Identity Positioning™
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Before you answer

What You Need to Know

The ideas the Brand Audit is built on, in the order you meet them: the four questions it opens with, the five pillars it scores, the scale it places you on, and how the number is read. Each one is something to try, not only to read.

4Pillar Questions

5Pillars

25Dimensions

6Tiers

25Terms

A two-minute read on yourself

Start Here

Five plain questions, one for each pillar. Answer honestly and the page points to the pillar to start with, and the free tool that builds it. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

The Brand Audit asks twenty-five questions like these and scores each answer. This is only the direction.

Manifesto 1.7

The 4 Pillar Questions

The audit opens with these four. They do not change a single score. They set the frame the rest of the report is read against: the same composite means something different for someone driven by mission than for someone driven by money.

  1. 01

    What Is Driving You?

    There are three overarching motivations: Vanity, Mission, and Money. You may be driven by one, a combination, or all three. Knowing which one is yours tells you what the work is for.

  2. 02

    What Do You Want to Be Known For?

    The claim the position makes. Then the opposite, Question 2.1: what you do not want to be known for, so you know what to avoid.

  3. 03

    Where Are You Now?

    A tier on the Hierarchy of Personal Branding, chosen honestly, from the audience you can reach today rather than the one you hope to.

  4. 04

    Where Are You Aiming?

    The tier you are building toward. The distance between this answer and the last one is the size of the work ahead.

What the audit scores

The Five Pillars, Plainly

Every score on this site is built from these five. Choose one to see its weight in the composite, the five things the audit measures under it, and the free tools that build it.

01Omnipresence25% of the composite02Credibility25% of the composite03Seamless Branding20% of the composite04Reputational Health & Risks15% of the composite05Marketability15% of the composite

Pillar 1 of 5 · 25% of the composite

Omnipresence

Visible and discoverable, whenever and wherever possible. Repeated exposure is what produces familiarity, and familiarity is what produces trust.

Build it with Bio in Three Voices and Seamless Branding Report Card, free on this site.

From the Manifesto: 2.1 The Law of Familiarity, 4.16 Seamless Branding, 6.11 Distribution.

What the audit measures

  1. Search and AEO ownership×1.2
  2. Owned real estate×1.0
  3. Namespace coverage×0.9
  4. Distribution breadth×1.1
  5. Documentation cadence×1.0

Five dimensions, each weighted inside the pillar. The heavier ones move the pillar score most.

Pillar 2 of 5 · 25% of the composite

Credibility

Trust is the understanding that your claims are accurate and your word holds. It is built through the consistent exchange of influence in the form of edification, not through follower counts.

Build it with Mentor Blueprint and Story Builder, free on this site.

From the Manifesto: 5.4 Building Credibility, 5.14 Compiling Wins, the essay.

What the audit measures

  1. Earned editorial coverage×1.2
  2. Platform appearances×1.0
  3. Authored work and owned IP×1.0
  4. Testimonials and case studies×1.1
  5. Association and edification quality×0.9

Five dimensions, each weighted inside the pillar. The heavier ones move the pillar score most.

Pillar 3 of 5 · 20% of the composite

Seamless Branding

The consistent and maintained portrayal of one person. There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline.

Build it with Seamless Branding Report Card, Elevator Pitch Builder and Brand Color Builder, free on this site.

From the Manifesto: 4.16 Seamless Branding, 4.12 Colors and Personal Branding, 4.15 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Person, 6.2 Optimization and Consolidation.

What the audit measures

  1. Name discipline×0.9
  2. Visual consistency×1.0
  3. Marketing message consistency×1.3
  4. Tone and register consistency×1.0
  5. Content balance×1.0

Five dimensions, each weighted inside the pillar. The heavier ones move the pillar score most.

Pillar 4 of 5 · 15% of the composite

Reputational Health & Risks

A position is always one misstep from falling. Reputational health is the foundation under everything else, which is why it caps the composite rather than only contributing to it.

No tool builds this one for you. The Brand Audit scores it and its Risk Register names what to fix first.

From the Manifesto: 5.1 Leaning Tower, 5.2 Who Has Leverage Over You?, 5.5 Risk Management, 5.8 Handling Defamation.

What the audit measures

  1. Leverage exposure×1.1
  2. Legal and contractual protection×1.1
  3. Crisis readiness×1.0
  4. Integrity of growth×1.2
  5. Live liabilities×1.0

Five dimensions, each weighted inside the pillar. The heavier ones move the pillar score most.

Pillar 5 of 5 · 15% of the composite

Marketability

Whether attention converts. A personal brand has deliverable products and services, a clear offer, and somewhere for interest to go.

Build it with Elevator Pitch Builder and Power of 3 Tracker, free on this site.

