through confident behavior and effective communication strategies. Once it is done, the person starts receiving people’s appreciation as well as business calls and apart from the paid marketing routes, s/he enjoys word-of-mouth publicity through the rising fandom and increased conversion rate. As mentioned earlier, confidence is the catalyst to high productivity. A confident person never pays attention to unproductive things and keeps focus on goals and objectives. S/he accepts criticisms to manage shortcomings rather than indulging in paranoid thoughts and irrational arguments. It may lead to devastating effects on performance as well as relations with the public and media.
Positive approach
Personal brands flourish on a positive self-image; there should be no room for conflicts and contradictions if the intention is to explore long-term opportunities and rewards in one’s career landscape. Positivity augurs positive reactions from the ecosystem which help create a unique position in the industry and the advantage of selling expertise at a premium price. Every personal brand aims to achieve this phase of the professional journey as early as possible. The brand starts receiving opportunities as well as dividends, but except for a few, the majority fails to carve the desired niche because of poor confidence level and presentation skills. A successful deal starts with a powerful presentation and the presenter’s confidence plays a copious role in making the presentation effective.
Mutual gain
The success of Facebook translates the confidence of Mark Zuckerberg and prior to making Apple an iconic brand, Steve Jobs had already established himself as a personal brand. For both these entrepreneurs, their confidence has become a source of innovation for them and they have smartly utilized it in nourishing the growth of their companies. Personal branding boosts one’s confidence level, brings prospects closer, and stimulates creativity. The ultimate combo of all these favourable factors increases one’s productivity as well as profitability.