The idea of a company creating a brand is common today. Think about some of the biggest companies in the world. From the golden arches at McDonald's to the "Swoosh" symbol for Nike, brands have become a large part of our surroundings.
So why can't salespeople do the same thing?
Having a personal brand is not that much different from a business’s brand. Rather than promoting a product or service, you're marketing yourself.
So, what is personal branding?
Your personal brand is how to promote yourself. It’s a combination of skills, personality and experience that you want others to see. You can use your personal branding to individualize yourself. And, if you do it well, you can tie it in with your company.
There are lots of advantages that people can get from creating their personal brand. Having a personal brand can give you a competitive advantage, that distinguishes you from the competition. The more you grow your brand, the higher you get above others, and the less you have to do to convince others.
As an example, one of our sales reps, James Urie, was on the Sales for Founders podcast, which allowed him to grow his brand and be seen as an expert on the topic of sales.
With personal branding, you can create a brand that proves your value and worth as an individual. And can give you the chance to work on strengthening your value.
By having the time to grow your personal brand, it can bring you a lot of perks.
A personal brand makes it easier to get a reply
Having a personal brand can help get you more replies and sales. And if you have made a name for yourself in sales, a prospect is more likely to respond to your email or cold call.
If you want to have prospects respond, it goes without saying that you need to build credibility, and that involves being known.
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The more people that know who you are, the more likely it is that you’re going to be someone that others want to associate with. A personal brand helps you build credibility. You can’t expect to be credible if you're not willing to show people what makes you different and add value to their lives on a regular basis.
A personal brand makes it easier to build trust
If you want to rise above the competition and stand out, you will have to boost the level of trust others have in you. To build trust in your brand, you must be honest. You won’t be able to establish trust if you’re aren’t willing to put yourself out there.
For example, because James was featured in a podcast and is sharing his thoughts, more people will begin to trust his authority and perspective on sales. Taking the time to build a trustworthy personal brand will help to position you as the person to go to for help.
A personal brand makes it easier to get referrals
This ties in with the last point, which involves trust.
If more people can trust you and what you have to share, it will make it easier to get referrals. And there is no better gift for your personal brand than getting a referral.
Referrals are one of the best ways to get more business, as 84% of people trust recommendations from people they know.
Showcase your personal brand on social media and become somebody who can be seen as an expert in a specific vertical. If you can become well known for helping other professionals in your space, then it will send prospects your way for your products, solutions and advice.
If you’re not already promoting your expertise, consider how you can use these efforts to your personal brand building and referral strategies.
A personal brand results in stronger bonds
Rather than trying so hard to be liked, it's time to move your focus to build stronger bonds with your prospects. Try to offer some value right away. Give a birds-eye-lens as a sales rep. Share a few trends you've observed in the last while. List a few pain points that are common among your customers, specifically ones that you can help solve.
A personal brand gives you ammo for building a stronger connection. If you’re publishing articles, creating videos, hosting an email newsletter or being featured on podcasts—all of these assets can be used to build a stronger bond with clients & prospects. For example, James can share the podcast he was on with those he's working to build a bond with. By getting value from James on this podcast, they will connect with him and go even deeper with what’s being shared.
When building a trustworthy personal brand, you will need some visuals to promote yourself across digital platforms. People will get your brand message and personality while consistently seeing those visuals as you make efforts to promote your skills to potential clients. So, you must have a simple but unique logo as the basis to build your brand. But do not worry if you can’t afford to pay the expensive fees of professional graphic designers.
Designhill — a leading creative marketplace— can help you. Launch your logo design contest with your brief at this site and get dozens of unique logo ideas. You can then pick one winning logo that stands for your personal brand best at the bare minimum costs.
Alternatively, use this marketplace to work with a freelance logo designer of your choice on a one-to-one basis and get a well-customized logo.
Conclusion
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Don't avoid building a personal brand. It can be your superpower!
By building a personal brand, salespeople can become known in their industry, improve their reputation, leave a more lasting impression and sell more to prospects.
Personal branding isn’t just about marketing yourself. It’s the strongest way to ensure that those around you perceive you as the person you want to be.
Your personal brand won’t become popular overnight. But, if you are game, start acting like the person you want to be seen as. Every move you make will help build your reputation over time.
Want to take your sales career to the next level?
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One of the fundamentals skills you'll need, not just in the context of sales but also for building your personal brand, is to become a master of the follow-up. You'll need to know how to effectively follow up with outlets and other sales influencers in order to get coverage and build long-term relationships in your industry.
That's why we've written an entire book on the art of the follow-up, and you can download it free today!
