Transcript
Hi, everyone. I'm Ben Wright, successful entrepreneur, corporate leader and expert sales coach to some of the most talented people our amazing planet has to offer. You're listening to the Stronger Sales Teams podcast, where we bring together and simplify the complex world of B2B sales management to help the millions of sales managers worldwide build, motivate, and keep together highly effective sales teams…teams who grow revenue and make their businesses actual profits.
Along the journey, we also provide great insights and actionable steps to managing your personal health. A happy and productive you is not only better for your teams, but everyone around you. So if you're an ambitious Sales Leader who wants to build the highest performing and engaged teams, Stronger Sales Teams is right where you need to be.
Ben Wright:
Welcome back to Stronger Sales Teams, the place where we provide real world and practical advice to help you develop super powered sales teams. Today, Johnathan Maltby has been very kind to donate some of his time to talk all things branding, but more importantly personal branding and how having alignment with it can really drive purpose into our careers. So why is Johnathan a man that I want to have on this show? Well, he's made a career of engaging with people and teaching people, individuals, teams and businesses all around personal branding and what it means for them to find their purpose.
So over the last decade or so, ten years, I think, or so Johnathan, you would have helped from what I know, hundreds of people. Transform anywhere from minor changes to big changes around how they see themselves. So for them, it means they've been able to go to that next level in their career. Or for me, what I often talk about is replacing the plausible with the possible and going beyond what they thought they were capable of achieving.
So for Johnathan, he's created this broad range of tools and techniques that really help people kind of cut through that noise in their heads to then get really clear on who they are. And most importantly, I think what makes them valuable in the market. So lots and lots of experience from Johnathan as to why we're getting him on board today. But the piece that I really like from there is he also then works with his teams to create strategies that leverage off that brand. So we get great new opportunities for individuals in their careers or we find opportunities for businesses or most importantly some really strong customer outcomes. Johnathan also has a little mantra that I don't mind saying, “it's not what you know, it's not who you know, it's who knows you.” So Johnathan, first of all, welcome to the Stronger Sales Teams podcast. Nice to have you on board.
Johnathan Maltby:
Thanks very much, Ben. I'm very happy to be here.
Ben Wright:
Excellent. Well, before we get started, would you mind sharing a little bit about yourself, your journey and what makes you really good at what you do?
Johnathan Maltby:
Oh, I've had such a varied journey. I've been working and running this career coaching and business coaching business for the last decade. Prior to that, I was a career coach with an organisation in Melbourne and we had a number of branches around the world. And that's where I really got to test out a lot of my kind of concepts around career coaching and branding and the things that, you know, I was passionate about was really helping people reach their true potential and go much further than often they thought they would go. Prior to that, I worked in recruitment and that was really, really interesting because unlike selling a product or a service, you're selling a person. And that was really, really interesting is helping people understand how best they can sell themselves. Prior to that, I've worked in sales, I've worked in marketing. I actually started my career off as a teacher about 20 odd years ago. So I've always had a passion for learning, I've had a passion for teaching, I've had a passion for helping people kind of transform their careers and their lives. My biggest thing that I love helping people do is really connect to their passion, their purpose, and help them gain clarity on their brand, who they are, what they do, what makes them valuable as well. So I love unpacking people, getting that clarity and connecting all the dots that may be in their head that they can't see how they all kind of correlate together.
Ben Wright:
Great. And I think when we talk about personal brand, we can often go down one or two paths. We can start to talk about a personal brand and how it relates to a business. Or we can talk about a personal brand and how it impacts customers and all the value that gets created for them from working with, in particular salespeople. And I think we're, well, we'll see where we go today. But we've certainly focused on personal brand from a business point of view in the past in this podcast. But I'm really keen to unpack it around customer outcomes and the value that being aligned with your own personal brand can create for those customers. So before we get into it to you, can you please explain what does a personal brand mean to you?
Johnathan Maltby:
Well, someone who spent a long time kind of researching and thinking about this, I think your brand is really the story that you want to tell people. It's the curated story, it's the conscious story, it's the strategic story. I think a good brand is one that acts as a vehicle to help you achieve your goal. Whether that's driving better customer outcomes, whether that's growing a team, for example. Having your brand is like, and a really good brand is like taking a turbo pack and strapping it onto your back. Especially when you're conscious of that brand and you're conscious of your actions, and you're conscious of your interactions and the perception that you want people to have of you. And that's what a great brand can do for you.
