Ep. 217 INTERVIEW – Robbie Harper

How To Develop Your Business Story: INTERVIEW – Robbie Harper, Personal & business Branding  expert and owner of  Blue Bridge PR shares valuable tips for developing your brand message.

Voice over:

Get ready for an unfair advantage over your competition. This is The Sales Edge podcast. Where globally recognized sales expert and trainer Joe Pici helps you sharpen your skills for booking more appointments and closing more deals. And now here’s your host Joe Pici.

Joe Pici (JP):

Welcome to the sales as podcast. This is podcast number 217. Have you ever wondered about the power of the written word? Well today we have an expert, a marketing genius, and branding expert on how the written word can expand your brand. So we have Robbie Harper today and before I move into Robbie, I want to thank you for coming. This is podcast. 217, we want to thank our sponsors Pici and Pici, which is a speaking coaching training consulting firm. Right now, really focus on helping our clients recapture lost Revenue, recapture lost clients employees, and just get that competitive edge. and also sell more virtually.com. This is a membership platform where every Thursday night I’m out there live doing coaching and training downloads interviews. E-courses, we recommend you join. It’s a very minimum fee and you can have me live four times a month. So as we move forward, I want to tell you a little bit about Robbie Harper. He was born and raised in central Florida, Robbie’s six generation Floridian, I don’t know anybody else that’s sixth generation. Robbie worked for public relations agency focusing on large corporate law firms. He attained placements for clients in local Regional and National media such as Fox Business. In New York Times Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, Robbie, founded Blue Ridge, PR in 2015. He’s worked to get result for his clients including key placements in National media such as Forbes The Wall Street Journal. Hey welcome Robbie.

Robbie Harper (RH):

Thanks Joe.

(JP):

We’ve been wanting to have you on the show. Both of us have been so busy but we finally got you. Well, we want to get right into tell us what you do who you do it for and maybe some of the uniquenesses about your PR Company.

(RH):

First of all, we’re actually a personal branding company and we work with CEOs Executives and business owners that have very little time to really help build their personal brand, and that helps them build trust. We Use the media to do that. So the third party verification and The credibility that the media brings and I think media and I mean like, articles interviews, that kind of thing getting published it increases their exposure like crazy and ultimately it builds trust and it can build leads, and really increase their business.

(JP):

You hear so much about marketing firms, and digital and social, but you seem to have a different piece of this, where you lead with publication, Can you go a little deeper into that?

(RH):

Sure, you hear This, this term personal branding tossed around quite a bit. It’s become a buzzword. And a lot of people associate that with social media. and social media is important, don’t get me wrong and we do some of that but our focus is Publications. It’s getting somebody published, its that earned media that My industry calls it. the earned media. we reach out on behalf of our clients to Publications, editors reporters podcasters, A lot of times. And we look for opportunities to get them on that platform. It’s sales on the other side. You know, not only do I have to sell to get business, but I have to sell the media as well. And so, it’s got to be a win-win situation for both the client that we’re working With and it’s got to be a good story and it’s going to be a good fit with who were reaching out to for for whatever outlet that that might be.

(JP):

Because this is the sales edge podcast and we like to make sure our audience is really tying in what you do to your personal sales initiative. So what do you think is your fastball? And what do you rely on for your own client acquisition?

(RH):

For me, it’s regeneration. Let’s take a little while for me to really hone that. But it’s really identifying who My target market is and more importantly where they’re located where they are. And so a lot of times for me, it’s people that CEOs and Executives and business owners and already interested in writing and maybe putting themselves out there and building that brand, but maybe they don’t do it enough. And I may see an article or something where they’re interviewed as a source or an article that they’ve written and maybe They don’t have that many out there and it’s a simple ask for me an approach that’s like hey, you know, I see that you put this out there, I can help you get more, I can help you do more. I can help you maybe craft it a little bit better. Write it A little bit better in that kind of thing. So that’s how I I’ve really started to generate leads qualified leads and they go on my call list.

