And I believe that sales is as much about the relationship you build with your clients as it is about the product or service you represent.
Cultivating your own personal brand creates that trust and confidence with your customers, which can shorten the path to purchase and create more long-term client relationships.
It’s a strategy I started using in my own sales career, and resulted in attracting both business and other professional opportunities.
But it wasn’t always that way for me….
When I first started in sales, I committed every salesperson’s rookie mistakes. I prospected like a madman, fighting my way through emails and cold calls to land a sale, any sale! I believe they called it “shooting fish in a barrel”? I shot some fish, but missed a majority of them. I cried through sales training role-playing (does anyone out there actually enjoy those role-plays??), and been rejected from more prospects than I’ve landed. Traditional sales was never my strength, but I loved working with my clients. I needed to find another way to land the sale so they could BE my client!
I started testing some inbound marketing techniques, creating value-based content for my clients and prospects. Suddenly the path to purchase was made easier, and I felt energized and alive! I could do it, I could be a sales professional, on my own terms! By developing aspects of my personal brand, I started to attract a community of like-minded individuals. With it came business leads, job offers and speaking opportunities. It was made clear; relationship selling through my personal brand was my competitive advantage.
Was I smarter than the rest of my industry colleagues? Nope, not even close.
Was I more savvy in my sales messaging than my competitors? Sooooo far from it….
Did I have all the answers? Heck no!
The only competitive advantage I had was simple.
I showed up for an industry that thrives on relationships. I showed up when good things were happening. I showed up when troubles came our way. I showed up consistently and with compassion.
And that, my friend, is my secret sauce – I created a personal brand by showing up. Now you have the secret sauce too.
My Five Pillar Personal Branding Framework is the recipe for that secret sauce and I’m here to share it all with you. Through my blog posts, videos, digital courses and training services, I’m here to help you find your voice in your branding journey so you can experience more leads and opportunities.
In the same way I showed up for my industry colleagues, clients and friends, I will show up for you here. Welcome, new friend!
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Download this FREE workbook that takes you through the Five Pillars of Personal Branding (my PB5D Framework!).
Learn about my one-on-one services, digital courses and conference session topics here.