Ben Wright:
It's interesting, we talk about being conscious so often. We get to a point in time in our lives, in our professional careers, in our friendships, our relationships. Doesn't matter where it is, where we look backwards and realise that we've actually built something. And I think for me, a personal brand is one of those things where it often happens and it gets to a point where it's created into something that is impactful for the right or wrong reasons. But we've got there without actually recognising that we're on that journey. So if we then look at what makes a really strong and effective personal brand, what does that look like to you so that we can be conscious of how we're building it?
Johnathan Maltby:
I think a really good brand is one that obviously adds value. That's the first thing I think it's got to do. It's got to add value to not only your life, but to the people that you interact with, whether that be your customers or your friends or anything else like that. It's about understanding what is the value that I bring to the table. That's one of the first things is really understanding that. That's where a lot of people really kind of get stuck, is they go, I'm really struggling to understand what value I bring. They know there must be some value in there, but they're really struggling to articulate it. I think the second thing that makes a really good brand is credibility. You know, being able to say something and being able to back it up with tangible evidence as well. Whether that be social proof, word of mouth, whether it be skill and experience that you can relate it back to. And I think the third thing that really is important for having a really good, strong personal brand is visibility. No point having a great brand that no one gets to find out about or experience, because your modesty and your humility is getting in the way of enabling people to experience all those amazing things that you can bring to the table. I also think a good, strong brand is one where the person has fully considered what they're building their brand on. And, you know, I used to get a lot of people going, I want to build my brand, I want to do this, I want to do that. And I'm going, okay, well, that's great. What are you building your brand on exactly? And that's where a lot of people get stuck. They don't have that clarity to understand what I call as, you know, your professional identity, the foundation of your brand. So having a good brand means really understanding the foundations of it. What am I building this brand on specifically? And I think if you got those kind of components, we can dive into some of those components as well. But I think that's really being kind of conscious about what do I want to achieve, how am I going to achieve it, and how is my brand going to be the vehicle that's going to help me do that?
Ben Wright:
Yeah, great. And I think those three things you just spoke about around a really strong personal brand, around creating value, having credibility and being visible, are really impactful, particularly that one. You talk about being visible, that's your mantra. “It's not about necessarily who you know, it's about who knows you.” And I know you don't own that as the first person to say it. There have been a lot of super intelligent, well branded people globally that have spoken about making sure that people actually know who you are. And then things like lead generation and prospecting and networking and all those type of approaches become infinitely easier when people know who you are. So let's unpack those three if we can. So when you're creating a really strong personal brand, what does creating value look like to you?
Johnathan Maltby:
I think creating value is really got to be kind of customer centric. Who do you serve? How do you take them from pain to gain? How do you take away their problems or make their lives or their businesses easier? I always say this, it's like, you know, people don't care about you as much as they care about what you can do for them. And this often happens on a very subconscious level. You think about it this way, right? You're at a networking event or you're pitching your business or something like that, or maybe you're even at a social event, right? And someone says, so what do you do? Tell me a little bit about yourself and what they're doing is when you're talking and you're delivering your story or your pitch or just getting people to know you on a subconscious level, they're looking, where do you fit within my life? What is the relevance that you have and the words that you're saying. Now, if there's relevance, then we have connection. People go, oh, I want to find out more. If there's no relevance, then people go, oh, that's great. Thank you very much for your time. And, you know, then you move on, you know, and that's what we're doing, often at a very subconscious level. So value. People are looking for value as, how can you make my life better? I think that's where the value is. How can you make me feel better, do better, perform better? You know, all of those kind of things in there. So value, I think, is really based on outcome. How can you transform my situation?
