How Your Personal Brand Could Be the Key to MSP Success

Welcome to Gone Fishing, a show diving into the cybersecurity threats that surround our highly connected lives. Every human is different. Every person has unique vulnerabilities that expose them to potentially successful social engineering. On this show, we'll discuss human vulnerability and how it relates to unique individuals.

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Transcript:

Connor Swam:

Welcome back to another episode. I'm your host, Connor, the CEO at Phin, and I am joined by the wonderful Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland, the channel engagement manager at Cyber QP.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

That is correct.

Connor Swam:

Awesome. Well, thanks for joining me today. How are you?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Happy to be here. Thank you. I'm wonderful. I've been hearing that people are getting fall weather. I'm in Dallas, Texas, and we are still not yet so good.

Connor Swam:

It is very fall over here. It's like 60, and the leaves are on the ground now, so it's incredible.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

We just have dead grass, and it was almost 90 this weekend, so perfect golfing weather.

Connor Swam:

Awesome. What does a channel engagement manager do?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

That's a really good question. This has actually been my title the last almost three years that I've been in the channel. Truthfully, I look at it as engaging within the community, being a presence that people associate you with, the company you work with—a positive presence, I'd hope. It is technically part of the marketing team. I am a marketing girly, and I used to be coordinator, and I got promoted to manager. That's just kind of a ranking. I don't really manage anything other than myself, I guess, and I'm a lot to manage.

Connor Swam:

You have trouble doing that sometimes, so why bring other people into it at this point? But I think you're right. One thing that's unique about this industry is who you are. Your brand reflects a ton, like, the kind of person you are. Do people feel that you're friendly, inviting? Do they feel excited when they talk to you? Are they happy that you're there? Sometimes I see people at events more than I see most of my own employees. So it's like this weird thing where I'm spending more time with them than I am with my own people. But totally, here we are. It's a weird thing. What does it look like to build that personal brand in the channel today?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

It's honestly been a really interesting experience, because I didn't realize I was doing it at the time. At the last company I was at, it kind of starts with your virtual presence. You build that, and then in person, if you build it, they will come. At the last company I was at, I was probably posting on LinkedIn, like once a month, and I felt like the most annoying employee that existed within the company because nobody else was really posting super often. And then I came here, and Jimmy, whom we all know and love and who has been a guest on this podcast before, told me flat out, you need to step your LinkedIn game up. He gave me really good advice. He said, I post every day at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. I will say he's not as strict about it anymore. I do not post that often. I don't post at a strict time, but I do post on LinkedIn almost every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. And I have had so many people come up to me in person and be like, I've never met you before, but you're at the top of my LinkedIn every time I open my phone. So I want to meet you. I think starting on the virtual end is super important, but then being able to back it up in person and being someone that people actually want to talk to and enjoy spending time with is honestly the most basic part of building that personal brand.

Connor Swam:

I feel like there are a lot of people that know me through LinkedIn, so there's just, like, Connor from LinkedIn, and then they see me in person, like, oh, that's the guy. I imagine it's the same way. It's like she's who I've seen talk on LinkedIn all the time. Maybe. I hope. Hopefully they don't think it's annoying. You know, some people think I'm annoying, but it's okay.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I have had some people tell me, like, you do great work, but it's too much. Okay, sorry.

Connor Swam:

I don't even know what that would mean. It's like, if it's great, what makes it too much?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I have been told I should only post once a week. I got too much to say, truthfully.

Connor Swam:

And if you said it all, what would happen?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Nobody would read it. If I did it once a week in one big, long post.

Connor Swam:

Once a week in a big, long post. Somebody might. You could do it in one of those, like, LinkedIn blog articles.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Articles, articles. Sorry, I need to be more professional.

Connor Swam:

You need to step your LinkedIn game up. Jimmy was right.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I'd say I've done all right. I will say, as a young woman, I don't accept just anyone on LinkedIn because that's kind of Internet safety we've always been taught. I don't accept anyone I don't know on any platform. So I do have to have had some sort of interaction with someone before I accept them or at least know that they exist in a safe, actual human capacity.

Connor Swam:

It's not the fake Ashley Cooper trying to get to you again.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Right, Cooper.

