The Six Pillars of Personal Branding

Why your personal brand is built one conversation at a time

This article was first published in Issue 11.4 of the International Journal of Sales Transformation. 

When social media consultants talk about “personal brand,” many instinctively think of LinkedIn. They talk about polished profiles, regular posts, and carefully curated content. There is no doubt that a strong digital presence can raise visibility and credibility. It might make potential customers more willing to respond to our outreach, and it might make it more likely that they will find and reach out to us when they are searching for relevant expertise.

But for most customers, the truest and most lasting impression of a salesperson isn’t formed by what they post online. 

It’s shaped by their conversations, and through their active interaction.

The way a salesperson prepares, the questions they ask, how well they listen, the insights they share, and whether they can be trusted to follow through - these everyday behaviours help to progressively build a personal brand that will be far more powerful than any LinkedIn contribution.

Our personal brand is shaped by the impressions we create and how we make our customers feel. So, if our personal brand is built (or demolished) one conversation at a time, what can salespeople do to shape it deliberately and positively?

I want to suggest six key pillars of effective personal conversational branding:

1: Preparation

The foundations of a lasting positive personal impression are made in the opening moments of a conversation. Customers can quickly conclude whether a salesperson is prepared, attentive, and fully engaged - and that requires preparation.

Preparation goes beyond a cursory glimpse at a website. It means reading between the lines of annual reports, scanning industry news, and anticipating potential issues and priorities. Customers recognise when a salesperson’s questions reflect genuine well-researched curiosity rather than a generic “discovery” script.

2: Presence

Presence is about how we show up in the moment. Too many salespeople rely on their mastery of a well-practiced pitch. Some are even evaluated and rated by their misguided employers in terms of their ability to breathlessly deliver a pre-prepared script rather than their ability to tailor a conversation to the situation at hand.

At the risk of being controversial, I strongly believe that the word “pitch” should be ditched from the sales enablement lexicon - it is disrespectful and implies (and often consists of) a one-way stream of often-irrelevant, off-the-point, vendor-centred drivel. True presence is demonstrated by focused listening, genuine curiosity, humility, and a willingness to engage in dialogue and change direction rather than rushing through a pre-prepared generic slide deck.

3: Asking High-Quality Questions

The quality and relevance of the questions we choose to ask is one of the most powerful personal brand signals. Superficial questions reinforce the stereotype of the lazy seller. High-quality, tailored, and hypothesis-driven questions communicate respect, expertise and insight.

Questioning frameworks such as SPIN+Cycle, Challenger, or MEDDPICC+ can help support discovery. But the differentiator is in how they are applied. Instead of “what are your priorities for the year?” (or, God forbid, “what keeps you up at night?”) a better approach is something along the following lines: “I noticed in your annual report that uptime targets are tightening - how is that changing how you think about maintenance investments?” 

Questions like these require that that we have done their research and thought about the customer’s situation. Well-researched thoughtful questions make our customers pause and think. They reframe problems or uncover overlooked implications. They enable a salesperson to stand out. And they cause our prospective customer to think “I’m glad I had that conversation - I learned something new”.

4: Sharing Insight & Perspective

A strong personal brand in sales depends not just on our ability to ask thoughtful questions, but also on our ability to share relevant insights. Customers want partners who bring perspective, not just information. This might mean introducing issues and experiences that the customer hasn’t yet considered but subsequently recognises as highly relevant.

But it can also mean sharing insights about the previously unconsidered consequences and implications of issues that the customer was already aware of, thereby introducing a fresh and relevant perspective on the customer’s situation

Relevant insight could take many forms - market benchmarks, emerging trends, analogies from other industries, or examples of successful approaches elsewhere. The key is to offer insights that are selective, credible, contextualised, and timely. 

Overloading customers with data can be overwhelming. But sharing one or two well-chosen, relevant insights at the right moment can elevate a conversation from tactical to strategic and positively reinforce our personal brand. 

5: Responsive Listening

Customers frequently complain that ineffective salespeople don’t actually listen - they simply wait for their turn to talk and the opportunity to ask their next pre-prepared question.

True listening requires focus, patience, and curiosity. It means summarising what we’ve just heard, testing understanding, and asking clarifying questions. It also means noticing emotional cues as well as factual content. 

Responsiveness is the natural extension of listening. When new insights or issues emerge in the discussion, great salespeople are able to adjust on the fly. They are comfortable setting aside pre-prepared content to explore what really matters to the customer. This agility demonstrates respect and partnership.

6: Consistency & Follow-Through

Brand is built on reputation, and reputation is built on consistency. Small actions - being punctual, sending promised follow-ups, and communicating clearly - send powerful signals about reliability and integrity. 

Over time, dependability often matters more than charisma. In complex B2B sales, where customers take personal and professional risks when choosing a supplier, consistency and trustworthiness are decisive elements of every salesperson’s personal brand. 

This consistency must extend to tone and behaviour. A salesperson who is empathetic and reliable in one interaction but impatient or careless in another undermines any credibility they have worked to build. 

Bringing the Six Pillars Together

Together, the above six pillars serve to shape and reinforce a distinctive and enduring personal brand.

When a salesperson’s behaviour reflects these qualities, their customers are left with the sense that: 

• This salesperson takes us seriously
• They understand our world
• They help us to think in new ways
• They bring insights we can use
• We can rely on them

That impression takes more effort than a polished online persona - but it is far more valuable in shaping long-term relationships.

The Impact of AI

Prior to the advent of AI, the amount of personal effort required to support these six pillars - particularly when it comes to preparation - might have seemed overwhelming. But now there is simply no excuse for going into any conversation unprepared.

But - just as important - there is no merit in relying on AI alone. Salespeople need to venture beyond the algorithm, interpret what they glean from AI, and combine it with the essential personal qualities of empathy, curiosity and their ability to stay in the moment.

Conclusion

Personal brand is not a marketing veneer; it is the lived experience of every customer interaction. It is not something we just construct online; it’s something we earn, conversation by conversation. 

Every interaction offers a chance to demonstrate respect, curiosity, competence, and integrity. Every question, every pause to listen, every small act of reliability is another brushstroke on the canvas of our brand. 

The most enduring personal reputations are not built by what we say about themselves online, but by what our customers say about us after the meeting ends.  Our personal brands, ultimately, are built one conversation at a time.  

Find out more about the International Journal of Sales Transformation here.