Unlocking the Power of Personal Branding

Isaac Mashman1:24

Walter, thank you for the invitation. A little jealous of you. Have a call scheduled later tonight. I'll be smoking a cigar, but I'm in the office. I don't think the landlord would be too happy if I let up a cigar in here.

Isaac Mashman2:09

Yeah, and it would actually be a book that would be perceived as controversial to people who just read it by face value or hear the term. It's actually the Prince by Nicola Moqui of Elle. It's one of these books that, we use this term Moqui of Elle in as this dark tied, dark energy kind of, oh, you're trying to be deceitful. In the book, he's actually writing it from a third party standpoint, it was a gift to one of the, I suppose, princes, right, of Italy. Italy has a fascinating culture, just in terms of the, Roman Catholic church, and, it maintaining power. Eventually there being a revolution in the church losing that power.

There's a reason why it's consolidated to Vatican City today, because that empire used to stretch for hundreds and hundreds of miles. But in the book, he wrote it as a gift to, in my opinion, he wrote it to get into another position of power because he previously was a conciliary. He was somebody who offered advice and he, by the end of his life, lost a lot of that influence he had because the family that he was working with, I believe, fell out of power. One of the people died and he sent it as a gift. It wasn't confirmed if he, or if the person he he gifted it to, I don't remember the actual name, I don't even want to think about that, but it's not even confirmed if they read it.

Because it was published, I believe after his death, but in the book he talks a lot about how to maintain good people around you more than anything. He says that, one of the biggest downfalls of the Prince is having bad advisors that have pretty much attached their success in a selfish manner and will look for any way to gain that upper hand on the person in power. He says in one of the chapters that the smart ruler at the smart prince needs to find people who attach their success to the princess success. I've adopted that too because anytime that I bring on a consultant or somebody I want to work with, I want to make sure that they're somebody who wants to grow with me.

We're in this together in this business relationship. I believe that in a business sense, it's really an underrated book. You cannot just think about it from this dark energy trying to manipulate people, but rather understanding human intentions and understanding what you can do to achieve that sort of power in your own business and your own life. So I believe it's a necessary read, whether or not you're interested in history or psychology, but just from the face value and diving deep into it and studying it, not just if you just read it, you're not going to understand it. But if you dive deep into it like a textbook and go chapter by chapter, there's a lot to unpack there.

It's something I need to pick up. I have an illustrated copy. I found it good will actually, I was really blessed to find that. I need to reread it. It's been a couple months since I last picked it up.

Isaac Mashman6:29

Yeah, it's definitely worth reading Walter. For any stage in business, it's just interesting too, because it's such a cultural piece to where that phrase in psychology is well recognized. You have phrases like narcissism and psychopath, sociopath, and then you have Machiavellian. The personality types. But in the book, if I'm not mistaken, he does talk about kind of setting that vision and kind of having a common enemy. If you have a common enemy that you can attack and kind of get the people on board for, because he writes it from may 30,000 foot overview, use that analogy of being an airplane right of like, you have all this territory, where are you sitting troops, where are you sending resources.

There are strategies like in the book that he doesn't, he actually explicitly says that he doesn't endorse a lot of the strategies, which is interesting. He says that, you should never be outright evil and do these things without some end goal in mind. He uses the example of a prince who I believe he was a Duke actually, and he basically killed a lot of the people in power or did something heinous. What he did is rather than taking the fall himself, he had a fall guy. He had a general that he put in the town square and basically let the public kill. So the prince looks great and you have this fall guy.

So Nicola, he says, don't do these strategies just to be, evil, mannered. But I believe in a business since setting a vision that is achievable and for example, in my own company with Mashman Consulting Group, I've publicly set the goal of being the number one public relations, or not public relations, I'm still in that PR standpoint. But the number one personal brand consultancy that is able to work and assist clients from all walks of life, all professions in an ethical manner, in a moral manner because the public relations space and the personal branding space are so much sleaze balls. I believe that in sales, you've probably seen these guys that are just like selling products or services that they themselves don't believe in or things that are snake oil.