Connor Swam:

So this personal brand that precedes you everywhere you go, how do you make that authentic?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Well, I think going back to not even realizing I was building it, just being truly who you are. Of course, you're always kind of tying it back to company values, whatever your company sells, anything like that. But still, at the end of the day, keeping it you, if that makes sense. I'd say, personally, I use emojis. I am a little frilly, a little fun with it, because that's who I am as a person. I'm sparkly in real life, too. So keeping it true to however you are, you don't want to have to keep up a facade all the time. You can't in this industry, because whenever you're around people in person, it's typically 7:00 a.m. to two, three in the morning sometimes. You can't keep up a facade that entire time. You've got to be truly who you are because they'll see it eventually.

Connor Swam:

That is very true. You end up spending so much time with people that if you're doing something or saying something online that doesn't align with who you are when they meet with you, it's like, oh, this is a completely different person. It's an immediate turn off. A lot of people value the authenticity above and beyond anything else. There's a few things before they get to "can this person's company help me?" and it's, do I like this person? And are they being transparent and authentic?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Totally. This is way before the selling process even starts.

Connor Swam:

Yeah. What makes it powerful for an individual to have a personal brand? Why should anyone have one in the MSP industry?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Honestly, I preach this a lot to my friends in the industry, people who are newer to the industry. It sets you apart from just being a title at a company. Later on in life, whenever you're looking for your next role, your next adventure, you won't just be applying as a BDR. If you have that personal brand, people know you, people like you, they will want you specifically. The skills for a position will come, but your presence, your brand, your genuine self can't be recreated. So I think it adds a lot of value, not only in what you're doing now and building who you are, but also whenever that company gets taken out of who you are, you're still standing on your own two feet.

Connor Swam:

You still exist.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah. In a capacity that people are aware of instead of just like, oh, the minute you took off that Phin shirt and you had no presence, people would be like, who's this guy?

Connor Swam:

I'm invisible. I mean, Phin is a lot of my identity at this point, I guess, but it's true. You make a really good point: in the absence of the company you work at, do people know who you are, what you stand for, and what kind of person you are? People in this industry buy from people they like. Don't show up to sell, don't show up to be a salesperson. Everyone can walk into a room and point them out and they're usually either dressed too business casual, you know what I mean? There's business casual and there's trying to dress down, but they're not doing it right. Then you see them and you're like, well, I don't want to go talk to those people. I'm just going to get sold to the entire time and I'm just trying to hang out with my friends and have interesting conversation and meet people again for the first time in sometimes years, or spend time with my friends and my employees and my coworkers.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah, I did have that little note tucked away. People buy from people that they like. I heard that during a fireside chat by Robert T Raydeh. It really stuck with me, it's like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. Be somebody that people like, and the sales will come.

Connor Swam:

That's usually—or rather, it's like they'll want to associate with you, and if you provide any amount of value as an organization or as an individual, maybe you're selling consulting or any service that you offer, it's like, well, if they like you, that's like 80% of the battle. The other 20% is, can you actually help them?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah. Well, I'd say if they don't like you, but you have a product that they like, the minute you've got a competitor, boom, bye, they're gone.

Connor Swam:

Or the minute you no longer work at that company, you know?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah.

Connor Swam:

Companies selling to other companies in this industry happens. It happened, like, six times last month.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

So I can't keep up.

Connor Swam:

I can't either. I just get a little feed every week. I'll look at it. Oh, that's interesting.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Neat.

Connor Swam:

So, should a person make their personal brand around their company or themselves as an individual? And I feel like I know what you're going to say here.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah. Well, honestly, going back to Jimmy, before we worked together, he was at a company called Scout, and he was Jimmy from Scouthouse. That was like, his Reddit handle. That was how you knew him. Once Scout was acquired, I remember there was this big shake up where he was like, I have to update my handle. I have to change what I say. And now he is just Jimmy Hadsall as we know him and love him. So I'd say, maybe that's a good start. People might know a brand before they know you, but you kind of grow into your own personal brand and then separate. Unless it's your company.

Connor Swam:

I view it as an opportunity to, like—let me explain this for a second. If you have two planets, they're both like gravity. If you have the earth, and like a pebble, they're both exerting forces on each other. The pebble exhibits a much smaller force on the earth in general, but it's like we're both pulling each other together. So you're an individual, and you're building your brand. It's not only an opportunity for your company to build their brand, but it's your opportunity to influence it. At least knowing you and being friends with you for a few years now, there is no Cyber QP without Kelsey. The first thing I think of when I think of Cyber QP is not just in time accounts or zero standing access. It's Kelsey and Jimmy from—well, from Quick Pass, but Cyber QP now. You think of the people, you think of the times you had, the dinners you've gone out to, the shows that you've been a part of, going to the aquarium in Dallas. You think of stuff like that.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Totally. Yeah. It's like building the experience and the presence. Yeah, completely agree.

