Everyone has a personal brand, the well-exercised Jeff Bezos quote describes it as "what others say about you when you're not in the room''. 

During last weeks PM forum event, Deborah Ogden - an expert in personal branding, discussed how you can increase your impact with a standout personal brand. To better understand its makeup Deborah discussed Harvey Coleman's PIE model (Performance, Image and Exposure). 

Performance. The most forward straightforward piece of the PIE is your performance. Surprisingly, it's estimated it actually has the lowest impact on how you are perceived out of the three, but that doesn't decrease its importance. 

Image. Then there's your image, this is what differentiates you from others. Most individuals in the professional service world are well-qualified professionals so competition regularly comes from how you are able to differentiate yourself.

Exposure. In fact, it is actually your exposure that has the biggest effect, largely this is due to your image and performance only carrying weight if others know about it. Effectively, our exposure is our ability to broadcast ourselves, which in a digitalised world is more important than ever.

Deborah was clear in saying that there is no 'magic bullet' but you can work on you personal brand day to day in every interaction you have. Be a RADIATOR and not a DRAIN - Bring warmth, positivity and enthusiasm to all your calls, meetings and interactions, dont be a person that drains the enthusiasm and positivity from a situation! 

Deborah offered some simple tips to work on you brand - the 3 C's - Clarity, Communication and Capitalise

Clarity - Establish your goals. What do you want to be know for? Who are your audience? This is a simple process but not always easy!

Communication - Every interaction contributes to personal brand so always communicate the best 'you' in every situation. This also includes your online presence, make sure you have a compelling LinkedIn profile. Consistency is key, people want to know what to expect if they work with you. 

Capatalise - Look to be visible in front of the key people in your world. This includes being visible to your internal audience, e.g the people in your organisation that can help yo get where you want to get. And finally, focus you efforts on those that engage with you and dont worry about those that are not interested.

Ultimately by building your personal brand you can start to establish your self as the go-to person in your field, whatever it may be!