I've set that public goal of being the number one personal brand consultancy and having a team of 500 consultants by 2035. But why is that? Right? I could set the vision, but why? What's the deeper meaning? It's really to set the tone in a positive manner and provide the proper advice and provide the proper certifications, the proper strategies to people so they don't get scanned. So they don't fall victim to the fake Forbes feature, to the fake followers, to the fake crap that everybody else sells online, the Lamborghini Hustleboro culture, which we see a lot that's evident on social media today.

Isaac Mashman10:20

Yeah, it's the equivalent of the diet pill versus the actually working out and eating right. Everybody wants a six pack overnight and so they'll get, do the weight watchers, do the programs, purchase the pill or you could, I suppose compare it to the TV event, the TV evangelist that sells holy water and thinks that you can be cured automatically and it's like, it's so unethical. There is this innate gut feeling of, this isn't really legitimate, but the hope is what leads the person to make the purchase. Sales is 80% emotions. That's common. Everybody uses that example. It's like, yeah, you lean into the emotional side, the dream building side, the, oh, you want this because you want it, not because you need it.

That's where I think as sales professionals, especially need to have kind of that moral backbone of saying, I'm not going to sell something, to somebody that they don't need. From a personal branding standpoint, being that fake person, that fake guru, that rented Lamborghini, rented Rolls Royce, is just, it's unethical because people are still going to want to support you, even if you're not in that point. But you're working to get to that point and you let these people live vicariously through your vision of what you're building towards. It can be just as effective and it's more effective because now you mitigate the reputational risks of somebody finding out you're illegitimate.

That's kind of a big reason why I'm in this space and why I'm setting that ambitious goal of being the number one personal brand consultancy worldwide because I believe that we can do it the right way. That we can do it with a firm ethical standing.

Isaac Mashman13:13

Well, let me start out by defining what personal branding is because building a personal brand is a lot different than building a company brand. Your personal brand is you. It's who you are and I would make the philosophical argument that you've had your personal brand from the moment you were born. Your parents determined your name where you were born nurtured into those characteristics and beliefs, the God that you pray to, the political ideology that you adhere to. As an adult, you are now able to consciously direct that personal brand and direct your reputation, which is an extension of it, to achieve a particular goal. If I could define branding versus marketing simply, branding is what you were known as, what you were known for.

Marketing is how you can get more people to know about you. So there's this great symbiosis that happens between the two because how you brand yourself, about Rolls Royce or think about Ferrari and Lamborghini compared to Ford or Chevy or GMC, it affects how they're marketing themselves and the marketing vehicles and the channels exactly. So from a sales professional standpoint, you need to position yourself as that expert, position yourself as that authority. So if you're in the automotive detail or automotive sales industry, you need to position yourself as a top sales leader in the automotive space. Then talk about, hey, some of the strategies, talk about the client stories, talk about the sales, talk about, the end result of, Hey, I was able to help Rebecca get into the car for dreams, which was perfect for her family.

You can lean into content creation and podcasting or writing articles and, doing these things that are providing that public display of competence. The people are able to latch on to and see. So whether you're adhering to the, Hey, I'm trying to train other professionals in my space versus the I'm also showing people the ins and outs of, what it's like to be on the other end of the deal. Be the person who's presenting the paper and presenting the contract. You're able to position yourself as that number one person which will help you cut through the noise is a type of competitive. There's there's no shortage of sales professionals.

There's no shortage of content creators online. But by positioning herself and saying, hey, I help do X, Y, and Z. I help automotive dealerships increase their sales. You are able to effectively be that go-to, be that referral partner for the people who are looking for referrals. We're talking about a couple of minutes ago, if you're not able to provide or work with that client, right, or maybe not being able to provide that service or product, chances are you know somebody who could. So by you taking the moral path and saying, I can't help you, but I know somebody who can, you're building a phenomenal relationship with the person you send them to.

