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Dear Quota Team

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I've been working in sales for the last 5 years selling medical devices. I got into sales right after graduating college and love the competition and the ability to make a ton of money (I always joke with my banker friends that they should quit and start a sales career since I work less and make more than them). I feel like I have some good experience now and I've learned the ins and outs of selling - I'm not saying I'm an expert, but I think I have a unique perspective.

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All this is a way of saying I'm seriously considering investing more in building out my personal brand. I've seen a handful of sellers I respect on LinkedIn that create great posts that I find insightful, aside from that I'm seeing that they're able to flip their audiences into new side hustle revenue streams. Any advice to someone just starting out that wants to build a personal brand and create content in the sales niche?

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Ambitious in Florida

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Dear Ambitious,

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If you want to build a successful following online, there are two ways to go about it. 

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The first way: be completely unoriginal. Copy what everybody else is doing. Repeat it almost verbatim. Be manipulative. Make up personal stories and share anecdotes about things that never actually happened, and design the posts in such a way that they tug at the reader’s heartstrings or guilt the reader into giving you one of those precious likes to boost your engagement. Oh, and don’t forget to add a random photo to the post to get the reader’s attention. Once you’ve got the ball rolling, keep the content flowing by repeating the same thing over and over again just in different ways. Every time there’s a trend (AI, crypto, NFTs) make sure you’re the first one posting about it, positioning yourself as an expert and making all sorts of predictions about what’s “about to” happen. This is the formula. 

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The second way: do something different. Look around and ask yourself: what’s missing in the sales space, and do I have the perspective and experience to share something important and valuable? If the answer is yes, then share it. Be direct and be honest. Don’t pretend to be somebody you’re not. Don’t try to game the algorithm. Don’t lie. Post things that actually help people. Be consistent. Don’t manipulate your audience. Don’t act like you have all the answers. Be humble. Really think about the things you post. If you came up with it in 5 seconds, it’s probably worthless spam. Oh, and if you become wildly successful, don’t forget to send us a 5% cut. Good luck! 

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