Sharing stories from your own life is one of the best ways to build rapport. People who only hear about your profession only stay for what they can get.
Stories do something credentials cannot: they give people a reason to stay with you through changes. The Manifesto describes followers who stayed through several career pivots because they were there for the person, not the profession.
Stories do not have to come from the past. What you are living now, a trip, a run, a lesson from this week, is material, as long as you choose what to share with the purpose it serves in mind.
One of the absolute best ways of building rapport using your personal brand is through sharing stories from your own life.
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 4.14
The moves ISIA, the engine behind the Brand Audit, draws from this part of the doctrine. Each one is something you can do this month, and the reason it matters.
This page is a summary. The subchapter itself goes further, with the reasoning, the stories behind it, and the exercise that closes it.
Stories that serve a purpose: ones that connect, ones that show what you risked, and ones that explain why you do the work. Choose them for what the moment needs.
No. Documenting what you are living now is often easier and more current than mining your past.
Advice Isaac Mashman has given on his own shows and in interviews on this subject, from the same library MCG consultants work from. Each one keeps the words he said it in, and links to the transcript where there is one.
For each client result you share, add the part people relate to: what the person was facing, what changed, and why it mattered to them. Cut any post that is only a number.
“you're not connecting with someone on a deeper level”
Unrivaled Results with Mashman Ventures, “UNRIVALED: Personal Branding Training”, April 13, 2022
Write the story of the problem you faced that led you to build what you sell: when it happened, what you tried, and the easier way you found. Use it in every introduction.
“you're telling the reason why you're doing it”
Unrivaled Results with Mashman Ventures, “UNRIVALED: Personal Branding Training”, April 13, 2022
Look up your own accounts on a public analytics tool. Check for sudden spikes that no post explains and for an audience located far from the market you serve. Fix or explain both before someone else finds them.
“there was a spike of 100,000”
Unrivaled Results with Mashman Ventures, “UNRIVALED: Personal Branding Training”, April 13, 2022
A coach's personal brand is the proof of the method. People hire the coach whose life and results already show what they are selling.
A 2:1 ratio from Identity Positioning: A Macroscopic View on Personal Branding. For every two steps that grow the brand side, take one that grows the personal side.
How you would describe yourself in less than a minute. The Manifesto's version is not a sales pitch; it sells you as someone to get to know or follow.
Who you are today differs from who you were a decade ago. A pivot is not something to fear; it is an opportunity to promote something new.
Engagements are accepted by application and seats are limited each quarter. Tell us who you are, what you are building, and the position you intend to hold.
