How to Build a Personal Brand in Sales

A lot of salespeople have heard about how beneficial personal branding is to increase lead magnets and overall revenue. But most of us struggle with how to build one.

So I invited the chief marketing officer at Kelly Roach coaching, Danielle. And we’re going to talk about how can salespeople build a personal brand, its impact on their lives, and how can they apply it in their marketing strategies.

Why You Should Build a Personal Brand

In today's world, so many people push back against sales, specifically online.

And you’re already swimming upstream when you think about leveraging online platforms to prospect, generate leads, and sell. So without a strong personal brand, you just add far more resistance

to that stream you're swimming against.

A personal brand turns the sales conversation around for you. It’s the thing that gives you immediate credibility, and what makes the process less pushy or less uncomfortable for the person on the other end.

Because when you build an effective personal brand, it's built on service, it's built on credibility, and it's built on trust. And as you guys know, there is nothing more important in the sales process than trust.

So if you can establish that before anyone gets on the phone with you, you are ten steps ahead in the sales process.

Common mistakes in building a personal brand

Inconsistency. If you're not consistent, it doesn't matter how incredible your content is, people will forget you as soon as you stop showing up.

Consistency and frequency are not sexy. They're not fun, they're not exciting, but they're like the magic and the secrets of building a personal brand.

Being passive. We do not live in a world where anyone cares about what you have to say. So you have got to not only create great content, but you've got to learn how to engage with the right people.

It’s wrong to think ‘I'm going to build my brand and they will come.’ You need to build your brand, and then you need to act like you're in a room networking. If you walked into a networking room, you would dress a certain way. You would show up with a business card or something and then have meaningful conversations.

Jumping on any trends. Unless you're an influencer or you’re trying to make it in a singing career or a dancing career, there is no reason for any respectable business person to be dancing, lip syncing, or pointing at nothing.

If you are someone who is a real estate agent or a broker and you are trying to build a database of people who are buying million-dollar homes, they don't need to see you dance, or do other stuff that makes you feel embarrassed.

Lying to your audience. If you want to create a long-term connection with your audience, stop making any unrealistic promises to the audience. Like telling them “in 1 minute you put one funnel up and

you're going to make a million dollars.”

People could connect with you more if you make relatable claims like, “it's going to require a significant

amount of work, but it’s going to pay off in the end. Athletes don't just wake up one day and go to the Olympics. They train for years and fall on their face.”

Because if you make unrealistic claims and people realize it’s not working for them, they would think they are a failure. So your audience is waiting for you to say the things that they feel in their heart. Remember, you have to inspire them!

The levels of building a personal brand

How-to marketing

This is simple transactional information. And most people stop here. It is you, as a realtor talking about

the interest rates going up. Or how to find the right mortgage, how to get a better price from your house, how to sell, etc. It's all the “how to” informational content.

We see that everywhere. But if you are telling someone how to improve their close rate on a sales call, they would find it helpful, but then they will watch the next YouTube video. This is what happens when you don’t have a connection with your audience. This brings us to the second level of marketing…

Hope marketing

This is where you look at what are the things that stand in the way of people taking action. What are the things that they need to believe and how can you inspire them?

You can do this by one, talking about the wins your prospects have gotten (you can use testimonials.) So if you are a realtor, you could say, “You know what, I just closed three houses for clients that were only $2,000 above asking price, not 80 grand above asking price.”

Another is by inspiring them and you could say, “Hey, your perfect home is out there. It may take some time,

it may take a little effort, but I promise you, I will be the bulldog who finds you what you're looking for.”

They have to believe it's possible or they're never going to have a buying conversation.

Conviction marketing

This is when you look at your industry and your landscape. You look at everything that's not right and everything that you do differently, then you speak directly to it.

So for example, you could be that real estate agent who talks about why you hate Zillow and what alternatives you do (and why home-seekers should too.) When you build your brand around that, you become someone who stands out. And you get people to be curious about your content.

So when you add these three layers of marketing, your brand doesn’t just become transactional. It becomes a connection.

Facing internal struggles while building a personal brand

The real secret to winning is just to stay in the game. Because a lot of people do now, especially at this time of uncertainty, is quit. But guess what? It is those who keep going that reap the rewards.

And in creating content, you don’t have to pretend to your audience that everything is going well. Because they know that it is not the reality. Instead, you can write content that's like,

“Listen, the world has changed. It is not what it used to be. We used to be able to turn on some Facebook ads for $6 a lead and just get a beautiful, steady flow of leads coming in with zero effort, right? Those days are gone. But it's okay. Here are three things you can do.”

And in my experience in Catapulting Commissions, when I share vulnerabilities or struggles, it inspires somebody. And they believe in me even more. Social media made everything look inauthentically perfect, so people crave authenticity even more.

Staying motivated

There is no shortcut to building a personal brand that gets a lot of revenue. It takes time. At the end of the day, it is your brand. It's more than just something that's going to grow your business, and it's more than something that's just going to give you success right now.

It's your legacy. So whatever you're building right now, that's what you’re going to be remembered for in 25 years. You can't outsource that too much and can't automate it too much now. But what you can do is commit to creating some good, needy content that comes from you and then has somebody repurpose your ideas into several pieces of content for you.

Just remember to stay committed!

At what point do you separate your online personal brand image from business to personal?

This is a matter of preference. First, consider whatever it is you're comfortable with. If your daughter or dogs are part of your brand and you’re comfortable sharing them online, then go for it! If not, you don’t have to!

Second, think about who your market is. if you're talking to corporate and you're not coloring outside of any lines and who you're selling to, then your brand needs to follow suit. And if you're working in a more entrepreneurial market then you can create something a little bit personal with a little bit of business.

The important thing is to build the brand you want to build. And the more you build a brand in alignment with who you are and what you believe, the better. But you don't have to share everything with the world. Eventually, you will attract the right people for your brand.

How long does it take to build a successful, credible brand that generates revenue?

It depends on how experienced you are in your industry. So there is no time limit. When you show up

frequently and consistently, if you show up every day on a social media platform for 90 days, you would be in a position where people are paying attention. If you do that for six months, more people would pay attention.

So it just depends on how committed you are. Nothing will speed up the process more than consistency and frequency!

About Danielle

Danielle is the brains behind the implementation of Conviction Marketing and helps hundreds of entrepreneurs inside the company to bring their genius to the world.

Danielle’s background in psychology, education, and copywriting give her a unique pulse on the current marketing landscape and culture. She gives strategic, creative brand direction to their clients and remains involved in the day-to-day content creation, to ensure clients stand out from the crowd.

Danielle has helped countless 7 and 8-figure well-known brands prior to joining Kelly Roach Coaching and brings a wealth of knowledge to clients.

Website: convictionmarketingagency.com

Instagram: @daniellecmarketing

LinkedIn: Danielle Cevallos

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147 - Building Your Personal Brand with Danielle Cevallos