Brenda Bence

Certified Speaking Professional, Certified Executive Coach, Harvard MBA

Free

International Corporate and Personal Branding Expert

Brenda Bence

Brenda Bence Quick Facts

Main Areas
Corporate and Personal Branding, Executive Coaching, Leadership
Best Sellers
How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo, How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for Job Seekers, How YOU™ Are Like Shampoo for College Graduates
Career Focus
Speaker, Author, Trainer, Executive Coach
Affiliation
President and Founder of Brand Development Associates International Group Pte Ltd., Certified Speaking Professional, Certified by the International Coach Federation, Member of Asia Professional Speakers (Singapore) and International Association of Facilitators

Brenda S. Bence is an international branding expert who has helped corporate clients, marketers, senior executives, and business managers build successful, growth-oriented corporate and personal brands for more than 25 years. Whether as an international speaker or trainer, Brenda captivates audiences with her engaging sense of humor and thought-provoking seminars and presentations.

With an MBA from Harvard Business School, Brenda spent most of her career building mega brands for companies like Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb, where she was responsible for billion-dollar businesses across four continents and 50 countries.

In 2002, Brenda left the corporate world and founded Brand Development Associates (BDA) International. Now doing business across 25 countries with offices in both the U.S. and Asia, BDA provides training, coaching, and speaking services to clients located across the U.S./North America, Southeast Asia, Greater China, Western & Eastern Europe, the Indian Subcontinent, Australia/New Zealand, and Africa.

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Articles by this expert

SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.

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Q: The terms and phrases used in branding confuse me. Help - what do they all mean? In my 25 years as a brander and a marketer, I have seen a lot of confusion around what the various elements of branding and marketing mean. So, don’t worry – you’re far from alone!

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What do more than 50 seasoned college recruiters from top-level corporations and universities say are the biggest mistakes college grads make in job interviews? That’s the questio I recently posed to recruiters from companies and schools like Google, Disney, Sony, and Stanford University. The outcome of their votes? Their 20 ‘biggest bloopers’- five of which are outlined here. Are YOU committing any of these mistakes in your job search?

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“You can’t complain on a Saturday.” I paused, certain that I’d misunderstood. “Pardon?” “Our Complaint Department is only open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central time. You can call back and share your complaint during those hours.” It was hard to believe that I was hearing this from a customer service rep of a major U.S.-based international airline – one which operates all over the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. “But, what if I want to complain on a Saturday?” I asked.

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As a college student getting ready to graduate, do you find yourself worrying that you’re at a disadvantage in the job pool because you don’t have as much experience as older applicants? If so, you’ll be glad to hear that you have some definite advantages while looking for a job just by virtue of being young and new to your job search. If that sounds too good to be true, here are six reasons you may very well be chosen for a job over an older, more experienced candidate:

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Statistics show that, on average, only about 10% of college grads write a thank you note after an interview. So, should you? Absolutely! It’s a great way to distinguish yourself from the sea of other candidates, and it will help your individual personal brand stay memorable. In fact, if you’re in the “maybe” pile when you leave the interview, a well thought-out thank you could easily move you to the “yes” pile. After contacting over 50 of the country’s top recruiters, I learned dozens of powerful tips that they suggest college grads consider during their job search.

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This couldn't be further from the truth! True personal branding is not superficial. It's more about understanding who you - and, therefore, 'YOU™' - are. That's right - the Trademarked You. This is how you are like shampoo. But just like in corporate branding, no matter how much money a company spends on marketing its brands, product brands aren't all about promotion either.

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Let's say you pick up a box of cookies at a supermarket because the packaging catches your eye. It looks upscale, gourmet, delicious. But, when you open the package and try one of the cookies, you're disappointed. The cookies don't taste terrible, mind you, but they don't taste any better than the less expensive cookies with the average packaging. You may have fallen prey to the packaging once, but it's highly likely you'll never buy those cookies again.

