Branding Applies to Lawyers as Well as Wheaties, Life Coach Says
Branding and packaging aren’t just concepts for Wheaties (the breakfast of champions) or Bounty paper towels (the quicker picker-upper). Lawyers need to differentiate themselves, and they can do it through branding, a life coach says.
Writing at the Legal Intelligencer, lawyer and life coach Karen Shapiro says lawyers can set themselves apart if they use branding exercises to help figure out how to present themselves to the world. Branding can lead to “new and improved” business relationships and a more successful and fulfilling career, she says.
“Branding yourself is one way to get more deeply connected to your particular and unique set of offerings and to outwardly convey them to the world,” Shapiro says in the article.
She suggests these exercises:
• Make a list of your attributes and endearing quirks that make you special at work or to which you aspire. Some examples are “quiet confidence” or “sophisticated yet fun.” Then select your key strengths from the list, and make sure your actions are in accord.
• Note your favorite product taglines, and select one that you can modify for yourself. Then use it to inspire your conduct.
• Consider your own packaging, including the look, attitude and communication style you would like to project. “This kind of consciousness is not an attempt to become someone else, but rather an effort to become more fully and overtly yourself,” Shapiro writes.
