Sales Training: How to Leverage Your Personal Brand

Sales Training: How to Leverage Your Personal Brand: by Customer Centric Selling

Sales Training Article: Drive Sales by Leveraging Your Own Brand

By Joel McCabe, Sales Benchmark Index (SBI)
Read this article from SBI to learn how to effectively create and leverage your own personal brand to improve sales performance.

As a quota carrying sales rep, you have a number to hit. The year is well under way. Are you going to rely too much on marketing to provide high quality leads to hit the number? Let's be honest, the majority of reps would be out on the street if they had to rely solely on marketing for Lead Generation What can you do about it?
Simply put, you have to drive your own brand to ensure that prospects are finding you when searching for options.
Create A Brand Called You
Why is it so important to build your personal brand?
The answer lay in the fact that buyer trends are shifting. Don't be left out of the picture. The reality is that B2B buyers today will progress almost 60% of the way through the buying cycle before they ever engage a sales rep. You've been squeezed out. Now you have a 40% window where you once had 70%.


For those in denial, think about the last major purchase you made. Chances are you began your search online and narrowed down your choices before you ever picked up the phone. Your prospects are doing the same.
Let's assume you have a meeting with a big prospect. What are they going to do before the meeting?
They are likely going to go online and look for you and your company. What will they find? If they find you, what will they see?

• A LinkedIn profile without a photo
• Unflattering social media pictures from a lake trip
• Or, a detailed professional bio that presents you in way that creates interest

Social media profiles should sell your strengths. You want your prospect to view a profile that conveys mastery of your industry. Otherwise you might just receive a "too busy right now, can we reschedule" email.
Case and Point
Recently I spent the day shadowing a sales rep named Jim who has been in field sales for 20 plus years. He shared frustrations over the market, continuing price pressures in his industry and the lack of customer loyalty. He mentioned he knew a solid prospect in his segment but was unable to secure any good contacts first hand.
I asked if he had checked his LinkedIn network for any warm leads and he responded, "I have a LinkedIn account because my firm made me do it, but I've never done much with it. I just don't see value in it."
That afternoon I added Jim to my network, made the introductions and in doing so helped him move one step closer to gaining a new logo.
Jim's story is not unique. It is indicative of many reps who either don't see the value in personal branding or schedule time for it. The sad reality is that the buyer's journey is changing, and you can either hope to compete in the 40% window or break into the 60%.
In Contrast
Look at the LinkedIn Profile below for Fred Landis. I started a search on LinkedIn based on the query of CRM. Towards the top of the search list I found Fred. What is notable about Fred's profile is the following...
Read more from SBI.
Read more sales training articles.