(JP):

So is there any particular lead generation source that You seem to be getting most of your leads from?

(RH):

LinkedIn is probably the top Source. There’s so many people that are on it. The tools of LinkedIn are great because you can filter out people and look at what people have written, what people are saying, what people where they’re located and Linkedin, I mean, it’s a gold mine in many ways and, you know, that as well.

(JP):

Yeah, since January 1st, as I’m looking at my hot sheet, It up there about 84% of all of the leads that have converted into appointments. Had that have converted into formal proposals, have come from LinkedIn. So we agree with you. You’re a very big on personal branding. And you break it down into three categories, and I’m going to throw them out there. Then I’m going to Turn You Loose. Okay, what personal brand is not okay, what it is and examples of it? I’m gonna Turn You Loose now to teach our audience?

(RH):

All right, well, a personal brand what it is not, it’s not a logo, you know, logos are important. And when we say branding, a lot of people take, you know, the the colors and the color scheme and the colors on your website and that kind of thing. And those are important, but it’s a lot more than that. So it’s not just a logo and it’s not imitating Somebody else you are Who you are and who you need to be that and figure out the strengths and things that come along with that and to put that out there. So a lot of people really see somebody or some influencer on Instagram or YouTube and they want to be that. Well, don’t do that. What it is. What personal branding is, it is your reputation. That’s what really public relations Is as well. So really that’s why they go hand-in-hand, like they do. It’s really about reputation management. It can take years to build a reputation. You mentioned that my family is six generation Floridians, and there was a reputation that came with our name and with my father’s name and when he was in business, it takes a while to build that and sometimes your reputation precedes you, but you can lose it like that. You can make one false move and you’ve lost business. You’ve Lost Your credibility. I mean, we see it all the time in building reputation. It’s really about building trust. That is the most important thing. And that’s really when it comes down to it, when somebody sees that you are published and that you’re putting yourselves out there and they see Dawn and Joe Pici, and the consistency of the content that they’re putting out, their Global sales gurus that builds trust in people’s minds, when you have that trust that’s built and you continue to do That over time, it’s game over. They see your brand, you’re on The Winning Side already, you know, we can all look at examples and there’s plenty of bad examples out there. One of the best examples that I’ve seen, this lady, Most of everybody knows who she is. I read the top five Most recognizable brands in the world is Dolly Parton. Everything about her is reputation. I mean, she does not get pulled into conversations, that might tear that reputation down. Right, political conversations things, that just might bring her down, she avoids it. You see the things that she’s for in the good and the positive messages and a lot of that does not come from social media. She’s a master, she’s a master at it.

(JP):

Robbie is a genius, and he is an expert at getting people published, so they can raise their brand and try to retain more Clients, are you having fun Robbie?

(RH):

I am. This is a lot of fun. And you told me, I would Have fun.

(JP):

They think you know, Joe, that’s very good question for you and I want you to take a little time with this because I know this is one of your your sweet sauces. I’d like you to help the audience when you help your clients find their message, how do you do that?

(RH):

There’s a tool that all of us are familiar with. It’s the element of story. We’re all drawn to that it’s easy for us to absorb the elements of story. It’s a powerful way to communicate, you know, my own kids? When we’re watching a movie or a show or Star Wars or something like that, my little seven-year-old. She’s like, okay, Daddy, is that the bad guy? Is that the good guy there? You know, at such a young age, they’re trying to kind of place people in that Narrative of who they are and what they’re doing and it’s a great opportunity for us and business, to do the same thing and how we can tell a story. But we’re more importantly, where is everybody else fit in. And there’s a great book by Donald Miller called “story brand”. It really paints that picture on Really how to do that. There’s elements of a story, you know, there’s a character that character has a problem, some way, shape or form. And then, there’s a guide who kind of helps this character kind of develops them, and gives them the tools and the Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, who help Luke Skywalker and train him just using that as an example. And then there’s a plan that’s like, Okay, this is how we’re going to train you and then there’s some type of call to action go, you know, win the day, defeat the Death Star, then there’s a result that comes from that, and so we can do that in business as well, but what a lot of people mess up in their personal Brands and if their companies especially is, when they position themselves as the main character, as sort of this hero. And that is not the thing to do. You should position yourself as a guide as the person that is going to come alongside And train somebody and give them the tools that they need to be successful because when you look at the people, they kind of treat themselves as the hero and you see the content and the things that they’re kind of doing and it can be perceived as like well this guy it’s all about him like I don’t want to do business with that kind of person and being a guide though it helps it make it less awkward. for one for you know for somebody that’s somebody that’s my client who you know, they don’t want to pass themselves on the back or feel like they’re a narcissist and Help them change that message around, where they’re the guide and they’re coming along. Somebody else to help their story to help their clients story. That’s what’s important. And That is what builds trust.

