Kevin Susman

“Kevin's MENG presentation on personal branding was fantastic. It gave me fresh insight into what I could offer clients and employers. I watched other people in the room light up and become energized as they worked through his process. I highly recommend his strategic take on branding.”

“I highly recommend Kevin’s Personal Branding Seminar. (Some of the tactics shared in this class proved valuable to me as I interviewed this year and managed to land a great new job) Kevin is personable, generous and his methods regarding personal branding work! Kathy Smith”

“Creating your own personal brand is hard work, but Kevin's "Why Matters" workshops offer a thoughtful approach that makes the process easier. By sharing his experience working with some of the most well-known brands, Kevin helps us take that first critical step in understanding the "why" behind what we do and how it can set us apart from everyone else.”

“Kevin's personal branding workshops are unique and very different from everything else in the marketplace. I have personally taken two of his workshops, and got great value both times. His message is highly useful and valuable; he delivers it clearly, effectively, and engagingly, and it is easily implementable. I highly recommend his workshops for entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals.”

“I have attended and enjoyed 4 WHY MATTERS workshops (3- Ideation, 1 – SWOT) lead by Kevin (Kevin Susman of Stormcellar.net, #personalbranding). After my first workshop, I learned some excellent right-brained techniques and decided to attend several workshops to help me reinforce his personal branding ideas. I am in Operations, so more of a left-brained person. There are several timed exercises (less than 1 minute) when you will brainstorm with partners to identify and express your personal Value Propositions, the Customer Benefits and your Big Idea. The relationships are illustrated in a Venn diagram, which provides a visual context for this right-brained activity. By using provided formats, you will leave with a start of a very rough draft for a narrative of what YOU offer others. Of course, they will need more work, but it is much easier to start from the rough draft at the end of the session. Kevin used the program on himself, so all his examples are his own work. Therefore, he understands the pain in completing this process. It is amazingly easier to come up with these ideas in an extremely short time, when everyone is “suffering” together. I used my workshop partners to help me with ideas using his formatting process. I used Kevin’s methodology to get me to condense My Big Idea to a few words with no adverbs and adjectives – so no hyperbole. After the workshops, my present Big Idea has been reduced to, “Conveying buy-in to sustain change.” This covers my Customer Benefits of mentoring, delegating, culture changing, scaling manufacturing, de-siloing departments while implementing market trends. In reviewing my past experiences, this is what I have been trying to say in my 30 second elevator speech and is now condensed to 5 words that I am comfortable with.”

“Kevin has been an inspiration with recommendations on how to better "Brand" the interim international consultant work that I have done for companies. I have attended a number of his seminars finding them enlightening, thought provoking, creative and motivating in better understanding the best approaches needed in this business environment. His ideas for use in business transactions can be used on a number of levels. He is also personally motivated in helping individuals and corporations succeed.”

“As a consultant, your value is your knowledge and expertise. However, if you can't succinctly present your value to clients through a clear and concise brand, your sales/marketing efforts are severely hampered. Kevin's "Why Branding Matters" class gives you a way to package all your skills into one or two simple, clear branding statements; statements to use in marketing material, "elevator pitches", etc. I like his approach, enjoyed the class, and would absolutely hire Kevin to help with a more in-depth marketing program when the need arises.”

“We brought Kevin in to facilitate a workshop for our clients on how to brand themselves in a competitive job market. He not only made the learning compelling but fun in a way that the information would long be remembered. He engaged the entire group from software developer to CFO level clients and made the information and practical application pertinent to each person. He is engaging, generous with his time and expertise, and gives real real time tools and techniques that work today and prepares the participants to manage their brand for the lifetime of their careers. Whether you are an individual or an organization I highly recommend Kevin. He truly is a "Guy Who Knows Stuff"!”

“I would like to commend Kevin for his thoughtful content and excellent execution of the branding seminar WHY MATTERS. Kevin does an excellent job of balancing presentation content with personal interaction time, making very efficient use of each attendant's time spent in learning. Kevin challenges you both personally and professionally to get to the core of your "brand", and that being totally honest with yourself and about your abilities can lead you to a better understanding of how to present yourself to today's market.”

“I highly recommend Kevin and and his two hour "WHY MATTERS: Personal Branding" workshops. During the workshop I attended it was primarily focused on your work life, but could just as easily apply to your personal life. Kevin is an engaging, thoughtful, and humorous communicator with a humble approach to address something that is essential for everybody --identifying, understanding, managing, and enhancing your personal brand. He delivers his message with a combination of his personal experience, sharing from the audience, and a strong dose of humor to keep the room in a relaxed mode. His goal during the meeting is to provide a gentle nudge to help you really look deeply at your personal brand. The actual work during the workshop was built around a traditional business SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) focused on "me." The second half of the session was focused on sharing the results of our personal SWOT analysis to "strangers" (other participants) in the room. Despite my initial trepidation about sharing, it turned out to be an amazingly useful experience. Kevin's process gently walks you down a path of self exploration and then accelerates the session by bringing other participants into your feedback loops and instilling new thought patterns. The result after two hours is the creation of a solid understanding of your initial SWOT, insights into the essence of your personal brand, and tools to understand how to promote your strengths and shape your weaknesses to strengths. Once you understand your personal brand and SWOT, you will be better prepared to ask your boss to lead that strategic assignment, seek that VP position recently created in your company, and convince your potential client that you have the right skills. In summary, Kevin is a great teacher and motivator. I highly recommend attending one of his WHY MATTERS: Personal Branding" workshops.”

“Kevin is the epitome of a consummate "branding guy". His workshops, "WHY MATTERS" are valuable to anyone who wants to develop a concise message to their clients or business contacts. Job hunters, consultants, and business professionals can learn the fundamentals of developing a personal brand in his sessions. He employs a brand strategy approach to your personal strengths and value to prospective employers or clients. Kevin has a friendly, professional, and informative style in his sessions. The pace and format of the program is ideal and drives participants to an interactive solution to develop their personal branding statement. As an outgrowth of the program, I developed my statement and after employing it in my materials and presentations have received very positive feedback from people who have read/heard it. I regularly recommend his sessions to executives I meet with and offer that same endorsement here. Kevin and "WHY MATTERS" are winners!”

“I’ve attended two of Kevin’s WHY MATTERS workshops which are geared to help people tackle the challenge of defining one’s personal brand. Both were helpful, dynamic and fun. Kevin’s engaging style, as well as his interactive, hands-on exercises helped to drive home how personal branding isn’t so different from product branding. I enjoyed his use of ads to help illustrate strengths and weaknesses, as well as the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis exercises. I’m looking forward to future presentations as Kevin expands his WHY MATTER series!”

“The combination of skills Kevin possesses is very rare in a producer. Patient and firm, lucid and witty, he manages to create an environment of professional urgency without sacrificing good humor or levity. Through clear expectations and personal accountability, and by foregoing unnecessary bluster or posturing, he molds an office culture that maintains both consistently high productivity and consistently high morale. He has the knowledge and the ability to get the job done and would be an asset to any production.”

“Kevin was a blast to work with on his project. He and his creative team have some great ideas, and it was a privilage to be a part of it all.”

“Kevin brings a straight forward approach to production & management that drives projects forward with a clear, concise purpose. His work ethic, excellent sense of humor and unique perspective make Kevin a valuable addition to every team. Excellent producer, outstanding values and an all around good guy!”