ON SELF GROWTH || One Simple Thing You Can Start Today to Build Your Reputation and Maximize Your Potential
In one of my marketing classes at university, my professor shared that half of the value of the Coca-Cola company is in its brand equity—its reputation.
What if you could build a similarly strong brand? Your reputation is especially important if you wish to stand out from the crowd of competitors all touting the same service. The big question is, how do you build and manage your reputation?
Simple: walk the talk. In other words, make sure your actions align with what you say.
Let me illustrate with a few examples. What actions would you take if you want people to know you as someone reliable? What if you want them to think you are knowledgeable about your topic? What if you want to be known as a pioneer?
Ready for the no-brainer answers?
Someone reliable would always be on time, have a backup plan for everything, and complete their tasks on time with no errors. Seeing you in a business meeting should instantly alleviate your team or client’s anxiety because they know you’re on it.
Someone knowledgeable in their respective industry would be creating and sharing content on their expertise, whether on their social channels, guest speaking in lectures and on podcasts, writing a book, or sitting on a conference panel.
A pioneer in their craft would be, well, pioneering. You would always monitor the market, test new ideas, research new methods, and bring your ideas to life. Those are the actions associated with someone with the reputation of being a pioneer.
Do you see how easy it is?
All you have to do is to make sure what you say lines up with what you do.
Let’s say you’re a freelance writer and your website claims that you offer the fastest turnaround times in the industry. Clients sign on expecting fast turnaround times, but they start experiencing delays in deliverables. Do you think that helps to build your desired perception of delivering fast service? Probably not.
It may be that instead of rushing through the write-ups to meet tight deadlines, you tend to take your time to perfect your written pieces, which is why it takes you more time. Given this, maybe the reputation you want to establish is that you offer masterfully crafted written material that is perfect on the first try—clients would not need to make any changes, or you would offer them their money back. Would you be willing to make this claim and stand by it with your actions?
Most people don’t want to commit to this responsibility, so their reputation is wishy-washy, somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
Are you ready to step up your actions to build a strong reputation to maximize your potential? It’s possible, but as with everything worth having, it takes time and effort.