Connor Swam:

So it's not only an opportunity for you to build your own brand, it's your opportunity if you're given the leeway—if you're not, maybe it's a sign to go somewhere else—to influence the brand of the company.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

That's a lot of pressure too. It's not for everyone.

Connor Swam:

Some people are really scared being themselves, for sure. I could see how that would be really scary.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I'd say, as someone with colorful hair, I have had quite a few colors. People in public come up to me all the time, and they're like, oh, I would never be brave enough to do that. I'm not brave. I just wanted it, and I did it. But thanks. People are scared. I'll give you that.

Connor Swam:

It's true. One of the things that stops a lot of people from starting anything, whether it's building your own brand or starting a company or a podcast, is, "I wonder how people are going to feel about this." If you really factor that in, you're never going to. Trust me, you could say, we should all be hugging puppies, and puppies are cute. Somebody out there is like, screw you. I'm a cat person. You're like, I wasn't saying screw cats. Just say, how dare you? And so if you factored in all of their opinions, you just never get started. You never build something that's you. You'd never contribute to anything.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah, I think there's a little bit in there too. You have to tell people what they like, which, I don't know that I have time to go into that, but instead of waiting to be like, oh, would they like this? No, you just build it and put it out there. They'll find you.

Connor Swam:

They'll find you. I view that as tying back to the authenticity point.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah.

Connor Swam:

If your entire goal in building something is to just keep trying to snake around to find what other people like, you never end up doing what you enjoyed. It really shines through when you're talking about something that you don't care about or doing it in such a way that you have no interest in it.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah, agreed.

Connor Swam:

What would be one piece of advice for someone who's sitting on the sidelines, maybe only posting once a week or less frequently? How should someone start building their personal brand? What would that look like?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I mean, going off what we were just talking about: just start. Stop stressing it. Stop worrying about if people will like it or what people will like. Maybe is better. But just start doing it. The best time to start was yesterday. The second best time is today, right now. It definitely gets easier as you do it, because it just kind of becomes second nature. Like, oh, I'm doing this. Here's a thought that it ties back to, like, it's something I can share. I think in the beginning it's scary because you're overthinking everything and you're like, is this right? Is this what people want to see? But people just want to know you and what you are, what you've got going on, be that professionally or personally. And you find your vibe.

Connor Swam:

Find your vibe, maybe groove.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

You find your groove. I don't know.

Connor Swam:

You definitely get more confident in what you believe and how you'd like to say it. And there's always gonna be people who say no, but I don't know if the Rock made this quote up, but it could either be one day or day one.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Oh, I like that. Yeah.

Connor Swam:

You get to decide. Do you start today?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Wow. I'm using that. Everything.

Connor Swam:

If somebody wanted to reach out to you and, well, you don't connect with them unless you know them. Maybe people know you who listen to you. So where should people find out more about Kelsey? Where should people find more out about Cyber QP?

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

I will say sometimes I do vet people. If we have a lot of mutuals, I will text someone and be like, hey, who's this person? So don't fret that you can find me on LinkedIn at IAM. Kelsey Blankenship Lackland. I know that's a lot to spell, but it's likely going to be in the description wherever this is published. I am on Twitter X @stupidelsie at work. I love being on there. Mostly now things have changed. Cyber QP is also on LinkedIn, Twitter X, Facebook. We're all over the place. We are at almost every industry event that is hosted—big green booth, typically with lots and lots of people. We are all super fun and happy to talk to you about securing your privileged accounts and self-service password reset, and all sorts of other fun things.

Connor Swam:

Awesome. There will be absolutely links for Elsie for Cyber QP in the description. So if you're watching or you're listening, you will be able to find both of them for sure.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

And thank you to all the hardworking people behind the scenes who do.

Connor Swam:

All of them hardworking people. Thanks so much for joining me, Kelsey. It was a blast getting to chat with you and I'll, I know I'll see you soon at some event somewhere.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Yeah. Thanks for having me. I quite enjoyed this.

Connor Swam:

Awesome.

Kelcye Blankenship-Lackland:

Going fishing.

Connor Swam:

Going fishing. Thanks everyone for watching. Thanks everyone for listening and we'll see you next time.

Thanks so much for tuning in to Gone Fishing. If you want to find out more about high quality security awareness training campaigns, how to launch them in ways that actually engage employees to change their habits, then check us out. Phin Security at phinsec.io or click all of the wonderful links in our show notes. Thanks for fishing with me today and we'll see you next time.