Ben Wright:
It's really interesting with certainly everyone that I work with. We talk a lot about creating a great outcome for the customer. So features and benefits are fantastic. They're the vehicle that will get you to create the value for the customer. And the value is really, really important. So we might take a feature and a benefit, like a product that saves them time and makes their business more productive, which comes out. The values, the productivity in the business, the features and the benefits is whatever that piece of tech does to save them time. The outcome here, though, is that what are they doing with that time that they've saved? Does that allow them to focus on more customers, which generates more revenue, which means they have a stronger bottom line? Does it allow them to spend more time with their team so they have longer tenure in their business and a happier team? Right. It's not just taking features and benefits. It's not just taking value, but it's stretching that to the outcome that you provide, because that is the point. Without question, we become strategic partners with customers when we are creating ongoing outcomes. What I think I've just heard from you is it's not just about what you're selling or how you're selling it, but it's also about how you are personally presenting it that can be impactful in creating outcomes. So for leaders out there, this is a moment where you take a note that says it's not just about outcomes in terms of how we deliver or the product that we have or our messaging and our collateral. It's also about the people that we have in our business and the personal brand they represent. So I really like that. The second piece was credibility. So in terms of an effective personal brand, how does credibility fit in?
Johnathan Maltby:
Credibility, I think, is like putting your money where your mouth is. At the end of the day, you've got to be able to back yourself. Part of having a really genuine and authentic brand is obviously being able to say it in your own voice, but also being able to back yourself and have evidence. I think this is absolutely vitally important because that's what people are looking to you now. Credibility could just be sharing information, you know, or being that source of information is highly regarded. You know, you get these people, they call them thought leaders in their fields, and a thought leader is someone who can bring credibility to the table because of the outcomes that they can help people achieve or the experience that they've got, or the transformations that they can help people achieve. So credibility usually comes from analysing, your skills, your experience and your success record, in other words. Where have you helped other people in the past? If I could just backtrack just to one thing that I'm thinking about is that it's not just the value that you bring to your customers, but it's also how you make them feel. That is also valuable as well, because people won't remember what you do, but they'll remember how you made them feel. And I think that's really, really, really important when it comes to creating that great customer service, for example, or engaging with your customers, is how did I make them feel? And if I could create a great feeling when we interact with each other, maybe if I'm bringing warmth or empathy or humour or whatever that is to the table or trust, it's going to make them feel something. And that's where your customers really connect with you and your brand as well.
Ben Wright:
No doubt at all. The experience that your customers or your team members have is so important. And I'm a huge advocate and some of those listening will have heard me talk about the Noosa chocolate story, whereby I really place value on small gifts, small little tokens of appreciation that say thank you, I value your time. And I think from a personal brand point of view, there's a generosity of spirit piece there and we can talk about it being maybe a little bit woo woo, but for a very black and white person like myself to place emphasis on making sure that whoever I'm working with or I'm meeting with feels that little bit important is very integral to my personal brand. So no doubt at all that credibility also helps that. When you come and meet with someone and you have significant runs on the board and people know that you have a level of credibility that is valuable to them, that also can really help that initial experience.
Okay, great. So, first one was value. Second one was credibility. The third piece around visibility, the importance of visibility in a personal brand. What does that mean to you, Johnathan.
Johnathan Maltby:
Visibility is such an important part of your brand because if you're not visible, then you're wasting all of those concepts that you put together and all that time to build in that brand. And I always say when you become visible, you become valuable. And so, you know, a lot of people, especially when they're looking to build credibility in the market or even grow their own careers, so many times people focus on doing a good job. And I call this the head down, bum up attitude, doing a great job that no one gets to find out about because they're in the back room doing amazing things, but no one gets to see it. And that's often a generational thing as well. I'm a gen-Xer, for example. And so, you know, us Gen-Xers were always taught, if you do a good job and you study hard, you're going to be rewarded, you're going to climb the ladder. Those days are gone because it's the people who make the greatest visibility strategy are often the ones that are attracting those opportunities. So visibility is really, really important. I think we live in the golden age of visibility right now. We have so many different platforms that we can raise our visibility on. You know, this is a prime example here. Being on this podcast, it's a prime example of visibility. Social media has probably been the game changer for visibility. Even speaking up at meetings in your business or with your clients or what you bring to the table, that's anytime that somebody interacts with you, it's raising your visibility. So my advice is to find something that works for you and your personality. You know, a lot of times people go, oh, but I'm introverted, you see. So find something that works for you and your personality. And raising that visibility, maybe it's creating content is a really, really good way. I always say, like, all that amazing knowledge and skill and experiences is great, but it can be even better if you start sharing it with people. So start getting all that goodness out, teach someone, become a mentor. All of that sort of stuff is a great vehicle for your brand as well. So visibility, absolutely. Find something that works for you and your personality. And I don't mean doing every bit of things on social media. Choose two or three ways and go right. That's my platform. That's what I'm going to use to raise my visibility within my business, within my customers, and within my industry as well.
