Why Building Your Professional Brand Should be a Priority

Building your professional brand is one of the most important things that you can do right now. For your career, for your business, and to elevate the conversation in your industry and make a difference.

We have been networking and building brands as salespeople since before Leonardo DiCaprio said “Sell me this pen.” The idea of building a presence in your industry is not new. The idea of building a trusted network, whether it be in a Rolodex or a follower list, is not new. The place may have changed from chamber events and dinners to LinkedIn and Instagram, but authenticity and the personality and expertise you bring to the table/news feed has not.

I started posting my thoughts on LinkedIn everyday a little over a year ago. At first, I hid behind the facade of Skaled Consulting and mostly posted blogs and ebooks because it was what everyone else was doing … it was safe. 

I didn’t want to be judged by my peers or co-workers and be labeled a bragger or self promoter. Which did happen. But what really mattered to me was helping others and growing my company. So I pivoted our strategy (with a few jabs and judgments later) and realized that we all have something valuable to share, and that sharing our expertise doesn’t make us braggers, no-it-alls, egotistical, or narcissistic movers and shakers. 

Learn from my mistake. Building a professional brand is not as easy as doing what everyone else is doing. If you can’t contribute to the conversation, then why join? I don’t want to discourage you. People want to hear what you have to say about your experiences and what YOU think about your industry and your buyer’s challenges. Not what Joe Sales next to you thinks. It’s important to listen to what your peers are saying, but don’t mimic. I challenge you to challenge the conversation.

Reasons Why YOUR Professional Brand is Important

I’ve referenced this post I saw on LinkedIn a couple of times and it still irritates me:

“Your professional brand is garbage. Just work and put your head down.”

Don’t worry, this wasn’t directed at me, but I took it personally.

My friends, who is going to shout for you? Who is going to shout and advocate for you louder than yourself? No one is ever going to magically pick you. So, today is the day to buy into the concept of “professional branding” because it exists whether we want to acknowledge it or put our heads down and ignore it.

I believe that strongly in professional brand development. So strongly that I’ve invested money to start a business that helps people like you and me take our brands personally and own them. Again, why?

I’ll tell you how you have to think about professional branding and give you three key reasons why it is important today. 

No. 1 - AI can’t ever replace your network. 

In 2022 and beyond, when bots are running more email, more chats, more DMs, and texts - how will you cut through the machine noise?

By being human. By being you. Do people care who you are? Are you trustworthy? Are you knowledgeable? Don’t wait until 2022 to start building your brand and trust. Now is the time to think, try, fail, succeed, capitalize on it, and make yourself ai and bot proof. 

No. 2 - Your next job.

A professional brand will increase your ability to go out and get better and better jobs or roles because it showcases your expertise and knowledge - before the interview. Because let’s face it, your academic background and timeline of accomplishments will no longer make you stand out. You have to think of professional branding as getting your name out there. Building a “presence” in your industry. Which is also not a new concept.

Have you heard of “passive candidate sourcing”? A lot of employers are actually seeking and sourcing candidates who are already employed. Why? Because most top talent already have jobs. And guess how recruiters find these candidates if they aren’t on job boards - social media platforms like LinkedIn. In a recent study, 43% of recruiters reported that professional social networks were their top source for new candidates, ranking just above job boards. Think about your current role or who you’ve hired. Have you ever “stolen” top talent from someone or been stolen yourself?

No. 3 - Because we all want to close more deals.

It’s simple. Your professional brand is going to increase your ability to close more deals because you’re going to be known in your industry. Your reputation won’t skyrocket overnight. But you do already have a reputation. Good, bad, big, or small - so leverage it, amplify it, and make it work for you.

This feeds off of building an irreplaceable network. A network you can tap into over and over again for more deals and referrals. 

But Jake, Where Do I Start?

Start by accepting the “LinkedIn Challenge.” Start posting once a day. Your thoughts, experiences, insights, or recapping conversations with buyers. 

Building your professional brand isn’t self serving or egotistical - it’s just smart business. So if you’ve made it to the end of this article, start today with the LinkedIn Challenge. Think about your professional brand and what it can do for you and your business long term.

Good luck getting started.