The Direct Seller's Podcast
The Direct Seller's Podcast
You Are Not Your Company: How to Build a Personal Brand in Direct Sales
In this episode of The Direct Sellers Podcast, Rachel breaks down a critical truth: You are not your company. Too many direct sellers build their entire identity around their products, but what happens if the company shuts down or they decide to move on? That’s why personal branding is essential.
Rachel shares:
- What personal branding really means (hint: it’s not just your logo and colors).
- Why building a brand beyond your company gives you more security, credibility, and options.
- Real-life examples of direct sellers who have successfully built personal brands.
- How to start branding yourself today—without overcomplicating it.
- Why personal stories build trust and connection (and how to use yours effectively).
She also reminds us: Your company is just a chapter in your story—it’s not the whole book.
If you’re ready to create a brand that makes you the go-to expert (instead of just another product seller), this episode is for you.
Resources & Next Steps
🔥 Join Your Backup Plan: Learn how to add another revenue stream and build a brand beyond your company. www.rachelaperry.com/backup
📲 Connect with Rachel on Instagram [@rachelaperry] for daily branding tips and direct sales strategies!
Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review! 🚀✨
Hang out with me more!
Send me the message PODCAST over on Instagram at @rachelaperry and I’ll send you my "Parties-Optional Profit Plan!"
For Additional Resources for Direct Sellers:
www.rachelaperry.com
Welcome to the Direct Sellers Podcast, the podcast for direct sellers who are ready to get uncomfortable, build their business and grow a team while changing the face of the direct sales industry. I'm your host, rachel Perry. Join me as we get real and talk about all the things you need to kick some serious direct sales booty From overcoming limiting beliefs to sharing the exact strategies you need to attract the right people who become customers and beg to join your team. I've got you covered, girl. I'm going to be your new BFF when it comes to balancing life and kids while building your direct sales business with poise, peace of mind and, of course, a good set of fake eyelashes. Let's get started.
Speaker 1:Hello, my friends, welcome back to another episode of the Direct Sellers Podcast. I'm your host, rachel Perry, and today we're going to dive into the phrase, if you will, you're not your company. I've had some people reach out and they're like what do you mean by that? So today we're just going to dive in on like what personal branding really means for you as a direct seller. So one of the common mistakes I see a lot with direct sellers is that you build your entire identity around your company and I get it. I get it, because you wouldn't necessarily be here, you wouldn't be selling your product right If it wasn't for the company and so we sort of identify ourselves as the product lady, insert product right. But the problem with that is that we're not representing ourselves, we're representing the company. Okay, and there are some risks that come with that, because if the company were to shut down, what do you have? If you've built yourself up as the product lady and as the person who sells whatever and all those things, what's going to happen if your company closes or if you decide to leave your company or if you join a different company? It becomes hard and it becomes a little bit bumpy, right? So I want to help you build your own brand. So let's talk about what personal branding actually is and what it isn't.
Speaker 1:Okay, it's y'all listen, way back when, when I was with the tag team, I really only thought branding was your logo and your colors and the fonts that you used and how everything looked like, the aesthetics. But that's not what it is. That's a part of it, but it's really just a tiny part of it. Okay, your brand is you. It's you. It's who you are. It's what you like, it's you. It's who you are. It's what you like, it's what you stand for, it's you. Your company is just a little bit of who you are, but it's not you. Does that make sense? Your brand should be built on you, not the company that you sell for. Okay, did you hear me? Did you hear me on that one?
Speaker 1:You know, for example, if you sell beauty products like makeup, skincare, you know, whatever hair care you can be sharing pieces like information about, like, how to take care of your skin and how to apply certain makeup. But you're not just talking about your company products, right? You're? You're teaching strategies and skills and methods and all of that and educating and also sharing a little bit about you and how you use the makeup and as you're sharing that, you're sharing a little bit about what and how you use the makeup and as you're sharing that, you're sharing a little bit about what you love and who you know. That's building a brand. Then, let's say, your company were to close the doors and they're like we're not doing this anymore. And you're like, okay, well, I've built a brand teaching women how to apply makeup, how to take care of their skin and how to really take care of their hair. It's all like around that. So then you can join another direct sales company that's similar, or you can build something of your own, and you know what I believe? I believe you should be doing that now, but you've already established this brand where you teach women how to feel beautiful. This brand where you teach women how to feel beautiful, how to take care of themselves, right, what they should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing. That's a brand.
Speaker 1:So here's some of the benefits of having a really strong brand, a strong personal brand. People, they know you and they're going to come and buy from you first before they just buy the product. Okay, they're going to be like wait, rachel, I love Rachel, rachel, I know she sells this stuff. I'm going to go to her rather than just being like let me go look up the product. And when you have a brand, you can then pivot, you can expand, you can add revenue streams without losing credibility, which is what I'm teaching the girls inside your backup plan. Right now, they're all still working their direct sales businesses, but they're just slowly adding another revenue stream, one of their very own.
Speaker 1:Okay, a brand gives you authority. So if you were to leave your company, your company were to close. Whatever happens, your audience stays, your brand stays. What you sell might change, but you have already built this personal brand that's not going anywhere. There's so much security in that. So what I want you to do right now is think about how could you and maybe you've already started building a personal brand.
