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Interim Proposition and Personal Brand
David Moore, Coach & Founder of the INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME*, and Interim Chief Marketing Officer, discusses the need for a clear Interim Proposition and Personal Brand to market ourselves as Interim Executives.
I have been an Interim CMO / Interim Marketing Director for 18 years working on assignments across diverse sectors with B&Q, E.ON, RBS, Direct Line Group, 118118, Screwfix and even fashion with Boden.
The aim of all these assignments regardless of sector has, like 35% of all interim roles, been based on transformation, in this case brand transformation. The strategy is a marketing relaunch of brands that need a refresh or new market positioning to encourage the target market to reconsider the brand, engage with it and ultimately purchase. This requires the development of a clear and compelling proposition and brand equity.
Of course, this is not only crucial for these consumer brands. How often do we consider our own Interim Proposition and Personal Brand when attempting to secure our next assignment?
As established interims – the average age of an interim is now 53 years with 9.5 years interim experience – we are far beyond the conventional recruitment and interview process of our permanent colleagues. We must adopt an alternative approach to market ourselves and our interim services. With the support of our selected Interim Service Provider (ISP) Wilton & Bain, we must establish a clear Interim Proposition and Personal Brand.
This allows us to deliver the right message to the right audience. Simple one may think, but in the INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME* I have worked with many seasoned interims who either need to refresh their approach to market or are not clear on their own Interim Proposition and their Personal Brand. This leads to a lack of targeting for their approach and ultimately a lack of clarity in their Interim CV and confusion for the potential client.
When we are between assignments, the temptation is to start sending a refreshed CV to our network and selected ISP, but we should spend the time to consider how we are positioning ourselves in the market and what makes us stand out from the increasingly competitive interim crowd.
Ultimately, we interims are a product proposition providing a service, and a brand based on our personality and management style. Our product is functional, like Coca-Cola providing refreshment, the brand personality is the emotional driver that makes a customer select Coca-Cola rather than Pepsi for example.
Let us first consider the difference between the two; The Interim Proposition and Personal Brand.
Developing a clear and compelling Interim Proposition is crucial for our selected ISP and their clients.
Our Interim Proposition is the first aspect our ISP and their clients look for, it’s the functional element; does this interim have the experience, expertise and skill set needed to solve the problem or lead this transformation project? It’s about sector experience, expertise in solving the same problem in the past, and the interim skill set required for business change and transformation.
The 3-4 lines of an Interim Proposition could be considered as our elevator pitch or even the script our ISP Consultant refers to when discussing with a client our ability to solve their problem or manage their transformation project.
“An Interim CFO with over 20 years’ Board level experience in financial transformation within global Group PLC and PE backed companies in the IT, Tech and Financial Services sectors, delivering sustainable business growth for BT, Barclays, Santander and Barclaycard”
Creating an engaging Personal Brand will allow an Interim CV to say something about the interim executive’s personality, not just what they do.
Experienced interims are usually overqualified for the assignment they are offered so the client will often ask the ISP about the individual they are recommending; who they are, rather than what they do. They are clearly capable of managing this assignment, but will they work well with their team, will they get on with their peers and stakeholders, how will they work with the Board?
These are questions a conventional CV does not answer, but an Interim CV has the opportunity to address the subject. In my experience with the 35+ executives who have taken the INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME* since its launch earlier this year, the ISPs and their clients greatly appreciated this addition to the Interim CV.
Most of us find it difficult to write about ourselves personally, so a hint I often provide the interim executives is to look at what other people say about them in the Recommendations section of their LinkedIn Profile.
These LinkedIn Recommendations or Testimonials often highlight the soft skills of the individual; how they get on with each other, their management style and personality. It is this Personal Brand that is as crucial to the assignment provider as the more functional skill set outlined in the Interim Proposition.
“An effective practitioner of no-drama HR in change management, restructuring and transformation projects, gets ‘on the pitch’ with the team to help, inspire and lead others to make the active change that drives business growth.”
As we know, an Interim CV differs from a permanent CV in structure, content, format and copy style. The Interim Proposition and Personal Brand have a key role in the Interim CV to grab the attention of the reader in the 7-10 seconds research shows they spend on a CV before deciding to progress or pass.
Surprisingly perhaps, the Interim CV development is considered by executives to be among the most valuable elements of the INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME* it is after all our own marketing tool in delivering the right message to the right audience.
*The INTERIM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME is available for all Wilton & Bain interim executives.
For more information and a free Taster Session email David Moore on david.moore.1@btinternet.com
David Moore has been an Interim CMO / Marketing Director for 18 years specialising in relaunching consumer and B2B brands with integrated marketing campaigns in Retail, Telecoms, IT, Banking, Utilities, Construction, Travel, Fashion and Insurance.
Before becoming an Interim, David was CEO Owner of a London Top 5 UK integrated marketing agency working with clients including Mars, Renault, Nat West, Boots and VISA.
