Shawna Suckow believes professionalism is overrated.

That may not be the first thing you’d expect from a business owner, professional speaker and author of seven books on marketing and leadership. But Suckow of The Buyer Insider says leading with authenticity and emotion, rather than pretending to be someone she’s not, has helped her sustain a thriving business.

“I’m not everyone’s favorite person or brand,” she said during her Education Day session at ASI Fort Worth titled “Build Trust & Be Unforgettable: Modern Marketing Tactics for Small Businesses.” “But the people I choose to work with really get me. The problem is when we try to be everything to everybody.”

Shawna Suckow speaks to ASI Fort Worth attendees about how to stand out in a crowded market.

A Good Time To Be a Small Business

According to Suckow, who runs her own small business helping individuals and teams transform their sales and marketing based on changing customer trends, now is a good time to be a small business.

“This is our era,” she said to an audience of distributors, most of whom identified as small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. “It’s an asset to be small. It’s never been easier to win people’s trust because people distrust large corporations right now.”

But standing out in a crowded market can be a challenge, especially in promo where, as Suckow points out, many distributors are selling the same things.

“We sell commodities,” she said. “We sell things that the person next to you could just as easily source. But we all realize the importance of relationships.”

The first step to getting customers and prospects to trust you, said Suckow, is to humanize your company. Integrating that human element into the work will help attract the types of people distributors actually want as customers.

“Think about your favorite customer to work with,” she said. “What if you could only work with people like them? How much more fun would your job be? How much easier would your marketing be?”

Communicating Openly & Transparently

To successfully build trust with customers, authenticity is critical. “We don’t trust perfection,” Suckow said. “We trust regular people.”

Regular people, like those who are bold enough to talk openly about that order that went wrong. “We want to see the messy middle,” Suckow said. “We want to know what your business did to handle it. … You can out-human the competition.”

She added that distributors and other small businesses can leverage websites as opportunities to show potential buyers who they are.

“Be relatable,” she said. “Talk about your family, pets, kids as much as you feel comfortable with.”

Even opting for photos that highlight employees’ distinct personalities, as opposed to featuring standard headshots, can go a long way toward helping a brand stand out.

Suckow’s business cards are a prime example of how she integrates her authentic personality into her business. With 20 different styles, all Suckow’s business cards ask a specific question, such as “Who inspires you?” or “What fear have you overcome?”

“I believe business cards should start a conversation rather than end it,” she explained.

Suckow’s business cards show the person behind the business.

It’s just another way Suckow builds trust. By inviting potential customers to get to know her as a person, not just a name or a business, Suckow stands out in a crowded market. She hopes more businesses start to do the same.