Power of Brand: Ron Paul Perry on Personal Branding (Episode 195)

Everything you do is an audition.

The gene that makes us creative is often the same one that makes us allergic to the business side: branding, networking, bookkeeping. In Episode 195 of The Career Musician, recorded on a hiking trip in Breckenridge, Colorado, Nomad sits down with his longtime friend Ron Paul Perry, known in LA music circles as RPP.

Ron leads an outbound sales team for a packaging company, and before that he chased the dream of being the greatest guitar player, the greatest manager, the greatest anything. He brings universal principles from music and corporate sales, and his big one is personal branding for musicians: your brand matters as much as your chops.

Brand is 1A, chops are 1B

One of the biggest misconceptions in the music business, Ron says, is that you have to be an amazing master of your instrument. You need chops, because you have to perform. But he knows plenty of amazing players with weak brands who don't get the great gigs, and he has seen fairly average players on magazine covers because their brand is untouchable.

"When you don't put the brand on the same playing field as your chops, I think you've missed the boat."

Ron Paul Perry, 4:30

In LA, there is always a younger player who knows as much as you do. So what are you bringing? Decide who you want to be, what you want to look like, and the experience you give an audience. And social media is now the vehicle to show that brand to the world, without the big money people used to spend on consultants. If your brand is great, the world will let you know. If it isn't, the world will let you know that too.

John 5, Slash and the walking brand

Ron's favorite example: when Mick Mars could no longer perform with Mötley Crüe because of health issues, the band didn't go find a 22-year-old hotshot nobody knew. They chose John 5, because John 5 is a brand. Ron describes him as a great player who spent his career crafting his look and identity, from his days in Marilyn Manson's band to his solo tours. On stage or off, he is the brand. And he is a wonderful human, Ron adds.

Slash is the other: the top hat, the Les Paul, the curly hair. That brand creates an audience experience on its own, and it keeps people coming back.

Master the art of no

Move to LA, Nashville or Austin and you will get told no a lot. Ron's universal principle: in sales, in music, in anything, you close somewhere around 3 to 5 percent of deals. An audition is a deal. So take the emotion out of the no. It is just business. Move on to the next.

His challenge for a young musician: make it your daily goal to collect three to five nos. Audition, call people, network. By the end of the month that is around 90 nos, and statistically the yeses start coming. Get enough of them and you get to pick the gigs that fit your brand. Nomad calls it stacking your odds.

"You've got to be able to master the art of rejection. You've got to be able to appreciate the no."

Ron Paul Perry, 7:00

And don't overthink who doesn't like it. It is like Coke and Pepsi. Someone says it isn't for them, fine, on to the next. As Ron's dad put it: who cares if they don't like you? What are they going to do, come take a kidney?

Just be cool

Ron took the networking skills from his sales career and applied them to music. The first rule he learned: be cool. Be a good hang. Within about a year, he found himself in situations way above his head, and because he had been cool with people for years, he could pick up the phone and ask experienced friends what to do. Where do you start? Wherever you can, even your local industry night. You never know who is in the house.

That is low maintenance / no drama as a networking strategy, and it is how work begets work.

Get your foot in the door

The story Joel teases in the intro: Ron spent a year trying to reach a decision maker at a company he knew was gold. Last resort, he bought a pair of red glitter heels like the ones from The Wizard of Oz, put one in a box with a note saying he was trying to get his foot in the door, and offered to bring the other shoe to a meeting. She called the next day. About three months later he signed the account, which went on to spend more than $450,000 a year with his company.

He is not telling you to mail guitars to people. He is telling you to get creative. He even points to TCM's own guitar picks with a QR code: people pick them up off his desk, scan them, and remember the brand. A memorable brand can even overcome a higher price, which is exactly the thinking behind the psychedelic alpaca logo and custom business cards his packaging team built to stand out.

The takeaway

Build the brand, master the no, be cool, and get creative. Those principles travel: swap guitarist for drummer, or musician for business owner, and the formula still works. Everything you do is an audition, so be someone people remember. When the audition comes, prepare with the free Audition Secrets guide.

Get the gig. Keep the gig. Build the career.

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