Do You Have a Personal Brand?
Being a sales director or a sales manager is no longer good enough.
If you are in the business of selling print, you need to stand out to clients. Traditionally, salespeople showed that they were good at their job by having a job title that promoted their seniority. But these days it is pretty hard to find a print salesperson who is not a manager or a director. Carry out a search on LinkedIn and you will find thousands of people with job titles like this.
My job title is Champion of Print. It is unusual: it stands out from the crowd. And it often raises a smile on peoples’ faces. But it also embodies what I stand for: someone who passionately believes in the print industry and who does as much as they can to help and promote it.
My job title is more than a catchy name: it is part of my personal brand.
If you want to stand out and be noticed, you need a personal brand.
Your personal brand starts with your values. On a professional level, it includes understanding who you want to work with and why. It shows you understand how you can help this type of person and what results you can achieve for them. And it should be backed up by an excellent track record.
To create a personal brand you should have:
- A memorable job title
- Clear values
- A customer-focused personal elevator pitch
Most importantly, you should be carrying out everything you stand for on a daily basis.
What does your personal brand say about you?
To find out more about personal branding, check out my new book "Five steps to creating a social media profile that generates business".
You can also learn how to sell print successfully online by downloading my free e-guide “Ten Social Media Rules For Print Sales People” right now. You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to use social media and sell print effectively.
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."
