Friday, May 16, 2008. My Boss Hermawan kartajaya told me and other more than 100 markplus workshop participants about a story on his facebook account.

“This morning, someone new from my facebook contact propose me about a product he have. And I am sure all of the audience here can guess what is my answer.

Yes… the answer is “NO“.

” Think about this.
First, I don’t event needed the product
Second, He hardly express a hard-selling technique with me, although he is just connect with me yesterday.
Third, I don’t know anything about him. ”

” Well, I’m sure it will be a bit differ if he start it with a more polite ways. Getting more closer with me (offline or online ways), tell me more about the product with a very well maintained explaination.”

Well.. I guess My Boss decision for saying “NO” was best answer for this case. The Person that offering HK a product, it just get a introduction (skin-layer) and not yet trying to influence HK event far away from engaging with HK heart.

To explain this case, I create this “Direct Connecting to Heart Marketing” model to be a guide for building a good connectivity in term of personal branding development.

The most easiest ways on creating connection with other people/ other company is by “Reach” them, you can use a phone, email, or blogwalking on their blog by commenting on others blog article.

But “Reach” is only the skin-layer of connection. It’s what I call an ordinary Introduction. It will gain nothing if we don’t follow it up with Inner-layer “Influencing” which is mean, more frequently interactivity with them. Let them know more about You, share interest topics each others, make your own red-line that bind both of you more closer.

And then you will realize that, You and them are ready to “Engage” Deeper-Layer, create more great opportunities, because you are their close-friend now, both of you are in one big family connected by heart and emotion.

So what happend when you sell/ offering something to them?

Well… it is not guarantee 100% they will buy your product/ service/ others offering. But be sure it will create a good consideration for them to accept your offering.

In personal brand we need to build this good connectivity, with other person or company.

We are now moving from just a personal brand building to personal brand engagement, in an effort to increase our good connectivity loyalty.

Brand YU Life = Personal Branding
Hajj E. Flemings, Author of ‘The Brand YU Life’/Speaker

‘The Brand YU Life’ is about creatively branding your life and re-thinking who you are though personal branding. It is a paradigm shift and a tool to help you create, define, and manage who you are, to eliminate the separation between you and your personal brand. We live in an instant, ‘me too’ world, full of unoriginal but talented people with no clear understanding of who they are or what they were born to do.

My message on personal branding is a universal one that transcends gender, race, age, religion, and politics. I take the time old concept of branding, turn it 180 degrees to change your mindset from a consumer to a producer’s vantage point.  My purpose is to challenge you to develop your mission statement and understand your personal brand value.

Corporations, athletes, and entertainers build awareness and differentiate themselves everyday by developing strong brands. Many people dream of going into business for themselves without realizing that they are already in business. The business of selling themselves – and that with every assignment, every project, and every job that they undertake, they are developing their resume and establishing their brand.

Personal branding is about positioning and packaging your skills and abilities so that they are digestible by your target customer. ‘The Brand YU Life’ goes beyond a Google ranking to assisting a person to understand their message to the world by turning potential, talents, skills, and ability into value. My ultimate goal is to inspire people to live a life of significance.

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Hajj E. Flemings is the author of ‘The Brand YU Life’.  The Brand YU Life, LLC. specializes in personal and corporate brand management consulting, training, and seminars. Hajj is a dynamic, energetic speaker, author, and transformational trainer who connects with his audience to challenge them to reach their hidden potential. His branded customers include the General Motors Minority Dealers Association (GMMDA), the Ford/NAACP Youth Summit, BlackEnterprise.com, the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), the University of Detroit- Mercy, Michigan Technological University (MTU), and Davidson College to name a few.

Hajj is also a managing partner of Broken Chains Design Group (BCDG), a graphical design firm.  His clientele includes Skechers Footwear, George C. Fraser, Lear Corporation, various universities and churches with his work being featured in GQ, Men’s Health, Details, and Slam magazines.  Hajj, a collegiate basketball player turned adjunct lecturer at his alma mater, MTU, wrote the personal brand management curriculum which he teaches.  He has a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University and a MBA from Lawrence Technological University. He was recognized as a George C. Fraser- Frasernet Top Achiever and was honored in Who’s Who in Black Detroit.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Detroit Black Expo (IDBE) and the Lear Entrepreneurial Center (LEC) Advisory Board. He resides in Michigan with his lovely wife Kasandra.  You can learn more about Hajj at www.hajjflemings.com/blog.