"The biggest mistake I've made professionally is not building a brand sooner."
Meet Robbie Oyama, he helps businesses attract more leads and land clients using personal branding, LinkedIn, and overall social selling strategies.
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We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Robbie Oyama: I help entrepreneurs and salespeople increase their lead pipeline using LinkedIn.
I’ve been in sales since 2016, but I didn’t start actively posting on LinkedIn until early 2021. I wrote about the only thing I could think of…sales.
I didn’t know what I was doing at first, but I was surprised how quickly I gained traction. People that I barely knew were reaching out to me about sales advice. Within a short amount of time, I was gaining a following in the sales space, and I landed in the Top 2% of LinkedIn influencers in my industry, according to LinkedIn’s SSI Score.
Here’s a stat that many do not know: Only 1% of LinkedIn users actively post.
I saw this as a huge opportunity to help people build their brands on LinkedIn. I started posting more about LinkedIn and how to sell on LinkedIn because there are so many people that are not taking advantage of the opportunity it provides.
Most people think of LinkedIn as a stuffy, professional network. The only thing people post are reposts of boring industry articles.
I’m trying to get entrepreneurs and salespeople to realize that if you take advantage of the tools on LinkedIn, you can drastically increase your income. Instagram and Facebook are oversaturated markets that require an investment in expensive ads. With LinkedIn, leads can easily come in organically.
A lot of my coaching is based on getting people excited about the opportunity on LinkedIn, then how to execute to make the most of the opportunity.
2020 and 2021 threw a lot of curve balls into business on a global scale. Based on the experience gleaned in the past couple years, how can businesses thrive in 2022? What lessons have you learned?
Robbie Oyama: The biggest mistake I’ve made professionally is not building a brand sooner. Not just a brand, but I didn’t promote myself sooner either.
When we work at a company, unless you are actively building a brand, only your boss and coworkers know what you’re doing. If you get let go from the company, you have nobody that knows you to help you get back on your feet.
Part of the reason why I’m so passionate about getting people started to build a brand is because it’s today’s version of a safety net. If you have a solid personal brand on social media with a good amount of followers, you have thousands of people that can help you wherever you want to take your career.
Want to get a new job, you can ask your followers?
Want to start a business, ask your followers who wants to buy?
It’s so powerful, but it all starts with a want to promote ourselves. It does not have to be sleazy, but we really need to value our gifts enough that we feel the need to share it with the world.
The pandemic seems to keep on disrupting the economy, what should businesses focus on in 2022? What advice would you share?
Robbie Oyama: I see a lot of companies holding on to pre-COVID ways of doing business. This includes coming to an office, constant traveling to see customers, etc. Don’t get me wrong, these methods have their place, but companies will get left behind if they think that it’s business as usual going forward.
Today, the best salespeople no longer should be focusing on cold calling skills. I’d rather have a salesperson that can not only talk to someone on the phone, but can also write an email based in copywriting techniques, can connect with someone on LinkedIn, and knows how to be forward thinking in where sales and entrepreneurship is heading.
It’s a different world we live in, so my advice would be to stop clinging to the past. Let it go.
How has the pandemic changed your industry and how have you adapted?
Robbie Oyama: I think the pandemic has caused a lot more people to realize why they need to grow an online presence. People were let go of jobs that they thought were safe. There was no safety net for those that were deemed “essential workers.”
With an online presence, you take control over the narrative in your life. You can promote your gifts and have people pay you for it as well.
Personal branding and social selling has been around for years, but the pandemic truly put it at the forefront of so many people’s minds.
What advice do you wish you received when the pandemic started and what do you intend on improving in 2022?
Robbie Oyama: When the pandemic started, my son was also born in February 2020.
There was a lot of excitement since this was my first child, but there was a lot of anxiety as well. We didn’t know anything about this new disease, so I struggled with mental health issues that didn’t start to get better until late 2021.
That’s a long time to be dealing with serious mental health issues.
So if I was to talk to my pre-pandemic self, I would say to remember that everything is temporary.
Whether it’s the highs or lows, everything passes and we go back to our neutral state. For me, this would have been helpful to remember that the mental health pain I was going through would eventually pass, so I should just stay more present in enjoying these moments with my son.
This goes in business as well, as we experience highs and lows. Remember to stay present to enjoy the journey is the best advice I would give.
Online business surged higher than ever, B2B, B2C, online shopping, virtual meetings, remote work, Zoom medical consultations, what are your expectations for 2022?
