Selling your products and services is the main goal of your marketing. Te third article in this section points out that people will buy more from you when they know you are real. Read why it is important not to attempt to be everything to everybody, but rather, become vulnerable to improve job security and get more sales and satisfaction at the same time. “Vulnerability is Money in the Bank” starts on page 17.

Networking is great for picking up new ideas, and done right it can be an effective marketing tool. Winter, with all its trade shows and conferences, is an ideal time for networking. Prepare especially for this interaction by practicing your networking skills at the 2017 TPI International Education Conference & Field Day. Read “8 Ways to Overcome Social Discomfort at Networking Events” beginning on page 19 to help you hone your skills.

Steve Trusty is co-editor of Turf News.

But employees are also critical to an organization’s success in a way that many people never consider: personal branding.

When most people think about personal branding, they automatically assume you’re talking about career advancement or something a salesperson, insurance agent or real estate broker would do in hopes of closing more deals. Certainly, such images fall under the personal branding umbrella. But organizations benefit from personal branding too. Personal branding by employees helps companies make more money and organizations more successfully meet their missions.

HOW TO TURN YOUR PEOPLE INTO PORTALS OF PROFIT

By Jeff Beals

As I was driving on the freeway last week, I came upon a semi-trailer truck which had a message printed on the back in big red letters: “Our most valuable resource sits 63 feet ahead.” As I passed the truck, I saw a similar message in even bigger letters printed along the side of the trailer: “Our most valuable resource sits here” and then a big red arrow pointing at the driver.

What a nice message! I assume the company, Crete Carrier Corp. decided to place this message on the truck as a way to:

1. recruit drivers;

2. remind drivers how important their work is to the company’s success;

3. make customers feel good knowing that their freight is being transported by high quality drivers;

4. all of the above

Indeed, employees are important to the success of companies especially those companies that operate in highly competitive industries.

TPI Turf News January/February 2017

Businesses large and small must realize that people—their employees—are the portals of profit. In other words, customers like to come into a company through a human being. Personal relationships are the most effective way to land big clients. Personal relationships are even effective in the highly commoditized world in which many companies compete. Te more a company’s employees are out and about among the public, becoming well known and building relationships with prospective and current customers, the better a company will do.

Too many organizations fear personal branding efforts by their employees. In fact, conventional wisdom says that well-branded employees might be snatched up by competitors. While there is a greater risk of losing well- known employees, savvy companies realize the benefits outweigh the threat of greater turnover. What’s more, my gut tells me that employees who are encouraged to build their personal brands will be happier at work and therefore less likely to leave (even though they would theoretically have more opportunities to leave).

Organizations need not wait for a threat to tap the latent personal branding power that sits unused on their organizational charts. Now is the time to empower employees. Help employees build their brands and turn them loose as deputized ambassadors. Employees must become famous in their own spheres of interest, so they can become the portals of profit.

Jeff Beals is a professional speaker and award-winning author, who helps companies increase their profits and associations achieve their missions through effective sales and personal branding techniques.

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