Clients buy a consultant before they buy the service. A personal brand with evidence behind it is what lets you charge for your judgment.
The Manifesto uses the consultant to explain two things. First, a consultant's rate can rise as their reputation grows and their personal brand scales. Second, between a cheaper consultant with no case studies and a more expensive one with verifiable results, the one with evidence wins the business.
That makes a consultant's personal brand mostly a matter of credibility and compiling wins: work that others can see, results that can be checked, and introductions where someone else speaks for you.
If there is a choice between the consultant who might charge a lower rate but doesn't have any case studies and the consultant who charges more but has verifiable and satisfactory gains, who do you think would be able to land more business?
Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 5.14
A consultant known to a few dozen clients is The Local Hero of their niche. The State Representative, known across an industry or region, is usually where referrals start to outrun outreach.
Where most stand: Tier 3, The Local HeroBuild toward: Tier 4, The State Representative
The tier measures how large a position is. How good it is, is measured by The Five Personal Brand Pillars. Read more about the six tiers.
The moves MCG starts with for consultants and advisors, grouped by pillar, in order. Each one cites the subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence it comes from.
Advice Isaac Mashman has given on his own shows and in interviews that applies to consultants and advisors, 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
When you need a conversation with someone, ask for the soonest time that works instead of offering next week or next month.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“what is the quickest you can do this”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “The Disaster Known As Procrastination”, April 22, 2022
When someone earlier in their path asks how to price or position themselves, share what you learned so they skip the years it cost you.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“i did in essence a form of mentorship”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “3 Habits of High Performers”, May 25, 2020
Never criticize competitors in public. Put the energy into making what you build stand out on its own.
Read the transcript ↗ (opens in a new tab)“just build the biggest building”
Chase the Vision with Isaac Mashman, “The Competitive Edge”, June 8, 2020
All consumed media educates, entertains, inspires, or connects. The Skyline Strategy asks for two pieces about your work for every one about your life. Here is one of each, for each purpose.
| Purpose | Brand Post | Personal Post |
|---|---|---|
| EducateTeach something useful. | A live teardown of a common mistake in your field. | How you structure a deep-work day. |
| EntertainMake it enjoyable to follow you. | The myth clients believe that makes you laugh. | Your travel ritual between client visits. |
| InspireShow what is possible. | A before and after from a client, with permission. | The moment you decided to go out on your own. |
| ConnectGive people a reason to reply. | Answer a question a client asked this week. | Ask your audience the hardest problem they are facing. |
Draw a Week
Two posts about your work, one about your life, drawn from the ideas above.
Plan the ratio with the free Skyline Planner (opens in a new tab).
If you cannot show before and after, revenue, or testimonials, a client has no reason to choose you over a cheaper option.
Before a project begins, ask whether you can reference your role publicly, and put it in the agreement for larger clients.
A line of the form I help X get Y gives a stranger nothing personal to connect with. Lead with a personal hook.
Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. Choose Consultant / Advisor on the intake and the audit scores all five pillars, places you on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding, and returns the three moves that would raise your score most, each traced to the subchapter it comes from.
The firm’s topic guide on the subject, with the doctrine, terms, tips, and interviews in one place: Networking.
With evidence and relationships: case studies and testimonials clients can check, a referral network of complementary professionals, and a clear point of view published under your own name.
The Manifesto describes rates rising as reputation grows and the brand scales, but only with substantiated results behind it.
Frameworks, lessons from engagements with permission, and opinions on how your field is done, balanced with the personal side.
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.
Your company has a brand. So do you, and the two should grow together. A founder's personal brand opens doors the company cannot open alone.
People buy from people they know, like, and trust. A seller with a personal brand is known before the first call, and that changes every conversation after it.
By compiling wins, future successes become easier to obtain. A record that speaks for you does the convincing you once had to do yourself.
Follower counts only get you so far. What matters more is how much the people who follow you trust you.
Introversion has no place in building a personal brand. Networking is gathering information, finding connection, and laying the foundation for a relationship.
Chapter 2 of the Manifesto sets out four laws that build in order. Without familiarity there is no connection; without fame and influence, a personal brand has little reach or weight.
How MCG measures the quality of a personal brand. Five pillars, always in this order, weighted into one composite out of 100.
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.
Consultations are virtual or in person. See what each includes, and what is asked of you: Virtual or In Person.
