I use the term Personal Brand when I share about how buyer’s have changed the buying and selling process. Personal brands make the difference between sales professionals who book meetings and those who get frustrated with a lot of activity and little fruit.
In a Zoom with a prospective customer company last week, a product marketing manager asked this question,
“What do you mean by personal brand for sales professionals?”
It is a great question and I wrote this article to answer it in case any of you had the same question.
First, we need to agree that most buyers have complete control over their time. This means buyers don’t respond to cold calls just because a salesperson has called them to share great information about their product.
If this is accurate. Which it is. Then, here is why a salesperson’s personal brand is so important. When I use the term personal brand, a big part of what I mean is reputation.
A reputation is how we are known.
A personal brand is the salesperson’s reputation. It is how they are known.
Modern sellers need to do the right sales activities in order to establish a personal brand, or reputation that is most important to buyers in their industry. If this is accurate, then we need to review what buyers look for when considering who to speak with when they research a new product or service.
The data is quite clear.
Gartner shares insights on the power of a personal brand here.
Hubspot shares on personal brands for sales here.
Salesforce shares 5 steps to building a personal brand for sales professionals here.
I can share reference after reference from all the analyst organizations but here is the point.
Buyers will only spend time with sales professionals whom they believe can add value and help to their buying process. They will only choose to spend time with sales professionals who have already demonstrated insights, experience and consistently share stories and content.
That is a personal brand.
That is your reputation.
This type of digital activity captures buyer attention, books more meetings and earns inbound leads and referrals.
The best sales professionals on a team are those who have the largest network of others who know, like and trust them. In previous generations, like when I started in sales in the 90’s, developing networks took a long time and a lot of events, lunches and golf.
In modern times, a sales professional can develop their reputation and their personal brand quickly through digital selling activities like engaging in social media, writing or curating blog articles and consistently publishing social posts.
Our data over the past 4 years demonstrates 3 key activities for sales professionals to develop their personal brand and close more deals. We call this the Social Success Triangle.
- Social Engagement
- Publish Content
- Grow Network and Connections
Want to learn more about how to develop and own your personal brand? Join our FREE 14-day free Social Prospecting & Digital Selling program. It is 100% free and no credit card required.
