I believe in self-branding. Creating a personalized and consistent look is an important aspect of making an impact on others, communicating your values and establishing loyalty.
It sounds like I'm selling butter.
But seriously, in the professional world, you are a product. You provide services and affect another's image--so upfront you need to secure others' faith in you. Much of this is done through self-branding.
The most important aspect of branding, however, is not what's on the inside, but what's on the outside. Specifically, your audience. Who is your target audience? What do they think they want? What do they need? What do they already have? What is important to them?
These are important considerations in establishing an overall brand, but they must also be considered in individual interactions with your audience. Each day provides an opportunity to customize your product (yourself) for a variety of audiences. Determining factors include gender, age, socio-economic class, position, geographical origin, political views, religion and general worldview.
In one day, I may be interacting with an executive in my business, a potential client and a person over whom I have authority. They may all, in fact, be in the same meeting. Each audience member must be taken into consideration when determining my message (ensemble) for the day.
For instance, one of my audience members is a female department head from the baby boomer generation, born and raised in the south. She has a reputation for being polite but has adequate ambition and self-confidence or she wouldn't be in the position she is in. She is not in direct authority over me (doesn't tell me what to do and cannot get me fired), but is a person of influence that can effect my future for the better. What I also know of her is 1) her department is in flux under a seemingly unstable administration, 2) she always wears bright colors, 3) she is very social in her personal life with long-term friends, 4) she was "one of the team" promoted to the head of the team, and 5) she is fairly girlie. Her job consists of providing resources for those in her field, which tells me she has a heart for discipleship.
All these factors provide clues as to how I should present myself to her. Generally, when I know I will be meeting with her, I attempt to present myself as a younger version of herself. I will wear at least a splash of a brightly colored, flashy pattern in a color that is flattering to both our palates (people almost always like the colors they look best in). I also trade in my simple, classic jewelry for chunkier, colorful jewelry.
I will not typically only be interacting with her, however. And that, too, must be taken into consideration. What will be attractive to her will not always be attractive to men or other women, and you seldom want to appeal to only one person, even if that person is in charge of everyone else.
In the case that there are several members of the audience I wish to impact in a pleasant way, a more subtle approach is necessary. I will undoubtedly wear one thing that pulls her attention: a great piece of jewelry or some fabulous shoes ALWAYS do the trick. Men will seldom comment (though I have found a a copper chain necklace and some 50's inspired red heels that both sexes go crazy about), but women will ALWAYS comment. And if you can discuss where you got it or how great priced it was, you'll find an ally in the meeting (note: this can be used effectively, but can also hurt your impact on the other members if you aren't careful).
This is just one example of dozens of different audience members one can interact with in a given day. What's important is to consider each member individually and the audience as a whole and how they interact with one another and with you.
THAT IS A LOT OF CONSIDERATION. And yes, it does make me crazy. And yes, I do it everyday. And yes, that is just the beginning.
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