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Personal Branding for Sales and Business Development Leaders.

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 Mashman Consulting GroupApplies to: Sales / Business Development Leader

Why Personal Branding Matters for Sales Leaders

The Manifesto opens with the sales maxim that people do business with whom they know, like, and trust, and asks why so much emphasis goes on accolades and scripts while the personal side is missing. A seller whose prospects already know them has skipped the hardest part of the sale.

It also describes edification as one of the most potent sales tools: a manager praising a salesperson's attention to detail in front of a buyer. A personal brand is edification at scale, and its opposite, visible need, is what sinks a seller.

The desperate salesperson will never sell as much as the person who doesn't communicate their need to make a sale.

Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence, Second Edition, 7.1

Where You Stand on The Hierarchy of Personal Branding

Most sellers are known to their book of accounts. The Local Hero, known across a territory or an industry niche, is where inbound conversations begin.

  1. Tier 1Unconscious Incompetent
  2. Tier 2Friends and FamilyToday
  3. Tier 3The Local HeroBuilding toward
  4. Tier 4The State Representative
  5. Tier 5The National Personality
  6. Tier 6The International Icon

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.

Recommendations

Across The Five Personal Brand Pillars.

The moves MCG starts with for sales and business development leaders, grouped by pillar, in order. Each one cites the subchapter of Personal Branding: A Manifesto on Fame and Influence it comes from.

01

Omnipresence

25%
  • Be Known Before the Call Publish useful insight for your buyers so prospects have already seen you before the first meeting. Subchapter 2.1, The Law of Familiarity
  • Build a Brand That Travels With You Keep your personal list and profile independent of your current employer. Subchapter 1.1, What Is Personal Branding?
  • Be Known in Your Buyers' Feeds Post useful insight for your buyers twice a week. Subchapter 6.11, Distribution
02

Credibility

25%
03

Seamless Branding

20%
04

Reputational Health & Risks

15%
05

Marketability

15%
  • Use FORM on Every Discovery Call Learn Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Motivation for every prospect and log it. Subchapter 7.3, Networking and Introductions
  • Never Show Desperation Keep your composure in every negotiation, especially at quarter end. Subchapter 7.1, Intrapersonal Relationships
  • Ask for Introductions With Purpose After every closed deal, ask for one introduction and say exactly why. Subchapter 7.3, Networking and Introductions

Content Ideas: The Skyline Strategy for Sales Leaders

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.

PurposeBrand PostPersonal Post
EducateTeach something useful.How to open a call without sounding like a pitch.Your pre-call ritual.
EntertainMake it enjoyable to follow you.The objection you never expected.The worst sales call you ever had.
InspireShow what is possible.The deal you almost walked away from.Who taught you to sell.
ConnectGive people a reason to reply.Share a lesson from a customer.Ask what made buyers trust a salesperson.

More Ideas for Sales Leaders

  • Share Wins From the Field Post lessons and results from deals (with approval) instead of generic motivation.

Plan the ratio with the free Skyline Planner (opens in a new tab).

What to Avoid

Avoid

Sounding Desperate

Visible need to close drives buyers away. A personal brand built on service removes it.

Avoid

A Pitch Instead of a Person

Lead with a personal hook and a professional punchline, never a script about results.

Avoid

Following Up Only to Sell

Fortune is in the follow-up, but a greeting that is really a sales attempt reads as disingenuous.

Measure It First: The Identity Positioning™ Brand Audit

Twenty-five questions, about seven minutes, free. Choose Sales / Business Development Leader 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.

Take the Brand Audit (opens in a new tab)

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a sales professional need a personal brand?

Because people buy from people they know, like, and trust. Being known before the first call shortens the cycle and changes the tone of every conversation.

What should a salesperson post?

What you learn from customers, how you solve their problems, and the human side, at the Skyline Strategy's two to one ratio. Never a constant stream of pitches.

Does my company own my sales brand?

Your company owns its brand. Yours, built on your name, your relationships, and your reputation, travels with you.

The Wiki

Keep Reading

By Profession

Consultants and Advisors

Clients buy a consultant before they buy the service. A personal brand with evidence behind it is what lets you charge for your judgment.

By Profession

Real Estate Agents and Brokers

Buyers and sellers choose an agent, not a brokerage. The agent whose name the neighborhood already knows wins the listing before the first meeting.

By Profession

Finance, Credit, and Banking Professionals

In finance, trust is the product. A personal brand is how a client decides to trust you with their money before they have ever met you.

Subchapter 4.3, Elevator Pitch

The Elevator Pitch

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.

Subchapter 7.3, Networking and Introductions

Networking and Introductions

Introversion has no place in building a personal brand. Networking is gathering information, finding connection, and laying the foundation for a relationship.

Subchapter 6.5, The Power of 3

The Power of 3

Introduce yourself to three strangers every day. Developed around 2019 for clients who needed a simple way to grow their network, and channel agnostic by design.

Engagements

Your name is already being interpreted. The question is who are they, and what are they thinking?

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.

Speaking fees available on request. Speaking for non-profits and charities is free of charge. You can also email contact@mashmancg.com (opens in a new tab) directly, or play Identity Quest™ (opens in a new tab) first.