What others say about your brand is much more powerful and credible than what you can say about it yourself.

When it comes to branding your consulting brilliance, favorable publicity in media or word of mouth is far superior to advertising. So how do you generate publicity “buzz”? Create a buzz about your brand by being visible: Speaking at seminars, publishing a newsletter on your website, participating as a host or guest on television or radio talk shows, writing a column in a reputable trade journal, and networking.

4. Promote a powerful perception of quality in client’s mind.

What is quality if not a perception that resides in mind of client? You build quality intangibles around trust, reliability, excellent people, and innovative client services. Show clients that you can interpret and process their information to convert it to results oriented solutions. What you say is important, but what you do is even more important for reinforcing their perception of your brand quality.

Keep lines of communication open. The goal of branding your consulting brilliance is to convince client that your brand is worth their trust and worth a premium price.

5. Establish your credentials as an industry leader in field.

Clients like to know they are doing business with an industry leader. Make clients aware of your consulting acumen, presence, and commitment. Know your clients’ businesses inside out – what they do, why they do it, how they do it. Tout your firm’s successful track record of accomplishment in working with companies like theirs.

Build and sustain credibility with clients by strengthening your client relationships, developing a client retention strategy, demonstrating that you value your new clients, and going extra mile for them.

6. Practice consistency in building your consulting brilliance.

Stay focused on implementing branding of your consulting brilliance. Keep abreast of marketing trends in your profession and position yourself as a recognized expert. Make most of your unique marketing proposition. Accelerate and elevate perceived value of your brand in marketplace.

In short, to brand your consulting brilliance, know what you have to offer, know how to differentiate it, and know how to market it.

There's leader that is an economic indicator and leader that is "loss". A leader better be in command and have a clear indication as to economic viability of enterprise. A leader also needs to know when something is done to attract talent or customers - not to make money.

A short length of gut, wire or similar material by which a hook is attached to a fishing line is a leader and so is blank strip at end or beginning of a film or tape used in threading or winding.

What's correlation with world of leadership in these final definitions? Both are used for setting up profit potential of venture. Depending upon type of fish one wishes to catch, a fishing leader strengthens connection between hook and rest of line. There are times in which executive's presence helps solidify relationship between customer and sales team so that customer "bites hook". Other times, a leader gently paves way for real presentation to potential buyer or investment community. He is "blank tape" that opens doors for full presentation of company.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a metaphor is worth 1000 pictures. Using metaphors provided by other meanings to word "leader", we gain a rich image of scope and possibilities of true leadership.

© 2003 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved

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