Episode #106: Building Expert Authority With Buyers

If a buyer Googled your name right now, would they feel confidence—or concern?
In modern sales, your reputation is visible before your first handshake. Search engines, company websites, and social media quietly shape whether clients see you as credible, reliable, and worth meeting. Your personal brand is already out there. The question is: are you directing it, or letting others define it for you?

Mini-summary: Buyers form opinions before appointments. Your online presence is part of your sales process now.

Because sales lives have become open books. Prospects routinely check your company profile, then search you personally on Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, and more. That search result is your pre-meeting handshake.

A strong brand helps you project trust, expertise, and professionalism before you speak. A weak or careless brand creates doubt you may never get a chance to fix.

Mini-summary: Your online footprint is your silent first impression—and it can win or lose meetings before they begin.

They may find professional proof—or personal risk. For example:

• Old party photos that clash with your business image

• Profiles that look like outdated résumés

• Angry political posts that alienate half your market

• Negative claims from past business conflicts

• A “barren wasteland” of no content that suggests no authority

In Japan, especially with clients from Japanese companies (日本企業 / Japanese companies) and multinational firms (外資系企業 / foreign-owned companies), trust and emotional comfort matter deeply. Anything that feels careless, extreme, or inconsistent can quietly remove you from consideration.

Mini-summary: Clients check everything. Misaligned content can damage trust long before you meet.

How do you audit and clean up your public image?

Start with a simple self-audit:

1. Search your full name on multiple search engines.

2. Review your image results, social profiles, and public posts.

3. Ask: “Does this support the professional reputation I want?”

4. Delete anything inconsistent with your desired brand.

5. If needed, restart accounts that are beyond repair.

Your profile photo matters more than you think. A casual holiday image might be fine for friends, but sales is about alignment with the buyer’s expectations.

Mini-summary: Audit yourself like a buyer would. Remove anything that weakens your credibility.

What topics should salespeople avoid posting publicly?

The classic sales rule still applies: avoid politics and religion publicly.
Even if your views feel personal, the internet makes them public. Clients don’t need a reason to say “no” to you—just a small emotional discomfort can be enough.

You may be losing opportunities because of opinions that don’t belong in your sales identity.

Mini-summary: Public controversy creates silent resistance. Keep your brand buyer-safe.

Don’t just defend your image—upgrade it.
Become visible as a credible expert in your field by creating useful content:

• Short blogs sharing insights about your expertise

• Articles adapted from blogs and published externally

• Weekly newsletters sent to clients

• Enough content that it can later become an eBook or book

Your audience doesn’t measure the number of posts. They measure whether what they find adds value.

Mini-summary: Authority grows through helpful visibility. Publish insights that buyers want to learn from.

What if you’re not a good writer?

You don’t need to be. Options include:

• Record your ideas, transcribe them, and edit

• Use professional editors or ghostwriters

• Focus on clarity over perfection

Buyers care less about who typed it and more about whether it’s useful and credible.

Mini-summary: Writing skill isn’t the barrier—consistency and value are.

Should you use podcasts or audio content?

Audio is powerful, but only if you’re consistent.
A podcast signals reliability only when episodes are regular. If episodes appear randomly, it undermines the exact trust you’re trying to build.

Mini-summary: Podcasting builds trust through rhythm. Inconsistency harms your brand.

How can video strengthen your sales brand?

Video is now cheap, fast, and deeply trust-building. You can use:

• Simple phone + tripod setups

• Facebook Live or similar streaming

• Light editing with intro/outro branding

• Slides to support key points

Video works because buyers can “read you” before meeting. Seeing your face, tone, and body language builds comfort and trust faster than text alone.

Mini-summary: Video accelerates trust by showing authenticity and expertise.

At Dale Carnegie Tokyo, we help professionals inspire trust and influence through real human communication skill—especially in Japan’s relationship-driven business culture.

Our programs support leaders and sellers across:

• Leadership training (リーダーシップ研修 / leadership training)

• Sales training (営業研修 / sales training)

• Presentation training (プレゼンテーション研修 / presentation training)

• Executive coaching (エグゼクティブ・コーチング / executive coaching)

• DEI training (DEI研修 / Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training)

With over 100 years of global expertise and more than 60 years in Tokyo (東京 / Tokyo), we work with both Japanese companies (日本企業 / Japanese companies) and multinational firms (外資系企業 / foreign-owned companies) to build confident, credible, inspiring professionals.

Mini-summary: Dale Carnegie Tokyo helps sales and leadership professionals build influence, trust, and authority in Japan.

• Your personal brand is already visible—control it before it controls you.

• Remove public content that weakens trust, professionalism, or buyer comfort.

• Build expert authority through consistent content: blogs, articles, audio, and video.

• In Japan, credibility and emotional safety are critical for buyer decisions.

Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, has been empowering both Japanese and multinational corporate clients ever since.