Don’t let others define your promise and power. Take charge and tell your own story! Getting noticed is easier than you think. Every workplace seems to have one: an aggressive corporate climber who churns out self-congratulatory emails to the team every time she makes a sale or enjoys a success. She’s forever mentioned in the company newsletter and always seems to be first in line for plum assignments—and accolades from the boss. If this kind of self-promotion makes you squirm, you’re not alone. But the reality is that those of us who package, promote and market ourselves as a brand—think McDonald’s, Coke and Starbucks—are more likely to reach our full career potential. That’s why many of us, who’ve been taught from childhood to be modest and let our hard work speak for itself, need to learn how to “brag and brand,” says Fortune 500 consultant Peggy Klaus.
“You really do have to look in the mirror and say, ‘I need to market myself,’ ” says Klaus, who wrote BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It. “What sets you apart from your competition is you. And what people perceive about you is more important than the reality.” That’s why, Klaus says, it’s your job to shape and control the impression others form about you.
“Branding is really about what you stand for,” adds Miriam Vializ-Briggs, an IBM marketing VP who kicked off her General Foods brand-management career by marketing the Jell-O brand. “Employers make many choices, and you have to be on their ‘must-have’ list.” That means you need to deliver the goods and have a game plan for building upon and boosting your brand. This is vital for women of color, who may face cultural pressure to focus more on work and less on self-promotion. The payoff for strong branding? Not only will you be confident about tooting your own horn, but you’ll also get noticed when it’s time for pay raises, promotions and prime assignments.
To help you launch your own brand plan, we asked three moms to tell us what they consider their best brand-building traits. Then, for expert advice, we asked Klaus and Vializ-Briggs to give us their take on what each mom could do to market herself even more effectively. Read on.
Marti Quiñones-McCarthy: 36 years old, magazine advertising sales account manager, New York City.
At home: She’s the mother of sons Crispin, age two, and Juan Lucas, eight months.
At work: She’s a six-figure-earning sales whiz who sells ads for two magazines, Shape en Español and, more recently, ¡Mira!
Her strengths, as she sees them: She’s a fast-acting problem-solver and a great listener who gives thoughtful advice to clients.
Marti says, “I definitely try to promote myself in relationships I have with my clients. I want to make those ties strong enough so that when clients have a problem—say, a complicated ad that requires extra attention to get into print—they’ll call me first because they know I’ll work fast and make them look good. I’m Puerto Rican, and I bring that perspective to my work in the Hispanic ad market. As a Latina, I’m extremely acculturated and Americanized—a “Nuyorican,” who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in Manhattan (on the Upper West Side). Being Latina didn’t keep me from tooting my own horn. That stems from my childhood, when my father boasted about every little thing I did. People in my industry know the added value I bring to clients. While some salespeople go after lots of potential business, I make sure I know each client’s needs before making a pitch, so I have a better chance of getting every sale. It takes a lot of time to close those deals, but I’m in it for the long haul. In the meantime, I’m wondering whether a management job might be right for me. I love hands-on selling, but I’ve got two kids and don’t want to spread myself too thin.”
