Is Your Personal Brand Sabotaging Your Sales Success?

A salesperson’s brand can help change the sales stigma and perception.

In prospecting, it’s even more critical to differentiate your personal sales brand to make a great first impression and secure the first meeting.

Mistakes in Prospecting

When prospecting, most sales professionals are asking for only 10-15 minutes of a potential customer’s time; are sending numerous generic type emails in hopes of it creating an opportunity to meet; and are using the word “unique” to differentiate their products and services.

This approach is not differentiating you or your brand.

That reality is, customers and buyers don’t want to meet with salespeople and they already have numerous vendors.

You need to find a way to differentiate yourself, and still be valuable to the buyer.

How Are You Different in a Way That’s Valuable to the Prospective Buyer?

How will you differentiate your personal sales brand in prospecting, to position you as a trusted business advisor?

1. Change your words

Many sales reps use the words that focus around:

• pitch
• deal
• right products
• quotes
• best price
• sell

What kind of salesperson brand does this convey?

Change your language to:

• solutions
• expertise
• value
• conversation
• business
• ROI – return on investment

What kind of salesperson does this convey?

How will you differentiate your personal sales brand in prospecting, to position you as a trusted business advisor? Share on X

2. Do your research & customize

A unique value proposition is not about you or your services being unique. It’s about you customizing your email, your value proposition to make it unique to the customer/buyer you are approaching.

In our new Prospecting Power program, participants are quickly learning the power of doing their research about the buyer and customizing an email message or telephone call to the buyer. In this class, they are given time to customize their email and then send their email to a prospective buyer. They are surprised at how many are responding to their email within the hour. Very few sales professionals do the research and customize the message; it takes time – yet produces responses and results.

3. Send an agenda for the meeting

Very few sales professionals send an agenda for the meeting, in advance. This will differentiate you and improve your professional sales brand.

Ensure the agenda is focused on their business, not just a presentation of your company and products. You can even add your great questions to your agenda to give them time to prepare, and of course differentiate your personal sales brand.

4. Focus on their business – not your business

Is your email or telephone message focused on what you, your products and your business can do for them, or are you focusing on understanding their business, providing custom solutions and improving their business metrics?

5. Your title and email signature

What does your title and email signature say about you and your company brand? How can you improve your personal branding and position you as a trusted business advisor? This is great real estate space to link to an article, event or simply state a thought provoking question. Is your title “Sales Rep” or Territory Sales Rep or Business Advisor or Consultant?

6. Your LinkedIn Profile

Many buyers will check you out before they will agree to a meeting. What does your LinkedIn Profile branding look like? Does it demonstrate you as an expert? Is it a great professional picture? What does your summary say about you, your expertise and your brand?

7. Your clothing attire

In today’s business world, casual business attire is becoming more prevalent. What does your attire say about your brand? Do khakis and blue jeans represent your professional sales brand?

Sales Reps, work on differentiating your personal sales brand to help you in your prospecting efforts.