Robbie Oyama: Why should we expect anything different going forward?
Especially for the introverts out there like me, as much as I enjoy face to face interaction, there are some things that no longer require face to face meetings. Eliminate the unnecessary aspects of our day so we can focus on what truly matters.
Online business and interactions are not going to go away, they’re only going to continue to grow.
How many hours a day do you spend in front of a screen?
Robbie Oyama: I work remotely, so my entire working day is in front of a screen.
The majority of executives use stories to persuade and communicate in the workplace. Can you share with our readers examples of how you implement that in your business to communicate effectively with your team?
Robbie Oyama: I’ve been in sales since 2016, so stories are necessary to sell to customers. With stories, you have an opportunity to build a connection with customers.
When talking with a customer for the first time, there is usually hesitation about moving forward to buy because they don’t know how the product will work out for them.
This is when I like to bring up a story from my own experience. In the case of LinkedIn, I can talk about my struggles and doubts to figure out what to write or what my brand should even be about.
If you can use a story to relate to a buyer, you’ll have an easier time getting them to open up to you.
Business is all about overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities for growth. What do you see as the real challenge right now?
Robbie Oyama: The real challenge in business is blending in with every other competitor that sells a similar product or service.
There is so much competition out there that you’re probably selling something similar as everyone else.
The only differentiator in business is you. As an entrepreneur or salesperson, you have to promote yourself as the key difference in why a customer should go with you.
The only way to do that is to position yourself as an authority in your industry. My best advice is don’t blend in with the sea of competitors.
Do something to get attention and keep it.
In 2022, what are you most interested in learning about? Crypto, NFTs, online marketing, or any other skill sets? Please share your motivations.
Elizabeth Hamilton-Guarino: Copywriting is a skill that I’m continually trying to learn. The reasons in my business are obvious because I want to make a post, and get people to engage. If you can master copywriting (written or for video scripts), you’ll have the power to influence with words. The possibilities for this skillset are endless.
A record 4.4 million Americans left their jobs in September in 2021, accelerating a trend that has become known as the Great Resignation. 47% of people plan to leave their job during 2022. Most are leaving because of their boss or their company culture. 82% of people feel unheard, undervalued and misunderstood in the workplace. Do you think leaders see the data and think “that’s not me – I’m not that boss they don’t want to work for? What changes do you think need to happen?
Robbie Oyama: I think that if a boss is thinking that this couldn’t be me, then they are not a true leader. A true leader is humble enough to recognize that they are not perfect and they have room to improve. I think that leaders collectively need to make a concerted effort to listen to their employees, and make changes to keep their talent. Everyone is being affected by this change.
As far as what changes need to be made, leaders need to make a strong effort to focus on growth. What I mean by that is that there needs to be a focus on how to grow the company, how to grow the income of their employees responsible for company growth, and how to allow their employees to grow in learning as well.
No matter what, great employees like to win. And for top performers, winning comes in the form of income and learning growth.
If leaders can focus on that for their employees, there’s no reason why anyone would want to leave.
On a lighter note, if you had the ability to pick any business superpower, what would it be and how would you put it into practice?
Robbie Oyama: Business is a lot of experimentation.
If I could have a superpower, it would be to see the future and know with certainty what steps are necessary to get to my end goal. If I knew with certainty what to do, I could move with so much more speed to growing my business.
What does “success” in 2022 mean to you? It could be on a personal or business level, please share your vision.
Robbie Oyama: 2021 (and 2020) was a tough year for me in terms of my mental health.
For 2022, success means a complete focus on all areas of my life (personally, professionally, mentally). I’ve taken steps over the last month to improve my mental health, which has freed me up to focus on improving my personal and professional life.
It’s a balancing act that I continue try to navigate, but at the end of 2022, I want to look back and say that I truly took care of myself holistically. I set out to improve in every area of my life, and that’s what I accomplished.
Jed Morley, VIP Contributor to ValiantCEO and the host of this interview would like to thank Robbie Oyama for taking the time to do this interview and share his knowledge and experience with our readers.
If you would like to get in touch with Robbie Oyama or his company, you can do it through his – Linkedin Page
Disclaimer: The ValiantCEO Community welcomes voices from many spheres on our open platform. We publish pieces as written by outside contributors with a wide range of opinions, which don’t necessarily reflect our own. Community stories are not commissioned by our editorial team and must meet our guidelines prior to being published.