By being that referral partner, you're thinking of them and you're saying, hey, I know James, I know Walter. I know Willis and he's going to be able to walk with you and provide that exact thing that I might not be able to. But you're still going to be able to get that in result and maybe down the line, if you see a need, I'm still going to be here, the company's still going to be here. So you could obviously follow up with me, but for where you're at right now, why don't you go with this person? That helps you stand out in the space as somebody who has that moral backbone and has that spine, which I believe as a culture and as a society is more important than ever, do you be able to say, hey, we're not the best fit, but I know somebody who is. Right there helps you stand out.

Isaac Mashman17:54

Well, and what you're talking about is also connecting on a personal level. Sales people go wrong because they only focus on the service or the outcome and they don't focus on the individual and talking about their needs and talking about their desires. So last week I was in Denver for a conference where I spoke and it was in the water feature space. So I was talking to people who create these beautiful koi ponds, waterfalls, outdoor water features. One of the things that was made clear to me was how much of a luxury and an emotional connection these water features have to these people. Because think about it, if you've had the dream for your entire life to have a koi pond, now you're in this space where now you can get a koi pond built, it's not just some pond.

It's not just a water or a body of water that has some fish in it. It's this no, I have a pond because my dad had a pond and I'm able to take my daughter and dip her toes into the water and feed the fish and treat these memories. So you're connecting with the person. In the personal branding space, you can just say, I help do X, Y and Z. I help coaches increase the revenue by $30,000 in 90 days. But okay, cool. So does the next guy. But if you can say, Hey, avid cigar enthusiast. Like this is a point of rapport. Sales requires rapport, that trust.

In the personal branding space, I always encourage my clients to find that personal hook, and then you can go into the professional punchline. So I say addicted to coffee and standards. I help emerging and established public figures optimize and scale their personal brands. So I have a personal hook, which is addicted to coffee, which I've already had so much. I'm not coming into this session with a cup of coffee in hand. But the thing is, the cigar thing for sales and cigars is perfect because now you're adhering to and you're connecting with people who have an enthusiasm for cigars, and then they're the sales professional. But they're connecting with you, Walter first. That right there is a huge piece of advice.

Isaac Mashman21:12

But think about how solid of relationships you're building with the people who are your core groups. So yeah, you might lose a couple people who might be turned off and you're like, oh my God, he's smoking tobacco in 2024. How could he? How awful? Compared to the people who are saying man, I like this dude. I don't even smoke cigars right now I do but think about somebody who's coming to your profile be like I don't smoke cigars. But I see the appeal of that like gentlemen kind of perspective of sitting down and enjoying something and having something that they are prideful about because that's what cigars are cigars are a point of relaxation absolutely, but cigars also represent an ideology of being that you know I would use the term masculine even though, women's smokes cigars as well, but it's traditionally more of a masculine thing.

You sit around, you talk business with friends, you talk, talk about what's going on in life, you're celebrating an occasion. So people who even aren't in the space are able to respect that and appreciate it. Maybe not to the same degree as somebody who does smoke cigars, but that gives a deeper layer of connection and a deeper layer of rapport that can be built. So these people are going to think of you be like, man, I like Walter because of his approach. Like the whole cigar thing and it's like you can have an interest in something or not have an interest in something but still appreciate it. Even if it's.

Isaac Mashman24:38

The guy solve the problem. Yeah, you're still a part of his journey undeniably. If you think about the sales cycle and the sales process, you need to hook. You need somewhere to come in and have that initial conversation. I view the cigars thing for sales and cigars as a similar thing of you have the cigars, which hooks people in. Then the value and the conversations and the expertise that you're able to provide and the guests that you bring on are able to keep people there. So you have an initial hook in the sales process that says, hey, there's a need that I can solve. But then the actual value in terms of product or service that you're selling is going to keep them on that journey with you and keep them coming back for more, in my own work and personal branding.

