The Person to See

Money Can't Buy You Love

If you think personal brand appeal boils down to money, power or title how about these apples...

Mayor Giuliani spent more than $60 million dollars campaigning in the Republican primaries and won a whopping one delegate.

While this may have shocked many it didn't me.  Every time I attended a Giuliani event it was always the same story: he came in really late, made a few brief remarks and than out the door.  The guy completely lacked any ability to develop any meaningful one-on-one rapport with the voters.

The lesson here is don't take your audience for granted.  They are who matter. Not you.

The Man With No Brand Finds His Brands In Defeat

For many in America Governor Mitt Romney's personal brand remained elusive.  The Las Vegas Review Journal even ran a poll asking people" What top three words come to mind when you think of the leading presidential candidates?"

While Hillary Clinton registered as a Feminist, John McCain a Military Hero and Barack Obama Hope believe it or not the phrase that came to mind with Mitt Romney was "I don't know."  No doubt Romney has struggled mightily with this issue throughout his campaign but I think he finally found his footing.  Ironically, it happened when he bowed out of the race yesterday.

In Romney's own words "I joined this race because I love my country and it is because I love my country that I now withdraw from the race" (Not an exact quote but close enough).

My wife summed up Romney's personal brand best, A True Gentleman.

Now if only Mike Huckabee would get a clue.  Talk about a guy loving the sound of his own voice. 

Romney's Personal Brand Falls Flat

I'm watching Governor Mitt Romney give his concession speech in New Hampshire and I'm thinking to myself, how can this guy not be President...

• He looks the part
• He's a proven success (multi-millionaire businessman)
• He's obviously very smart (JD/MBA Harvard)
• Great character and family man

Yet he could never get traction.  Why?  Because he could not sell his personal brand to America no matter how much money he poured into the race. 

While McCain, Huckabee and Giuliani have very human personalities (whether you like them or not) Romney came across as a technocrat.  Almost like the Stepford Candidate.

I'm telling you everything hinges on a candidate's ability to make the people feel. Look at Barack Obama.

By the way, I predicted many months ago in my blog that Romney would be the nominee and Huckabee his VP.  Shows you what I know!

Are You Speaking? Why We Can't Afford Not to Speak

The fastest way to credential yourself as a serious player in your industry is to speak at industry events.  The funniest part of this strategy is you don't even have to be good at what you do!  The assumption of the audience members is if you're up there speaking you must be the expert.

Here's the truth.  I know an attorney who speaks every year at a major industry event on the right way to select and utilize jury consultants. And you know what?  She's never even tried a case!  So how does she get to speak you ask?  She's on the education committee and all of her cronies divvy up the assignments each year.  She gets the pick of the litter.  I assure you she is a terrifically nice lady.  But she has no business speaking on selecting and utilizing jury consultants.

I'm not suggesting that you don't have to worry about getting better at your craft.  What I am saying is it doesn't take much to gain instant credibility with your target audience. 

One of my colleagues runs a great program.  Check him out. Pygmilian.com.  If a full blown course is not for you, Gary also has a great book, The Power of the Pitch