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In his 1985 book, Ogilvy on Advertising, David Ogilvy famously said, “The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife.” Of course, he’d have a hard time getting away with that kind of comment today, but his point is still a valid one. The truth is: Too many businesses think of their target market as one large, pulsing mass. But your target market is actually made up of individuals just like you, your wife, your husband, your mother, your father, or your children. Your customers are people with hopes, dreams, frustrations, families to feed, bills to pay, and vacations to plan.

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Asking your direct reports questions rather than always telling them what to do is a key way to develop their abilities and help them grow. That said, there is one question-word in your leadership tool chest that I suggest eliminating altogether: "Why?" Why? (Couldn't resist... ) The very nature of the question causes defensiveness. Even the most seemingly innocuous questions like "So, why are you wearing that tie today?" or "Why did you go to Frankfurt last week?" can get the most mild-mannered employees feeling as though they need to defend themselves.

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If you boil corporate leadership down to its bare essentials, executives around the globe really only have two key missions: 1.Build Business—increase revenues and profits, grow volume and market share, expand into new territories, create new business alliances, etc. 2.Build People—help employees upgrade their skills and increase their knowledge so that they can grow personally and professionally, advance in their careers, and deliver increasingly more for the organization.

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It’s 7:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening, and you’re still at the office preparing for a presentation you’ll make to top management early the next day. You have just hung up the phone after speaking with your spouse, and the annoyed voice on the other end of the line still rings in your ears. “Missing dinner again? The kids are starting to forget what you look like!” Still, you face at least two more hours of work, and you’re tired, hungry, and stressed. Just as you begin to dive back into preparing for Friday’s presentation, Leiza, one of your direct reports, walks in and interrupts.

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You took the time to create a great cover letter and resume, and they did their job – you got the interview. Now, you’re ready to walk into the door of the company’s building, and it’s the moment of truth. You really want this job, but what can you do to give yourself the edge over others vying for the same position? One of the best ways to ace an interview is to define and communicate a “job-seeker personal brand” – the way you want potential employers to perceive, think, and feel about you in relation to other candidates.

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Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Brenda Bence

What you give comes back to you ten-fold.

Contacting Brenda Bence

Office in the U.S. / Chicago, Illinois: 1-312-242-1830
Office in Asia / Singapore: +65-6322-1491
Email:
Brenda@BrendaBence.com

Other highlights

PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER
With quick wit and a thought-provoking style, speaker Brenda Bence, MBA, makes her topics come alive. She “enter-trains” your group as she shares her powerful marketing and branding concepts including enlightening and humorous stories from her years as a corporate marketer and certified executive coach. Combine that with practical corporate and personal branding ideas that your audience can put into action the minute they walk out the door, and you have a recipe for greater success for every participant in the room, as well as for your company as a whole.
ENGAGING TRAINER
Brenda Bence’s interactive workshops will forever change the way you and your team look at branding and marketing. Customized for the specific needs of you and your company, Brenda can focus on one or more of her areas of expertise.
  • Using her experience as a senior marketer and brander for well-know Fortune 100 companies like Procter & Gamble and Bristol-Myers Squibb, Brenda will show your team how to build powerhouse corporate brands that can dramatically improve your company’s bottom line.
  • As a Certified Executive Coach and internationally renowned expert and author on the topic of personal branding, she will walk your team through a practical, step-by-step personal branding system, showing how to turn “you” into “YOU™” - The Trademarked You - for better on-the-job success.
  • Combining these unique qualifications, Brenda helps you make the "Corporate Brand / Personal Brand Connection",showing your team how the success of your company’s brand largely depends on each of their individual personal brands.
CERTIFIED EXECUTIVE COACH
As an executive, you have already achieved a great deal. But you want more. From the very first session as your coach, Brenda Bence will walk you through an in-depth evaluation of your aspirations, career goals, and quality of life:
  • What do you want to achieve next?
  • Are you facing a new challenge but not sure what steps to take
  • Do you have the right balance in your life?
  • How do you accomplish even greater goals without losing that balance?
These are just some of the questions that Executive Coaching with Brenda Bence can help you answer. Much like a sports or fitness coach, Brenda helps you determine what’s working in your life and what could work better.
Your First Coaching Session is Complimentary
Visit www.BrendaBence.com for more information