You gotta have goals. At least that’s what Zig Zigler says.
He’s right. Within the context of your personal brand, he’s right times a million.
While getting started with your personal brand, you’ll experience highs and lows. You’ll hear noise. Lots of it. You’ll face doubts, and impostor syndrome, and ask yourself: “What am I even doing?”
If you have the right goals in place and a structured approach to achieving them, though, you’ll be much more likely to attain the personal brand impact you’ve set your eyes and heart upon.
As a marketing leader, this time of year is my favorite. It’s when we roll up our sleeves and dive into the corporate planning process. It’s goal-setting on steroids.
In my consulting work, I work with professionals in and around the sports industry seeking greater impact while using their hard-earned experience to build personal brands. And each engagement begins with goal-setting.
Whether you’re a coach, instructor, founder, or professional looking to level up, a personal branding strategy — guided by well-intentioned goals — is the best way to achieve success.
Here is Zigler’s seven-step goal-setting framework adapted for those of us looking for a path amidst the personal branding chaos:
- Identify the Goal: What do you want to achieve with your personal brand?
- Identify the Benefits: When you succeed, how will your life be changed?
- Identify the Obstacles: What issues or setbacks will you encounter along the way? Identifying and planning for how to handle these obstacles is key.
- Identify the Skill or Knowledge Needed: Are you lacking the skills or insights required to achieve your personal brand goal? If so, you better solve the gap.
- Identify the Groups or People to Work With: Who is in your tribe? Who can help you clear through obstacles? Who can help you gain the knowledge needed? Who can help you reach your goal?
- Develop Plan of Action: What is your action plan? Break the work into digestible, manageable chunks all leading to the ultimate goal.
- Set a Completion Date: Give yourself a deadline. While a personal brand strategy may evolve over time, set milestones and checkpoints and stay firm to the dates.
Now, I’ll admit that none of this is exactly earth-shattering news — and we’ve all set goals throughout our lives. But when it comes to personal branding and (gasp!) publicly sharing on the internet, fear and doubt get in the way for us all. And that fear and doubt often lead to stagnation.
A well-defined goal can do wonders for your progress and give you a North Star when doubt or distractions rear their ugly heads.
Not loving this framework? I’ll be sure to tell Zig. 😂 You can always modify it to fit your needs. As long as you’re being planful with your strategy and find a way to put yourself in a position to take action, you’ll have the direction and momentum needed to succeed.
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