This is Stella.
She might look like an ordinary cat, but don't be fooled. She is living proof that reincarnation works.
Stella lives in Beckenham, a Southeast London town that was invisible to muggles until ten years ago when Kirsty and Phil made TV shows about what good value it is. The newsstands, once filled with the Daily Mail and blue-rinse granny rage on every shelf, are now adverts for gentle parenting and artisan markets where a loaf of bread costs £38.
The high street now has what feels like one shop and 389 cafes, each with its own "you're in the right place" artwork and unique version of £15 eggs-on-toast. When asked to create a menu to cook in their cub hut one evening, the cubs in Beckenham responded with: "wagyu beef steaks."
I also live in Beckenham.
I left my house one day with my family to walk into the town. Stella walked right up to us and meowed. We stroked Stella, made a fuss of her for a bit and carried on, thinking she would go and do her cat chores.
But no. For 15 minutes, Stella walked with us all the way into town, crossing the road when we did.
We laughed about it, talking to her. She was happily meowing back. We were worried for her when she crossed the road, but she knew the green-cross code better than anyone. Was she a stray? How was this cat so human?
Gradually, through a Facebook group with comments sometimes worse than the Daily Mail itself, the Beckenham Appreciation Group started to realise Stella was no ordinary cat. She was walking six miles a day to meet everyone.
Stella now has a Facebook group of her own with 5,500 followers and daily posts about her. She has been on BBC news several times and in the newspapers. She has Christmas cards and artwork dedicated to her.
She visits schools, walks people into town and pops into the shops to ask the shopkeepers how badly Rachel Reeves is treating them. She does more than the local MPs.
The other day she popped into the vet for a treat. The vet posted a photo on Facebook to say she was ready to collect and her owner went to pick her up.
This cat has won the hearts of the town. She is the one of the few things Beckenham residents never argue about on the Facebook Group.
So Why Am I Telling You About Stella?
Because Stella's doing a better job of brand building and sales than your sales directors.
Stella doesn't have a LinkedIn profile or a title announcing she's "Business Development Manager - EMEA Cat Division." She doesn't send connection requests with a pitch deck attached. Nor does she rock up to meetings with two mouths and one ear, leaving you information in case you might be interested one day.
She walks up, says hello, and accompanies you into town. And now she has 5,500 followers, gets invited into schools and has her face on Christmas cards around Beckenham.
Brand vs Direct Sales
True, Stella would have had dark, challenging days in the first few months where no one knew her and she had to put the time in to work. But she knew, once she got over the hurdle and got known, she could walk into anyone's house.
Companies almost refuse to believe in the power of brand because it's not fast enough to pay back.
Stella knew she just needed grit and it would pay off.
Your Sales Directors Need Help
They don't have permission from you to build their personal brands - but that's exactly what they need to do. They need to build positioning around the problems they are experts in.
Labelling themselves "Sales Director" on LinkedIn is a red flag to every buyer who sees it.
Now for volume sales, such as toothpaste, you can understand such a job title. "I sell 100 million tubes of toothpaste a month." Yes, you don't need to be "Toothpaste research director."
But for the complex sell, such as the toothache, you want to speak to the dentist. The expert problem solver in this case. He isn't going out asking for LinkedIn buddies is he?
And his first question:
"How are you?"
Owned Media
Through simple consistency, Stella has built a following many businesses would love to have.
Can your sales team do that? Perhaps you have trained them to be volume-based go-getters, but this has made them order takers rather than problem solvers.
Stella would never do this. It would go against her moral code. And yet, it takes a cat to show us it the human attributes we love so much that bring us together.
People who own their audience get the meetings. The people waiting for LinkedIn to deliver them leads don't.
As a brand consultancy owner, I started The Executive Summary a couple of years ago when I saw LinkedIn slowdown coming. It took two years for the effect to kick in, but it now gets 10-20 new subscribers a day and I get a lot of invitations to meet people.
That didn't happen from LinkedIn posts.
Most companies ignore this approach. They'd rather wait for the algorithm to save them than build something they own. It's so alien.
So be more Stella, eh?
The Interview
In a podcast interview earlier this week, I sat down with Stella the Cat who had the following advice for businesses:
Change your job title. Stop positioning yourself as a transactor. You're not "Sales Director" - you're an expert in your field who helps clients make intelligent decisions. Make your title reflect that.
Have a point of view. And make sure people know it consistently. Not through occasional LinkedIn posts that disappear into the flimsy algorithm void. Build a channel you own and show up.
Stop relying on LinkedIn. Let me repeat: stop relying on LinkedIn.
If you're going to write something, make it worth reading. And if you're not prepared to put videos up about something you actually know about, how will people know you're an expert?
Stop waiting for meetings from LinkedIn connections with people who don't know you. It's never going to happen. Get out and meet people. Get the intros the old-fashioned way.
Walk and talk. It's a great way to bond with busy people. I escort families into town while they're already doing something. I don't demand dedicated time in their calendar.
Can you talk about the problem, not just what your company does?
And finally, listen 80%, talk for 20%.
Massive thanks to Stella this week. As she said, find the problem. Be the master, not the flowchart monkey who regurgitates the pitch deck.
If you don't have the personal brand, you're not going to get the meetings so get moving on it now.
And if you're really wedded to just doing LinkedIn and hoping for the best, at least post a photo of a cat.
EVENT
Don't forget Christmas Drinks at London Bridge on December 3rd. I'm still trying to find an Irish music band if anyone can help?