From the Manifesto: 4.11 Deliverables, 6.1 Marketing Essentials, 6.4 Building Your Contact List, 6.12 Selling From Stage.

What the audit measures

  1. Offer clarity×1.2
  2. Deliverables×1.0
  3. Active monetisation paths×1.0
  4. Owned audience×1.0
  5. Conversion surface×1.1

Five dimensions, each weighted inside the pillar. The heavier ones move the pillar score most.

Manifesto 1.8

The Hierarchy of Personal Branding

The audit's intake asks where you think you are now, and where you are aiming. Both refer to this scale. It measures the size of a position, not its quality. A Local Hero can hold a stronger position than a National Personality with the same audit score.

1
Unconscious Incompetent

Unaware they have a personal brand at all; not yet directing it.

2
Friends and Family

Known only within an existing personal circle. Rarely exceeds 100 people.

3
The Local Hero

Recognized within a community through deliberate, conscious effort. 500 or more people.

4
The State Representative

Well-established authority known within a region. 100,000 or more people.

5
The National Personality

Recognizable nationally; represented by agents, teams, and professional support. 1,000,000 or more people. Out of every 100,000, maybe 1 is on this level.

6
The International Icon

Global fame and influence, largely one-directional. Known by millions the person does not know in return. Out of every 1,000,000, maybe 1 is on this level.

How the number is read

Composite, Band, and the Cap Rule

The five pillars combine at their weights into one composite out of 100. The band it lands in matters more than the number, because it names the kind of position you hold. Move the dial to read any score.

0 to 39

Unstructured

A presence exists. It is not being directed. Most of what you have built is invisible to the people who would act on it.

40 to 59

Exposed

Real presence with load-bearing gaps. The position produces opportunity, and it would not survive pressure applied to the wrong place.

60 to 74

Competent

A functioning position. Depth is uneven: one or two pillars are carrying the others.

75 to 89

Consolidated

Coherent and defensible across all five pillars. The work now is compounding rather than construction.

90 to 100

Institutional

The position operates as an asset. It generates opportunity without direct intervention and it survives scrutiny.

The cap rule · Leaning Tower, 5.1

A position built on a weak foundation falls like a house of cards, so reputational health governs the composite rather than only contributing a share of it. Below 40 on Reputational Health & Risks, the composite cannot report above 59, whatever the other four pillars return. The cap applies only when at least 3 of that pillar's five dimensions were scored, so missing research is never punished as a weakness.

How far to trust a score

Verification Levels

Every report says how its answers were produced. The level describes the evidence behind the number, not the number itself.

Indicative

Self-reported

Answers taken at face value. Nothing checked.

Treat the number as a starting point, not a finding. For direction, not for citing.

Substantiated

Consultant-checked

A consultant corrected the answers against what is publicly visible.

Checked against what anyone could see, but nothing filed. For direction, not for citing.

Defensible

Evidence-backed

Consultant-checked, and every scored claim has a file or link on record.

Every figure can be produced on request. Can be quoted outside the room.

Partial

Externally observed

Researched from public sources. The subject was not involved.

Scored only on what is visible from outside. Can be quoted outside the room.

What stops the build

Risk Flags

A flag is raised by a specific answer, not by a low score, and it is never subtracted from the composite. Each one is addressed before anything is built on top of it.

  • Critical
    Purchased Audience

    Bought followers or engagement. Credibility cannot be bought, and the discrepancy between audience size and audience response is visible to anyone who looks. Remediation precedes any growth work.

    Manifesto 5.3 It Can’t Be Bought

  • Critical
    Paid Placement Presented as Coverage

    Paid placements and wire distribution are legitimate as advertising and as secondary support. They are not earned coverage and must not be counted or cited as features.

    Manifesto 5.3 It Can’t Be Bought

  • Critical
    Unsubstantiated Claim in Public Material

    A claim that cannot be produced on request is a standing liability. Narrow it to what can be evidenced or remove it.

    Manifesto 5.7 Destroying Credibility

  • Critical
    Live Negative Material

    Negative material on the first page of search results is the first thing a decision maker sees. It is addressed before anything is built on top of it.

    Manifesto 5.8 Handling Defamation

  • Critical
    Hostile Leverage

    A party with material leverage and a grievance is the single largest risk to the position. Identify what they hold and reduce it.

    Manifesto 5.2 Who Has Leverage Over You?

  • High
    No Legal Groundwork

    No disclosures, policies, or contracts. Risk management is a parachute, and it is fitted before the jump.

    Manifesto 5.5 Risk Management

  • High
    Representation Without Contract

    Representation on handshake terms. A contract protects everyone involved, and reluctance to sign one is itself information.

    Manifesto 5.5 Risk Management

  • High
    Income Concentration

    One source controls your income and therefore their freedom of public action.