Speaker 1:Hopefully, if you've been listening to me for long enough, you're like okay, rachel, yes, I've started building my brand, but I am still getting questions, which is why we're going to keep talking about this and, honestly, we're going to talk about this a lot because branding is so important. You know, branding is like telling a story. It's like letting people in to who you are, not just what you sell. Part of my brand right now is that I have teenagers who all have various learning challenges. Right, that's part of my story. That's part of how I can help people. Right, it's all when I was selling, when I was in jewelry. Like part of my part of my brand was that I was doing Facebook parties and I was really successful at them and I had doubled my sales. That was part of what I did. But also part of what I did was help women feel beautiful. Right, there are just different ways that we, different things that we can offer with our brand.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let's talk about how you can start building a personal brand today. So, if you're listening to this and you're like, you know I think I'm leaning too much into my company, like my feed. All the things that I'm sharing are kind of product posts or join my team posts, or I have just been reusing other people's images. Okay, if that's you let's talk about. You need to define what you actually stand for beyond the product, beyond what you sell, beyond your team. Who are you? What do you stand for? What is your superpower? What lights you up? What could you talk about all day, every day. Okay, define what that actually is.
Speaker 1:All right, share personal stories that build trust and connection. You know, I share a lot of personal stories with you guys, partly because, hi, you're my besties, but also because I think it's you get to know me better. Have you ever I don't know, hopefully you feel this way about me, but have you ever listened to someone's podcast or watched videos and then you feel like, if you were to see them in real life, you could pick up where you left off, even though you never left off? Do you know what I mean? You just feel like you're their friend. I hope all of you feel that way about me and I hope that if you were to see me, you would come up to me and we could have a conversation, because that is what builds trust and connection it's your personal stories. Okay, then you're going to create content that positions you as the go-to expert with your product, but not just because of it. Okay, so, basically, you may share the products and you may talk about the products, but you're talking about more than just your products. So you're talking about more than just your lip gloss, or more than just your electrolytes, or more than just your collagen, or more than just your spices, whatever it is. You're also talking about how to make their lives easier.
Speaker 1:For example, I have a student who sells Pampered Chef. She's amazing. She is always in the kitchen baking things and she shares that process, using, obviously, pampered Chef products, but she's sharing. The bigger picture is that she's sharing how to make sourdough bread or how to make different recipes, or she shares a recipe. She shares something that she's made for dinner. That creates that conversation Like what is that? Can you give me the recipe? So she becomes the go-to expert when it comes to cooking and creating fun things in the kitchen.
Speaker 1:So I just, I just want you to understand. It doesn't have to be complicated, it really doesn't. Branding doesn't have to. The beautiful thing, the beautiful thing with branding is that you already know, like you don't have to go out and do something. You already have. You, you're right here. You are right here, sister, so let's start leaning into more of you. Like, what do you stand for?
Speaker 1:I have another previous student who sells Sensi and she has been, I think. She's on a health journey and she's just been sharing more of that in her stories and on her Instagram and she still shares a part of Sensi. But she's sharing more of this health journey and her and her family life and it's beautiful and I love it and I'm getting to know her more Because I'm learning. I'm on this journey with her now, like I'm following along as she goes for her walks. I'm following along as she shares things that she's doing in her life, like I am following along people, even if they're not on that same journey. People feel connected to you because you're sharing part of your journey.
Speaker 1:I've talked on here about my journey with hormones right Cause high perimenopause. I've talked, I've told you guys, I've told nobody else that I just started Zetbound. Okay, literally, I've told nobody else. It's a secret, actually, it's really not a secret, but I just feel like I can share stuff with you because you're my besties, you know I've. I just don't. That's not something that necessarily that I'm going to put out there yet, just because it doesn't really go with my brand, to be totally honest. Okay, to be totally honest, that's what it is. It doesn't really flow, but I think that's what draws us to each other. It's learning about people and and getting to know each other in different ways. So let's close with this, and this is a short podcast, but you know, sometimes we just don't have time to be listening to 35 minute podcasts.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, the company with you, you're with right now, you guys, is just a chapter. It's not your whole story. That's pretty powerful, right? I don't know if you've thought about it like that, but it's just a chapter in your book. It's not your whole story. Now, it might be several chapters in your book, but it's not your whole story. Now, it might be several chapters in your book, but it's not the only chapter. Okay, you are more than your company. You are you and we want to know more of you, and building a brand is giving you the security, it's giving you options so that you're in control, not at the mercy of your company.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, you guys, I appreciate you being here. Are you listening? Like I love that I can share all the things with you. I just, I really do. I just love you. I love you so much and, um, I appreciate you listening and I'll be back here next week for another episode of the direct sellers podcast. Until then, my beautiful friends take care podcast. Until then, my beautiful friends take care. That's it for this episode of the Direct Sellers podcast, but our fun doesn't have to end now. You'll catch me hanging out over on Instagram between episodes and I'd love for you to join me. So hop into my DMs. I promise you're not getting any hate girl messages and I promise I'm not going to be asking you to weirdly buy anything. Send me the message podcast so I can send you my free 90-day action planner, because who doesn't love a good template?