The Importance of Employee and Executive Branding
Introduction
Most business owners spend years, even decades, building their brand. But when preparing to sell, there’s a part of brand strategy that often gets overlooked: how your people reflect that brand. Employee and executive branding can make or break how buyers, customers, and investors perceive your business.
The Blind Spot: Your People Are the Brand Too
From how they answer emails to how they show up on LinkedIn, your team directly impacts your brand’s credibility. Alyssa Gelbard, CEO of Point Road Group, joined Osage Advisors on a recent podcast to talk about why aligning employee behavior with brand strategy is essential…especially during a sale.
What Is Employee Branding — and Why Does It Matter?
Employee branding is how your team represents your company in everyday interactions, both online and offline. That includes:
- How they introduce themselves and describe the company
- Their tone and responsiveness in communication
- Presentation and executive presence, in-person and on screen
- Their public profiles (LinkedIn, bios, etc.)
- Whether their behaviors reflect your mission, values, and culture
These touchpoints influence everything from client retention to buyer confidence. If your people send mixed messages, you could be losing opportunities and not even know it.
Culture Starts at the Top
Buyers and stakeholders take their cues from leadership. If the CEO hasn’t updated their LinkedIn profile in years, it signals that branding isn’t a priority. If leadership delays responses to less “important” customers, that becomes the cultural norm.
To shape strong employee branding, start with leadership. Make sure executives look and sound like the company you’ve built or are trying to sell.
Start with Awareness: Use an Audit Checklist
Point Road Group developed an employee branding audit as a tool to build awareness around this blind spot. It’s a practical way to assess where your team shines and where there are gaps.
The audit reveals areas that are easy to overlook but simple to improve and often don’t require massive investment. Just attention and intention.
Conclusion
Your company’s brand doesn’t stop at the logo. It lives in your people. During a sale, strong employee branding builds trust and reduces buyer risk.
Take time to ensure your team reflects the value and professionalism you’ve spent years building. A better brand presence leads to a better deal.
Certain Members of Osage Advisors are Registered Representatives of and conduct securities transactions through StillPoint Capital, LLC, Tampa, FL. Osage and StillPoint are not affiliated.
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