The sales profession today is so intense, and good at what you do isn’t enough. Sales people must be able to go beyond sales pitches if they want to be different from everyone else. It’s the personal brand. Personal branding is the secret to ongoing success and new business.
Personal branding — personal branding is all about designing and marketing a representation of yourself as a person, as a professional with values, and expertise. Personal Brand — A strong brand will allow you to be more easily identifiable, trusted by customers, and ultimately, sell more. Indeed, personal branding is now so strong that for most salespeople, it is the basis of inbound lead generation and long-term client relationship.
In this blog we’ll cover why you need to consider personal branding for salespersons, how to get started with creating an online presence, and how a personal brand can make you not just sell yourself but also stand out from the crowd.
Why Branding Is Essential for Sales Professionals?
1. Attracts Inbound Leads
A good personal brand establishes you as an expert in your space. When customers know you are a professional, then they are more likely to come to you first, and you do not need to go after them. This “inbound” lead generation is not only quicker but also much more effective because you have a lot of trust in the first place.
2. Creates Trust and Credibility
Trust is the basis of any sales relationship. Personal branding will allow you to share your expertise, information and personality to the prospective clients. And if you consistently add value, share experience, and connect with your audience, you earn a name for yourself.
3. Differentiates You from Competitors
Sales people are everywhere, and prospects are hot. You are not going to be able to compete in a crowded marketplace without providing prospects with a reason to take you up on someone else. Be it your own style of problem-solving, or your voice, or your beliefs, with a personal brand you’ll find a niche and display your differentiating quality.
4. Builds Long-Term Relationships
A personal brand is not about the quick sale. It’s about building long-lasting relationships. When you provide value consistently, show your know-how, you become a trusted resource. And in the long run, it can get you repeat customers, referrals, and a good customer base.
Here’s How to Use Practical Tools to Create Your Personal Brand.
Create your own personal brand sounds like a nightmare but is actually easy to do. Here are some concrete steps to help you get started on building a self-selling personal brand:
Step 1: Define Your Brand Identity
Your personal brand can’t be established unless you know who you are and what your brand represents. Answer the following questions first:
- What are my core values?
- What expertise do I bring to the table?
- What makes me unique as a salesperson?
- Who is my target audience?
These are the questions you will be able to answer to decide what content you’ll publish, how you’ll approach prospects, and how you’ll establish yourself in the market. You will find that you’ll have an overall brand identity that you’ll keep consistent throughout everything you’re doing in marketing, from your LinkedIn profile to your website.
Step 2: Get The Most Out of Your LinkedIn Profile.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is one of the most powerful personal branding tools for sales people. You get credibility, your expertise, potential customers all in one place.
This is how you can get the most out of your LinkedIn profile:
Write a Strong Headline: Your LinkedIn title shouldn’t be a simple list of your title. Use this space to introduce your own differentiation. For instance: “Enabling SaaS Businesses to Increase Revenue Through Strategic Sales Approach”.
Give It a Powerful Summary: This is where you tell your story. Outline your specialization, experience, and difference. Include what you’ve done and how you’ve helped clients before.
Prove You’re an Expert: Fill the experience box and prove you were a great professional at your previous jobs. Be serious about outcomes and outputs, not simply responsibilities.
Incorporate Recommendations and Referrals: Social proof is a huge part of personal branding. Ask friends, clients, and colleagues for recommendations and reviews to help build trust.
Engage with Content: Post articles, posts, and other content that pertains to your niche. Join in discussions, leave comments, and answer questions. The more you are connected on LinkedIn, the more you will be seen.
Step 3: Use Social Media Channels.
Other social media platforms than LinkedIn like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook can be quite important in your personal branding. How to make the most of each platform:
Twitter: Tweet short information, ideas and advice to become a thought leader in your field. Connect with people in your field and reply to tweets, share articles, and have conversations.
Instagram: Post visual material on Instagram that shows who you are and your career. Post behind-the-scenes videos, success stories, and motivational quotes that are relatable to your followers.
Facebook: Go to Facebook and create groups based on your industry or market. Post pertinent content, connect with group members, and show off your skills in a less formal setting.
There is no one way to communicate with your target audience like every platform. Be sure to choose the platforms that are best for you and your audience.
Step 4: Create a Blog or Your Own Website.
Blog or personal site is also an awesome way to market yourself as an expert. And how to get it to work for you:
Select Your Market: Write about something that you want your blog to be about. If you are a B2B sales specialist, for instance, you could write about B2B selling tips, lead generation, or sales automation software.
Write Content: Post information, tips, and case studies that show your knowledge. Don’t just pitch yourself, offer something worth reading.
Search Engine Optimization: You want organic traffic to your blog so, optimize your content for the search engines. Keyword research tools help you see what people are looking for and work those keywords in unprompted.
Get Your Email List Setup: Invite the reader to join your blog with freebies like an ebook, sales templates or industry news. This is where you build relationships and turn your blog into a lead generator.
Step 5: Write and Post Relevant Content
Personal branding is all about content: As you share good content frequently, you become reliable to your followers. These are some content ideas to keep your leads interested:
Case Studies and Success Stories: Share concrete stories about the successes you’ve had with clients. That makes you a problem solver and not a salesperson.
Tips and Tricks in Industry: Share industry tips, tricks and trends that are applicable to your audience. This could be sales tactics, marketing or company announcements.
Videos and Webinars: Videos are the best way to reach your followers. Make short videos giving tips or create webinars about what you think your audience would be interested in.
Podcasts: if you’re okay with sound, get a podcast going. Ask people from the industry, talk about sales trends and provide your audience with tips.
The key is consistency. As long as you are creating great content regularly, your own brand will just catch on and spread.
Step 6: Engage and Network with Your Audience
Developing a personal brand is not about writing, but also about engaging with your followers. Here’s how you can make them more authentic:
Respond to Comments and Messages: Whether it is on LinkedIn, Twitter or your blog, never forget to answer comments and messages. It tells your audience that you care.
Q&A and Start Discussions: Do not merely publish. Ask questions, ask for conversations, and post content that has open to the feedback of your audience.
Register For Online Communities and Forums: Join communities and forums online where your intended customers are active. Speak up, give your opinion and learn something.
If you communicate yourself with your audience then you’ll establish not only your brand but you’ll also establish relationships with customers.
How a Personal Brand Draws Inbound Visitors and Earns Their Trust?
Your true personal brand is one that will naturally attract inbound leads. Here’s how:
Making You Expert: If you build yourself into an authority through regular content creation and sharing prospects will start to see you as a thought leader. This allows leads that have been warm to your knowledge to convert.
Constructing Relationships Before the Deal: Inbound leads are warm leads unlike cold leads as they are familiar with you and your offerings. They’ve probably read you, shared your posts, or known about you via a referral.
Establishing Trust: A personal brand allows you to be understood as a salesperson. Displaying your beliefs, incorporating personal testimony, and speaking with the gut creates credibility. It is this trust that allows for long-term business relationships.
Conclusion
Selling to your own self is not a choice for sales reps anymore, it’s mandatory. — Creating a good personal brand helps you get inbound leads, trust leads, and set yourself apart from the rest. With a brand, LinkedIn profile, social networking and good content, you can be a reference in your field and leave an impression. Always remember that personal branding takes a long time, but it is worth the investment (more relationships, more inbound leads, more sales). Get started now and create your own brand, that sells and leaves you a memorable one.