Marta Larraz always wanted to be a teacher, which is why she obtained a degree in teaching. However, life led her to the corporate world, and she graduated in Business Administration. She worked for almost 20 years in sales for companies with well-established brands such as Danone, Colhogar, Demak'up, and Tena Lady.
Thanks to this experience, she knows very well what companies are doing to connect with their customers and generate impact. "I feel like I'm closing the circle", says Marta, as almost 25 years later she returned to teaching, but this time at universities and vocational training schools.
For Larraz, people are the greatest asset any business has, and that's why for almost 8 years she has run a company focused on personal branding training and mentoring.
Together with her team of collaborators, she offers mentoring in personal brand reputation and credibility for professionals and executives, training for institutions and foundations, and facilitation for sales teams.
According to LinkedIn data, employees with a strong personal brand generate 40% more business opportunities and credibility for the company. Furthermore, they are 561% more likely to amplify the reach of the brand's messages."If in our communication we only talk about our services, without personalizing the team behind them, the emotional connection necessary for a sale is not generated” says Marta.
“"People buy from people. They don't buy from us because of our services or products, but because of the trust and personal impact we generate."
What are the benefits of working on personal branding for executives? For the executive, it increases their influence and visible leadership; an executive with a strong personal brand projects confidence, consistency, and authority. It reinforces corporate reputation; today's corporate brands are humanized through their leaders. Attraction of talent and opportunities; professionals want to work with inspiring leaders. Reputational protection; a well-defined personal brand acts as "reputational insurance." When crises arise, a consistent and credible track record builds trust.
And for the team? It helps build credibility and differentiation in the market; customers trust people more than logos. Alignment between personal brand and corporate brand; strengthening individual identity does not detract from the company: it amplifies it.
Increased visibility and opportunity generation; teams that know how to position themselves professionally on social media and forums attract commercial and strategic opportunities.
Cohesion and shared leadership culture; it fosters open communication, collaboration, and distributed leadership.
“"87% of business executives rate reputational damage as a risk as important or more important than any other strategic issue. Source: Kredible"
Marta Larraz concludes by saying that personal branding is not about creating a persona, but about reinforcing who you already are to project it and generate the impact you desire.
A final recommendation she gives us is, "That companies focus on building reputation through people, and not just through marketing.
Because those that are already doing this now are making the difference between companies that succeed and those that don't."