Ben Wright:
There's no doubt that creating visibility is critical. A piece of feedback I often receive is I've left it too late. Social media's already gone pretty hard. I don't have enough of a presence. What am I going to do? And for me, it's a really easy approach that just works here. And that is if it's a customer-facing visibility piece you looking at is, find out where your customers hang out. And I don't mean where they hang out necessarily after hours, find out in a business sense where they go. Is it trade shows, is it community forums? Is it simply business parks in a B2B? Right. You know, they are in certain areas and there are big congregations of your types of business there. Is it through your network? Is it through an extended network, whatever it may be, is find out where they hang out. That's where you need to get visible. And then from a team point of view, if as a leader you're trying to get visible, for me, it's all about making sure that you are where your team can see you regularly and that's in All Hands meetings, that's in smaller team meetings, that's around the office if you work on-site type of business, it's on video meetings, it's on chat when they need you. Getting visible is not about having 30,000 or 100,000 LinkedIn or Instagram followers. It's about getting visible to the right people that works for them.
Johnathan Maltby:
Yeah, yeah. What you describing there is what I call the proximity factor. How close are you to the people that need to be seeing you? So this is another real vital part of your Brand is going, right? Who needs to see me? What do they need to see me doing, in other words? And timing is really important. So being seen by the right people at the right time, doing the right things, and that is being conscious about your brand as well. So going to those networking meetings is really, really important, whether it be online or offline or in person, all of those sort of things. And if you work in a large organisation as well, where you might have multiple teams, what I say is don't just stay in your silo. Great career growth happens when you go outside your immediate proximity. So if you're working for a large organisation or something like that, go out and go and meet some people in other teams. This is a way to build your brand as well. Don't be stuck in your silo. Proximity is everything when it comes to visibility.
Ben Wright:
Couldn't agree more. Well, we're at a fork in the road right now, Johnathan, because we've spent 20 minutes today really defining why a personal brand is important for you, for your team, and the outcomes that it creates for customers and for anyone that's not convinced, there's probably two things I'll point you to. This is the second or third episode we've had on this podcast. And this is a podcast where I have more guests asking to speak on the show than I can possibly fit in. In fact, I could double the amount of episodes. And I've still got a list of people wanting to speak. We are choosing to focus on personal brand because of the importance that it has in today's environment. If you're still not convinced, though, then that's where you need to get in touch with me. And I'll simply, I'll have that phone call with you to talk through exactly why it's important. Because at the moment, we have 70% of buyers not wanting to engage with salespeople. So to get through that gate or that roadblock that's there is we need to be creating value. And then outcomes unbelievably quickly. And a personal brand is one of the most effective ways to do it. And where I say we're at a fork in the road is because we've spoken about why it's so important. But we actually haven't spoken about how we can create one that lands with our customers or how we can have our teams create one. We have a little bit too much to talk about and not enough time for one episode. So what we're going to do is we're going to go into that in next week's episode.
So it's a whole seven day wait to find out exactly how we can begin to implement our brands, which we're going to come back and do. So for today, we're going to end here. But I can't wait for part two when we catch up with you again next week, Johnathan. In the meantime, though, where can people find you? For those who are wanting to know a little bit more about you from today?
Johnathan Maltby:
So two areas that they can find me. The first one is LinkedIn. That's a great area. I love getting new connections. So if you want to connect with me on LinkedIn is probably a great way to do it. The second one is two websites you can go and visit. One is www.johnmaltby.com.au. And the other website that I've launched, that's for a new product that I've launched, and it's about transforming careers. And you can see that at careermasteryclass.com.
Ben Wright
Excellent. Fantastic. Well, thank you for part one today, Johnathan. Look forward to catching up again next week. For everyone listening, please keep living in a world of possibility and you'll be amazed by what you can achieve. Bye for now.
Why We Simply Must Invest in Our Personal Brands, with Johnathan Maltby