I could work with podcasters, authors, anybody, but there's an initial need. Then as that relationship builds and as their journey progresses and they're expanding their personal brand, now three months might go by and there might be a new need that arises. So that relationship and that value that I was able to initially provide them will have them come back and say, Isaac, I need another consultation. Let's work together. That's the thing. Sales is relationships and the biggest issue I think most people have is they're not having enough conversations and they're not learning and gathering enough information. This is something I've seen in my own business of like, hey, why is revenue down?

Because I'm not talking to as many people. I'm not doing as much. If you just have more conversations, chances are your revenue is going to naturally increase in parallel.

Isaac Mashman26:55

Yeah, and what will happen is you'll go from the person who's sending referrals and eventually be the person who gets referred. So if you're solving a specific problem or let's say you're selling, I don't know, HVAC services. Something so niche, but something so needed, you can send business to other HVAC professionals if you're not able to service a particular client and it takes a certain degree of selflessness to do that. But by you positioning yourself as that number one HVAC professional in your local industry, or the top sales guy, eventually customers and clients and friends and people in your network are going to say, hey, oh, you're AC broke, I got a guy.

Then they can refer you. I mentioned Mike Fakara, who just launched a cigar brand out of Miami, Guido cigars, who I'm going to refer you to and have a conversation with. I look forward to him being on the show. But if you're thinking about the Italian, I got a guy. The mafia approach. You have to be willing to share your industry, you have to be willing to share your network. That will pay off in dividends long-term, because again, it's like sales is a long process, building your personal brand as a lifetime commitment, and building a business is a lifetime commitment, something you've got to go into with the long-term in mind.

Isaac Mashman29:18

Would be very broad base to say like, I can work with anybody and everybody. You mentioned a good point of whether you're just starting out versus you're already an experienced professional. The approach that I would take with both clients differs based off of where they're at. So if you're just starting out, we're not positioning you as the top authority in anything. We're positioning you as somebody who is an up and coming professional, somebody who is learning and aspiring to achieve that goal. So you're taking people along for your journey and your process to achieve that, compared to the professional where you already have the expertise.

So now you can talk about all of the knowledge and talk about your stories and talk about your life and the different things that you're able to offer. So the positioning in the approach is a little bit different. Typically the best people that I work with are people who have a lot of success offline, but don't know the first thing about how they can leverage that credibility that they have that those local successes and transmute that into the digital manner. I've been able to work with podcasters, authors, creatives, models, entertainers, musicians. Really the end goal is varying by the client, but there are three main overarching reasons why somebody would want to build up their personal brand.

Number one is to make money. You want to drive revenue for your business or maybe you want to sell merchandise or make money through some sort of group coaching or have a paywall behind content, whatever that might be. Maybe you want to build out your personal brand for a purpose. Your mission driven. You see this a lot with these billionaires who want to associate themselves with some philanthropic cause. This is also seen, for example, people who have a deep connection to things and traumatic events that they've experienced, you think about domestic abusive drivers or sexual assault. These are people who turn into the best public speakers, best authorities because they are taking a mission and they're telling more people about it.

The final reason Walter why you'd want to build out your personal brand is very simply vanity. I don't see that being, anybody in your audience, but we see this a lot in celebrities and entertainers. Hey, why do you want to be famous? Oh, it feels good. It's a win-win situation. I like it. But I want to avoid. Exactly, exactly. I'm not here to talk about, oh, which is better, which is worse, should you even be driven by vanity. I'm not here to be your pastor, your father, that you go and confess to. But what I would tell you is if you're considering building out your personal brand, start by asking yourself why you want to build out your personal brand.

Then we could talk about what are the steps that we can take and strategize and for you to implement in order to achieve that particular goal and actually make more money or get more people to know about a certain cause. So identify those things. Then once you have an idea about where you want to go, then I come in and my firm comes in and now we can start, okay, step one, step two, step three. I'm really big and every single consultant that we're going to bring on over the next decade is going to have a very big organic approach. I'm not some of this, let's get rich quick, building your personal brand takes time.

