Be intentional about your brand this year.
There are a few large sections of my book, Treasure Hunt: A Commonsense Approach to Building a Successful Sales Career, dedicated to the topic of reputation in sales. It might be the most important aspect of your professional brand. There’s nothing else with the power to decide the outcome of a sale before a conversation even happens.
Long before you get to a meeting or take that call, your reputation has been doing the talking for you. It’s present when you are not. It has a voice all its own. Do you know what yours is saying about you?
Here’s the thing, your perception of your reputation doesn’t quite matter. It’s how others perceive you that creates the reality you need to be concerned about.
Cultivate the reputation you want
I don’t know about you, but when I’m not in the room, I want my reputation to be saying good things about me! The good news is, that while there’s a laundry list of things that can complicate your life which are entirely out of your control, you can control your reputation. You can choose to be a person who honors their word. You can be the one who takes the call to solve your client’s problem no matter what. You can be the one who always takes a personal interest first and has a genuine concern for the client and their business. Define the reputation you want for yourself and stick to your guiding principles as ardently as you can.
Be accountable
If you’re doing it right, a life in sales is never a boring one. It can be thrilling, but it can be equally as harrowing. What it will never be is perfect. You’ll never be perfect. Mistakes will happen. You might be put into impossible positions by your company. Someone will be left disappointed. These things don’t have to damage your reputation. In fact, they are important opportunities to strengthen your reputation and differentiate your brand from your company’s. If you make a mistake, own it and don’t equivocate. But, I must be careful about making promises you can’t keep. Don’t tell your client you’ll never make another mistake (you will), but reassure them that you’re taking steps to ensure that mistake never happens again. If you want to be sure that your reputation can stand-up to situations like these, always underpromise and overdeliver.
Be true to yourself
Your reputation has to be built upon what you believe to be true about yourself. Your efforts will fall flat (and trust me, clients can tell) if you approach your reputation like putting on a mask. How do you expect to be able to convince anyone that you’re the one who can deliver for them when you’re not really living that way? What we’re talking about is integrity. To be able to sell your value to a prospect, you have to first believe in yourself, and to believe in yourself, you have to be yourself. If you can anchor your reputation in this kind of integrity, not only will you have an easier time getting clients excited about what you’re offering, but you’ll have an easier time remaining resolute when circumstances change and competing forces are pulling you in all directions. If you’re true to yourself your reputation will stay consistent no matter what.
Wherever this year takes you, I urge you to remember that your reputation literally precedes you. It speaks volumes before you’ve even had a chance to open your mouth. It will take on a life of its own and come to define your brand if you let it. In this sales life, your reputation and your personal brand are the most important things we can control. How about we work on being intentional about how we’re building those things. I promise that if you do, greatness waits.