Understanding the Power of Personal Branding in Sales

In today's competitive sales landscape, your personal brand could be the key to unlocking more opportunities.

Sales success is individual. You make the call to your prospective client to book a first meeting. Once you sit down across the table with your contact, you handle the sales conversation without help from anyone else.

Understanding the Power of Personal Branding in Sales

You can improve your ability to book a first meeting if you have a personal brand. That way, your contact will be aware of who you are before you walk into their lobby. You may also find that your contact knows what you do, as your personal brand positions you as an expert and an authority in your industry. A personal brand should communicate the following:

Authenticity: By sharing your authentic self, you build trust and prove yourself to be sincere and transparent. One way to do this is by publishing on social media, including details from both your work and personal life. Being authentic makes it easier for people to feel as if they know you. And be honest with yourself. Your personal brand should highlight the best of you, but it shouldn’t set unrealistic expectations. If your personal brand isn’t authentic, clients will be able to tell right away and you’ll lose their trust.

Value Proposition: Your personal brand should communicate the value you bring to the table. This can include your ability to solve problems, build strong relationships, or deliver the strategic outcomes your clients need. When your behavior aligns with your value proposition, you will reinforce your personal brand, and, over time, it will become what people know you for.

Expertise and Knowledge: The longer you work in one industry, the more likely you are to be an expert on the problems clients there face. That knowledge and experience position you as more than a salesperson, and you become a trusted advisor. Your clients are looking for a salesperson who is an expert in their field, so prove that you do the work to learn your clients' industries.

Consistency: Your personal brand will be stronger if you are consistent across all platforms and interactions. Online or offline, your message, appearance, and actions should align with the image you want to project.

Visibility: A personal brand can only work if people can see it, so you have to put yourself out there. You might speak on stages, write articles or blog posts, be active on social media, and now more than ever, show up at conferences and networking events.

Communication Style: Whether you communicate through written content, public speaking, or one-to-one interactions, your style should reflect your personality. Otherwise, you can come across as fake or inauthentic.

Relationship Building: Relationships are central to sales. You need to genuinely care about your clients' success, so your brand should portray you as reliable, empathetic, and customer-focused.

Ethics and Integrity: Your brand requires you to have solid ethics and principles. You want your personal brand to reflect your sterling reputation, not tarnish it. You also want your personal brand to convey your integrity. This means being candid with your clients, even if you have to deliver bad news.

Why Building a Personal Brand is Crucial for Sales Professionals

Part of being in sales today relies on developing a personal brand and using it to connect with clients. There are three big reasons why this works. The first is differentiation. It would be great if you were the only salesperson in your industry, but many competitors are nipping at your heels. Your personal brand can define you as singular. By building your personal brand, you become a category of one.

Building your personal brand also helps you build trust and credibility. Your contacts prefer to work with and buy from someone perceived as credible and trustworthy. Demonstrating integrity and expertise through your brand can help you establish a position.

Finally, a strong personal brand can impact your career growth. Your brand can open doors with clients and new opportunities within your company, or in another company that recognizes and appreciates what you have to offer.

Actionable Steps to Start Building Your Personal Brand

You are already on social platforms, but that isn’t enough to build your personal brand. You must publish content that supports what you do, what you care about, and your expertise. You will see many experts who don’t publish enough to have a following, making it difficult for them and their results to gain recognition and a stronger reputation.

It takes time to build your personal brand, but making the investment to create content can accelerate your brand development. A major variable of success in building a personal brand is the consistency with which you create and share your content. By being self-aware, intentional, and consistent, you position yourself as a leader in your field.

If you are a salesperson, you would do well to build your personal brand in sales. By following the ideas here, you can start to define your brand and build the content that your audience knows you for. Do good work, and I’ll see you tomorrow.