Who's Pitching You?

(Or why everyone needs an agent)

Right now, everyone is waking up to the fact that personal brands are quickly becoming table stakes to compete in virtually any industry. Millions of people are realizing they need to buy their?firstnamelastname(.)com. I even had my stepmom do it for my 13-year-old half-sister.

You may or may not dream of building a company on your own, but regardless of your aspirations, people will determine whether or not they want to buy?you?in any and every arena. As our VP of Client Services, Blaire Kotsikopolous, likes to say, we’re all singing for our supper—and it’s never been more apparent.

That reality has also spurred the rapid evolution of a new industry, of which Arcbound is a part. But because we’re operating in a very new landscape, we’re all building our vehicles as we’re driving them. With that in mind, many personal branding firms servicing the massive market that has cropped up are providing brand?management—they’re building out platforms, complete with websites, newsletters, social content, and other assets, and ensuring every component is aligned with cohesive messaging and visuals. Brand management is absolutely necessary for success. But what’s often missing is the?agent, the person or organization who will pitch you to others.

An agent’s role is to identify opportunities for their clients, from valuable connections to speaking engagements and brand deals, and throw clients’ hat in the ring for the right stuff.

That’s a vital piece of the puzzle; it’s one thing to build a great brand that highlights the value you bring to the world, but people have to know you’re out there and why you’re the best fit for their needs.

The next step in personal branding is to further connect the dots with the introduction of an “agent” function to help drive new opportunities. That outreach, especially at the outset of your journey, will help cultivate inbound deal flow, until—like some of Hollywood’s greatest actors—those roles come to you (no auditioning required). Plus, with the right agent out of the gate, people and companies will eventually write roles for you.

When the two—brand manager and brand agent—come together under one roof, you have everything you need to make your mark.

To date, Arcbound has been focusing on brand management: building all the pieces to create cohesive brands that evolve alongside you. Now it’s time to go after opportunities that align with clients’ strengths. To do that we’re building an outreach function to help clients identify:

• Key prospects for products and services
• The right speaking engagements
• PR opportunities
• Brand partnerships
• Strategic introductions among the Arcbound community and beyond
• Monetization efforts

This will support our brand-building and management infrastructure, which includes building websites, developing newsletters, writing books, producing podcasts, and creating social content.

So much of this is in progress, and some of it exists solely in our heads at the moment. But we’re working on it, because we know that it’s not enough to show up in the world as our very best selves. We have to tell people we’re there, and then get in front of them over and over again. That’s where the magic happens.

Conversion occurs when showing up in the right places at the right time combines with effective outreach to engage an audience and drive them to purchase. You’ve demonstrated your value, built equity with your audience by showing up time after time, and now they’re ready to pay you to take them to the next level.

Like anything worthwhile, it doesn’t happen overnight. But making sure you’ve considered both big-picture components is a significant step toward a business built around your unique value proposition—and real ROI.

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