(JP):

Slightly off topic but not really what does Robbie do for his professional and personal growth?

(RH):

I read a lot of books. I just finished a book creating Magic by Lee Cockrell. Lee is a former Vice President of Operations at Walt Disney World Resort and I’ve had coffee with Lee and I’m learning from him about customer service and treating my clients better and giving them a good experience. And I think that’s important and there’s a quote by, I think it was Charlie tremendous Jones who said, you know, you five years from today. You’re going to be the same person except for the books, you read, and the people you meet. So books, and then connecting with people, I can learn more from somebody else’s mistakes, quicker Then you know, then my own. And yeah sometimes I get so involved with things sometimes I just need to take a step back and you know once or twice a week just go for a walk and reflect and just let my brain kind of catch up with everything that’s processing.

(JP):

How would a person know they’re ready to work with Robbie?

(RH):

There’s a couple things that a lot of my clients go through and kind of think about About one of them is that they know they need to put themselves out there maybe for the first time or maybe it’s more than what they’re currently doing to increase their exposure. One thing that is a common reservation that people have, they don’t want to feel like they’re patting themselves on the back, like they don’t want to feel like they’re bragging about themselves or being a narcissist, and those are actually every one of my clients has felt that way in some way shape, or form. So When I talked with the potential client if they like, you know, I want to do this but I don’t know how to do it. I don’t want to feel like I’m patting myself on the back, then they’re the right fit. They’re the right fit for me because there’s ways to change the message and create a message to where it’s not about them. That it’s about who they’re serving. That’s the ideal client.

(JP):

I’m glad we’re having you on the show because we like to expose our audience to many different ways of growing businesses and And this is a whole different approach. First of all, more publication than social and then the type of people you work with. So if a person felt where I really need to have a conversation with Robbie, I really like to see if this is the time to move forward. How do they get in touch with you Robbie?

(RH):

Well then call me 386 968 2020. Call or text my website www.bluebridgePR.com and I’m on LinkedIn RobbieHarper1. And you can call and I will return your call

(JP):

Fantastic. Now Robbie what we’re going to do is we’re going to be moving you over to the sell more virtually.com platform where we’re going to conduct a couple more interviews. But hey team, this has been great. And before we move you over, hey, take out your phone and go into your text message and put one word, sales edge, send that to five, five, six, seven, eight, that sends you to a Pici and Pici link, it will take you to a splash page. There’s a five free e-course video set of recapture lost Revenue through virtual selling. There’s links to our podcasters, free downloads one on LinkedIn, one on sales. But today, we want you to check out, there’s information a link to sell more virtually.com. We are absolutely offering you Such an incredible opportunity to work with me live every Thursday night. It’s affordable. there’s So many downloads, there’s Interviews, there’s e-courses. This has been podcast 217 and we’ll see you on sell more virtually.

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Thanks for listening. New episodes will air each Tuesday and Thursday. So make sure to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts and give us a five star review. The Sales Edge is sponsored by Pici and Pici Incorporated. A firm which provides training, consulting, and keynote presentations. Empowering corporations and individuals to attract and retain quality clients, for higher revenues and growth. Make more money in sales, speak with Joe in person by calling 407 947 2590 or visit www.piciandpici.com