Fastest Way to the A-List Secret Revealed

I'm going to give it away. Really.
Read on and be impressed. WARNING: You're not going to believe it, at first, but then, you will become a convert.

Here it is: CONVINCE (someone) THAT (something) BECAUSE (of something special).

OK, you ask, "What is that?" That, my friend, is a POWERLINETM. It's better than the old USP (Unique Selling Proposition) because it forces you to craft a laserbeam-like mission statement within a single sentence. But don't be fooled of it's simplicity. This is really hard to do.

Fill in those blanks about your business, your brand or yourself. Do this now.

(do you hear the Jeopardy song?)

Everyone tries this and fills out something that's completely bland and meaningless. That's the first draft and important, because it get's the crap (forgive me) out of the way. You've got to be tighter about your answers. More insightful about what drives your prospects (and exactly who they might be) to you and why (this is critical) they get to a transactional point with you. Answer this: "For what possible reason do your customers buy from you, and not someone down the street?" Need more to assist you? Try this Powerline winner to get you thinking more intelligently...

GOT MILK?
Here's the California Dairy Board's Powerline: CONVINCE grocery shoppers THAT they need milk in their cart BECAUSE without milk, you can't eat certain foods.

Break that down and you'll see the beauty in it all. This campaign came out in 1992 and has been a hit ever since. Think back on that era and you'll recognize that milk consumption was down due in a large part to diets that said milk wasn't good for you — yet the campaign for milk was "Milk, does a body good." You can see how this might be a problem for milk producers.

CONVINCE people who are at the very spot to make a decision on buying milk (grocery shoppers - not moms, dads or kids - just someone with a cart or a basket) THAT they need milk, (any size milk — gallons, quarts or even little pints) in their cart BECAUSE if they put Oreos, chocolate chips or peanut butter in their cart, they will have to buy milk.

Every tried to eat a snickerdoodle with orange juice?

Read that tagline (Got Milk?) The world's most effective tagline? Quite possibly, and it embodies the entire Powerline in just two words! Don't expect yours to be this perfect... and that's OK, because slicing your Powerline down to it's bare minimum (even if a run-on sentence) will force you to learn about your business and jettison those "benefits" of your product that have become meaningless to your customers. The ad industry has done a fantastic job of making powerful words completely meaningless (quality, integrity, value, etc.) — so you'll have to be judicious to get to the crux of your call to action. Having your own effective Powerline is the no.1 trick in getting to A-list trust...
   • consistently delivering your reason to buy to the right prospects
   • saving your firm time with creative-types charged with constructing your message
   • saving your firm money by generating a quicker understanding of each message.

Now take a new attempt at that Powerline... take as many drafts as it takes to get to a statement that you can deliver with confidence. Do so, and your brand will get gobbled up like milk and cookies!

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Are you Summa Cum Laude at Brand U?

Personal branding done right... but what's the tuition? What are the pre-requisite courses? And, how do you get a diploma from Brand U?

What we're really talking about is taking ownership of a brand that suits you. Everyone of us is a "brand" - a collection of traits, benefits and skills that can be translated into positive or negative feelings about who we are, what we do and how people interact with us and the things that we do. By borrowing from time-tested marketing principles that the dominant products of our generation use (i.e. McDonalds, Coca-cola & Nike), we, too, can move up the charts, gain marketshare, increase our chances of making the sale or even getting a date for Saturday night.

All of that in one blog post? Well... no. (You'll need to stick around longer for that, but this ought to get you started) Here's your Brand U course curriculum:

Self-awareness 101: In this course, you'll discover who you really are, what your likes and dislikes are and how to properly assess where your first step on the road to happiness lies — as well as a dynamic path to your own success.

World-awareness 201: This is the advanced course that gets you to understand how others perceive you. It's blatantly honest and can be pretty rough on our students to pass the class. But once done, you'll stay more focused on what's really important.

Branding 105: Understanding how icons, symbols and text can be cultivated to create "trigger" opportunities between you and your universe.

Iconic History 210: Looking back at the brands and personalities who have succeeded in capturing a space in our brain. Our instructors ask, "If it can work for them, what is it that you can adapt to your own personality?"

Brand Theory 300: This upper level course challenges you to find a unique aspect of your psyche and make it tangible. Not for the timid, but incredibly powerful once you've mastered the art of the "Powerline".

Social Media 100: This basic course introduces students to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a cadre of other websites that can advance your brand opportunities. You may test out to begin with the 200 course.

Social Media 200: Students have not only a grasp, but are actively using at least 3 SM tools and have already figured out how to create custom URLs within their social media pages. This class will begin to carve out a strategy that helps make the individual a thought-leader within their field.

Web Presence 995: Getting established with your own personal website will be part of the coursework, along with a nominal charge for a domain and hosting.

You'll also need to choose from a slew of electives, including, but not limited to: Salesmanship 221, Evolving Resume 145, Public Speaking 330 and Entrepreneurship 401.

When you've completed your coursework, you'll emerge an expert; a guru; a leader of your own tribe; capable of attracting and galvanizing people to your leadership. So let the hard work begin... become your own best ally in shaping the opinion that others hold for you, as well as promoting yourself to the point that your good reputation precedes you. Isn't that what's at stake? Ultimately, building a personal brand that is Summa Cum Laude is what our entire lives are all about. Why not take careful stock of your own brand now?

Enroll at Brand U!

Sign up today!