A consultant's personal brand: critical or overrated?

The term "personal brand" is getting a lot of attention lately, and it's beginning to sound a little hackneyed. Nevertheless, It can be very empowering to condense and express your core attributes and desires. As an executive recruiter, I know how important it is to define peoples' capabilities quickly, in order to keep them in mind for future searches.

The most glaring and most common mistake that consultants make when looking for a job is to define themselves too broadly. Consultants develop the ability to function in diverse, challenging situations and act as an expert, even when they have not worked in a particular area for very long. Consultants must project an image of adaptability in the course of their everyday professional lives.

This approach has serious drawbacks when it comes to looking for a new position or in having discussions with executive recruiters. Hiring managers and recruiters respond quickly to what they can identify, define, understand and use. They are all trying to put you in a box. Wouldn’t you rather define it yourself, rather than let others take your presentation and draw their own conclusions?

You have been building your capabilities, and your brand, for your whole career. The question is, “How do you communicate it?”

What is more important, your firm’s unique value proposition, your company’s brand or your personal relationships?

Almost all consulting firms differentiate themselves by stating their specific value proposition. In competitive sales situations, can that value prop trump a rival’s existing relationships, or overcome a stronger brand name? I have heard numerous stories of how excellence triumphed over incumbency or trademark. However, I think relationships and brands more frequently push even outstanding messages aside, and generally win the day.

A value prop is nothing to ignore, since a weak message may put you at a serious disadvantage. A consultant with deep relationships or strong brand backing may still lose and RFP, if they cannot articulate a believable value prop. This is a fairly low hurdle to clear, though, with the right relationships and the right brand.

On the other hand, a compelling message and a clear demonstration of business value may open new doors. Marketing your differentiator in the right places will help build needed relationships, and may even lead to a strong brand presence. In addition, a unique proposition creates confidence, and makes conversations and presentations that much easier.

I conclude that a strong brand message is essential, even though it may come in third in importance behind relationships and brand. Ignoring this fact puts you further back as a challenger, and weakens your position as an incumbent.

Here is an article about creating a strong value prop that you may find helpful as you think about your evolving brand message:

http://www.equiteq.co.uk/equiteq/documents/Consulting_Sales_Growth_White_Paper.pdf