Be Drop Dead Brilliant

Lesley Everett’s Top Ten Tips for Lawyers on how to be Drop Dead Brilliant!

1. Take control of your personal brand 
 
Your personal brand is what people say about you behind your back – how do your colleagues and clients describe you to others?   Taking your personal brand under control is your first step to making an authentic impact. Think about what you want to project about yourself and then make sure you test it out to see if you are in fact ON MESSAGE!

2. Clarify what you want to be ‘famous’ for

Consider what it is that you think you are terrific at  – your unique combination of skills, experience, strengths and values.   What is it that your clients say that you personally do for them? Ask them…… Getting clarity on this is a great first step to gaining more visibility with your brand and being recognised for what you want to be recognised for.

3. Build a Visibility Plan  

Know who your target market are – the people who will help you reach career, business and personal goals. Perhaps individuals who run associations you’d like to gain more exposure with, journalists that you’d like to build a relationship with to get your articles published, etc. 

Do these people really know who you are and what you specialise in?    How are you going to get more visible with them? Think about developing your top ten tips in your area of expertise for professional press, a well-researched presentation to a targeted group, a synopsis of a recent challenge that may be useful.

There will be various ways in which you can become more visible in your authentic way – you’ve just got to think about it and then implement it.

4. Create a positive first impression

We make a first impression with 5-7 seconds – does the first impression you create say the right things about you and your Firm? We take in the non-verbal elements such as body indicators, dress and appearance initially, then the voice quality rather than what the person says at that stage, then we hook into the content based on our perception.  In other words, the non-verbal and the voice quality are what give us initial credibility.

It can take around 20 further experiences with someone to change a first impression too – not an opportunity we get in business with new potential clients and contrary to what YOU might think, others DO form impressions this way.  (Don't you also come to think of it?).

5. Dress appropriately

Whether we like it or not, people judge us on the way we dress.  Our sartorial image is the packaging of our personal brand.  Do you always wear what you’ve always done, instead of thinking about the client, their expectations, the environment and your objectives from the meeting? Sometimes a sharp business-casual look is more appropriate than a suited and booted look for example.   How you present yourself says a lot to others about how you feel about yourself, so if you think you are slick and city-confident, look the part, consistently.

Oh, and remember, shoes always get noticed…..!         

6. Remember your silent indicators

Have you ever checked out your handshake to get feedback.  Sadly, a weak handshake will label you just that, weak and ineffectual and heaven forbid when a sweaty palm gets pressed or a bone-crushing handshake takes place.  I've come across some women in business who have a tougher handshake than some men - ladies … that's not great!

How about your facial expressions and body indicators – do they portray things about you that are inaccurate?  If you look engaged and engrossed within the meeting then others will think this is true and if you look or behave as if distracted and 'not in the room' the same applies.

7. Voice impact is important

If you haven’t updated your voicemail message for a while, refresh that today.  Before doing it, make a short script to ensure you have the key components there.  Uhm and errs won't be you favours.  Also, practice it before recording it.  Remember that pitch, tone and quality say a lot about you.  Refresh it regularly.

Lack of vocal impact and projection in presentations or large meetings  is often the reason for audiences switching off.  If you’re delivering a client presentation consider how your voice actually comes across – no matter how good your content, without a good delivery system and natural pause-breaks, you won't be heard as well as you would like.  

8. Beware of cultural differences

So often we can lose out to new business based on not understanding cultural differences – do your homework if dealing with clients from other cultures in terms of meetings/greetings, dress code and social etiquette.

9. Avoid ‘corporate bad manners’

Just because others might not do it, make sure you don’t fall into the ‘trap’ of corporate bad manners.

Always return phone calls
Always acknowledge important emails and reply to key emails within a reasonable period of time
Always switch off your Blackberry and Mobile when in a meeting
Always do what you promised to do when you promised to do it by
 

10. Be consistent 

For any brand to be successful, it needs to be consistent – whether it’s your Firm’s brand, a product brand or indeed your Personal Brand.  Creating confusing messages by being inconsistent will get in the way of business and career success.

Lesley Everett is an international speaker and executive consultant on personal branding.  She is author of "Drop Dead Brilliant - dazzle in the workplace with confidence and panache", McGraw-Hill 

www.lesleyeverett.com