    Manifesto 5.2 Who Has Leverage Over You?

  • High
    Platform Dependency

    The audience is rented. A policy change or a suspension removes it. Convert reach into owned contact.

    Manifesto 4.16 Seamless Branding

  • Medium
    Message Drift

    The one-line message changes by platform. Mismatched messaging confuses the audience, which is the opposite of the objective.

    Manifesto 4.16 Seamless Branding

  • Medium
    Fan Posture

    Approaches to senior figures are framed as admiration. Approach as a peer with a specific proposal. The first reads as fanmail, the second as respect between equals.

    Manifesto 5.4 Building Credibility

Every term, in one place

Other Terms That Come Up

Identity Positioning™

The methodology itself: personal branding treated as a position that can be measured, held, and lost, rather than a marketing exercise.

The Method
The 4 Pillar Questions

The four questions the intake opens with: what is driving you, what you want to be known for, where you are now, and where you are aiming. They set the frame the rest of the audit is read against.

The Method
The Hierarchy of Personal Branding

Six tiers that measure the scale of a position, from Unconscious Incompetent to The International Icon. Reported beside the composite, never merged into it.

The Method
Leaning Tower

The principle behind the cap rule. A position is always one misstep from falling, so reputational health is the foundation under everything else rather than one category among five.

The Method
Edification

Third-party endorsement. Credibility is built through the consistent exchange of influence, which is why who vouches for you counts for more than how many people follow you.

The Method
Done With You

How Mashman Consulting Group works. A consultant builds the position alongside you rather than running it on your behalf, because a personal brand operated by somebody else is not a personal brand.

The Method
Omnipresence

Visible and discoverable, whenever and wherever possible. Repeated exposure is what produces familiarity, and familiarity is what produces trust.

The Pillars
Credibility

Trust is the understanding that your claims are accurate and your word holds. It is built through the consistent exchange of influence in the form of edification, not through follower counts.

The Pillars
Seamless Branding

The consistent and maintained portrayal of one person. There should be no doubt who you are when someone introduces you, on or offline.

The Pillars
Reputational Health & Risks

A position is always one misstep from falling. Reputational health is the foundation under everything else, which is why it caps the composite rather than only contributing to it.

The Pillars
Marketability

Whether attention converts. A personal brand has deliverable products and services, a clear offer, and somewhere for interest to go.

The Pillars
Composite

The single score out of 100. Dimension scores roll into pillar scores, and the five pillars combine at their weights into this one number. It describes the quality of a position, not its size.

The Score
Band

The five-step scale the composite falls into: Unstructured, Exposed, Competent, Consolidated, Institutional. The band matters more than the number, because it names the kind of position you hold.

The Score
Dimension

One of twenty-five specific things the audit measures, five under each pillar. Search ownership, earned coverage and crisis readiness are dimensions. Each carries its own weight inside its pillar.

The Score
The Cap Rule

With Reputational Health & Risks below 40, the composite cannot report above 59, whatever the other four pillars score. A position with an unresolved liability is not a strong position.

The Score
Risk Flag

Raised by a specific answer rather than by a low score, and never subtracted from the composite. A flag is addressed before anything is built on top of it.

The Score
Coverage

How much of a pillar was actually scored. An unanswered question is excluded from the calculation rather than scored as zero, so an unresearched area never reads as a weakness.

The Score
Verification Level

How an audit's answers were arrived at: Self-reported, Consultant-checked, Evidence-backed, or Externally observed. It describes how the answers were produced, not the score itself.

The Score
Prospect Audit

An audit researched from public sources without the subject's involvement. Only the thirty-two questions answerable from outside are asked; the rest are left unanswered rather than guessed.

The Score
AEO

Answer Engine Optimization: being findable when someone asks an AI assistant who you are, the same way SEO is being findable in search results.

In Practice
The Skyline Strategy

A publishing ratio: roughly two pieces of professional content for every one personal piece. It is what the Content Balance dimension measures.

In Practice
Power of 3

A networking habit: three new introductions a day. Thirty days produces ninety connections and a year produces over a thousand. The habit matters more than the arithmetic.

In Practice
Owned Versus Rented Reach

An audience you can contact directly, by email or phone, against one that exists at a platform's discretion. Rented reach disappears with a policy change; owned reach compounds.

In Practice
Earned Coverage

Editorial placement a journalist chose to run. Distinct from paid placement and from wire distribution, both legitimate advertising and neither one a feature.

In Practice
Marketing Message

One line that says what you do and for whom, used the same way everywhere you appear. When it changes by platform, the audit raises Message drift.

In Practice

Ready to Answer?

Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. A composite, five pillar scores, a risk register, and the three moves that raise the score most.

Take the Brand Audit Read Where This Comes From