It took me five, six years to land my first Forbes feature. Just today I looked online and it turns out I was in another article. I'm like, that's so cool. But it took me five years not getting that massive result that I was working towards to finally be able to have that compound success. It's the same thing as sales. You can go through a dry spell six months goes by and your revenue is not there. Then all of a sudden the floodgate opens and you have 25 clients who want to work with you and close.

Isaac Mashman32:53

Well, you can go to Google and type in Isaac Mashman and connect with me on the social media platform of your choice I'm on Facebook. I'm on LinkedIn you know anywhere that you're you're there. I'm probably there as well it can't be a personal brain a guy and not be well connected. Got it. So last question Isaac Pastor present any relationship with cigars definitely definitely it's one of those things that I enjoy you know growing up I was in Boy Scouts which I attribute a lot to the man that I am today. I believe that boy scouts should not to get too political should be the place for men, for boys to become men.

It should 100% be reserved for boys. I remember I had a bunch of scout masters who were military guys. One was a Marine, one was Navy, another was Navy, and these older men, and I'm still connected with some of them today. Sitting around the campfire, and it would always be towards the end. We had one, Mr. Eich, and he used to always chew on the cigar. He'd get the cheap swisher suites and being from Jacksonville, the Swisher Suites factory is in Jacksonville, Florida. But then the older I got, and the later I stayed up around the campfire, I'd realized that they would break out the cigars and they'd sit around and talk for hours, they'd watch the fire die down.

I know one of my Scout Masters, Mr. Larry, he would sit there just by himself, just smoking a cigar, and you would never see him smoke a cigar until it was late at night. As an adult and as a younger man, I felt like it was a rite of passage. I still believe it is a rite of passage in many ways, in many regards, but we see these masculine figures like Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger smoking the cigars in the movies are Hannibal from the A-Team. It was like at the end of every episode, Hannibal, and I know the TV show is way before my time, but at the end, he'd be like, I love it when a plan, comes together.

The end of the episode, every single time would be him smoking a cigar on the plane or on the helicopter or whatever. As an adult, I've kind of adopted that. It's like, yeah, you don't need to smoke a cigar. You never do. It's not like a cigarette. You don't need to go out and smoke a cigarette in the rain, when it's freezing cold like my grandmother used to do. But it's a want. It's a want. It's a desire. It's not a need. The relationship is different. That's what most people misunderstand. They're like, oh, you smoke cigars. You need to understand why. Just like, why you want to build out your personal brand?

I never thought I'd draw this parallel. But why you want to build out your personal brand? Why you want to smoke a cigar? The intention is different. That's why, I'm a huge lover of Perdomos, Padrons and Olivas. Those are probably my top three brands, Nick Perdomo. When I was first getting into the space, I went to YouTube and he was this dude who was like, he looked Italian, even though he's not Italian. He was this shorter guy and dressed in a really clean pinstripe suit. He did a tutorial on how to light up a cigar and I was like, man, I like this guy. This guy has class and it's, I love them. I didn't realize I was so passionate about him, but I can talk about him apparently for extended amounts of time. Certainly, yeah.

Isaac Mashman36:52

There's not judgment. Obviously, if you're smoking like a swisser suite, might crack a joke or two, but it's not with the intent to hurt. That's how you build those relationships. That's something I also appreciate. It's not a judgmental space. It's a we share a similar thing, a similar passion, a similar hobby. I believe from a business standpoint, finding those ways to disconnect or disconnect on an emotional level, just to connect and make more business. It's like going to a bar after a business conference. Having those conversations, you're sitting around and now you introduce the cigar, it just takes that relationship deeper. It's another vehicle to build off of.

Isaac Mashman37:44

Thank you very much. Walter, the pleasure is all mine my friend.