Brand You: Crafting Your Personal Brand
Good morning,
We’ve all experienced the inevitable eye roll at an old acquaintance who boasts their “personal branding” expertise on social media. But there’s something worth unpacking here. Crafting and owning a strong personal brand is a distinguishing superpower in sales. Let's dive in.
Your personal brand is the unique perception others have of you based on your skills, experiences, and personality. It’s your professional reputation. And you’d be shocked at how few people have taken at least ten minutes to intentionally define their own brand at work. This unsurprisingly defines your career trajectory and opportunities: Whether you like it or not, what others think of you matters in business, from closed sales to earned promotions to projects assigned.
But it’s not just about acquiring new skills, more experiences, and a stronger personality. It's not simply adding more work hours, increasing the amount of projects, or speaking up more in group settings. What can you do less of? Having the self awareness of biases you may bring to the table is key in knowing what you may want to pare back in the workplace. If you can’t identify any blind spots, ask an unbiased friend.
Your personal brand statement needs to be a concise and compelling declaration that encapsulates your professional identity. It should effectively communicate your unique value proposition, skills, and career aspirations. Here's a breakdown of the essential attributes of a personal brand statement:
Clear and Concise: Is it short and easy to understand? Aim for one to two sentences.
Balance: Does your statement matter to you and your audience / employer?
Value Proposition: What makes you unique and valuable in your field?
Skills and Expertise: What are your core competencies and significant achievements?
Career Goals / Aspirations (optional): What are you hoping to do (or continue doing)?
Example:
Bad: "I'm a sales professional with experience in B2B tech sales”
Better: "I’m a results-driven business leader with a passion for solving complex customer problems and uplifting my people. My consultative and challenger approach has driven transformational outcomes for my clients and direct reports over the last decade.”
A strong personal brand is the foundation of broader business success as your customers, management, colleagues, and most importantly, your confidence will all benefit from the intentionality.
Your personal brand’s story is being written every day. The question is: Are you the author?
Take the time to define your personal brand statement. If you already feel great about this, ask a peer or someone senior to you how they'd define your personal brand.
84% of consumers believe that a company's reputation is influenced by its employees’ personal brands (source). While this stat is more in the context of public perception and social media presence, it quantifies how much customers care about the “full package” of who they’re buying from. Time to go update your LinkedIn profile.