How Do I Select a Spokesperson for a Company?
Selecting a spokesperson for your company is a critical decision. We’ve gathered insights from ten industry leaders, including founders and CEOs, to guide you in this process. From selecting a candidate with deep-domain expertise to choosing someone who truly believes in your brand, discover their valuable advice on spokesperson selection.
- Select a Candidate With Deep-Domain Expertise
- Consider These Ideal Characteristics
- Look for Charisma, Knowledge, and Relatability
- Find a Confident Yet Humble Representative
- Focus On Powerful Key Attributes
- Should Reflect the Ideal Customer
- Can Strategically Remain “On Message”
- Locate a Positive and Motivating Leader
- Representing Company Values and Culture
- Choose Someone Who Believes in Your Brand
Select a Candidate With Deep-Domain Expertise
Attributes such as charisma and enthusiasm are important in choosing a spokesperson, but a critical factor in determining their credibility and authenticity is deep-domain expertise and experience.
Understanding the day-to-day challenges and challenges of your target audience allows a company spokesperson to connect with buyers on an emotional level, which can be the key factor in successfully driving sales and awareness through empathy and trust.
For smaller companies and startups, this is often a founder or early employee who was driven to start or join the business based on their own passion and drive to solve a larger problem being faced by your customer base. More established businesses may have a range of subject-matter experts representing different areas of expertise, who can be deployed as spokespeople for specific audience segments or topics.
Start with expertise, and then assess other characteristics to select your most effective spokesperson.
Tom Lloyd
Founder and Managing Partner, tllo
Consider These Ideal Characteristics
Selecting a spokesperson for a company is always a very serious task, as this individual will represent the entire company in front of the public and media channels. When choosing a spokesperson, the following aspects are considered:
– Confidence and effectiveness in communication skills.
– Familiarity with the company’s mission, objectives, and brand image.
– Deep knowledge of the company’s target audience.
– Willingness to serve the company’s interest in the long term.
– Proficiency in conducting market research and extracting important insights from it.
– The ability to convince people.
A person possessing the above factors, attributes, and characteristics is the ideal choice to be appointed as a spokesperson for a company.
Faizan Khan
PR and Content Marketing Specialist, Ubuy UK
Look for Charisma, Knowledge, and Relatability
The spokesperson quest—time to find your company’s Gandalf of charm and wit! Picture this: Your ideal spokesperson is a cocktail of charisma, knowledge, and relatability, with a dash of unicorn magic.
A survey showed that 81% of consumers trust advice from company spokespersons. Talk about persuasive power! Now, for the real-life ingredients! Meet Jane, the tech guru. Her expertise in decoding geeky jargon and captivating storytelling makes her a prime candidate.
But wait, there’s more! Your spokesperson must embody your brand’s values, like a brand ambassador on steroids. In summary, seek the charismatic unicorn who lives and breathes your brand, casting spells of trust upon your audience. Choose wisely and let the magic of effective communication shine!
Himanshu Sharma
CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing
Find a Confident Yet Humble Representative
With selecting a spokesperson, there are crucial qualities to keep in mind. Look for someone who exudes a confident, yet humble, demeanor during interviews.
You want a person who can command attention without appearing arrogant and can remain composed in any situation, whether mentoring junior colleagues or speaking to stakeholders.
Matias Rodsevich
CEO, PRLab
Focus On Powerful Key Attributes
Selecting the perfect spokesperson is crucial and involves meticulous consideration of key attributes.
Primarily, the person must have excellent communication skills to convey the company’s message effectively. Their personality should reflect the brand’s ethos, enhancing credibility and relatability. Deep knowledge of the company’s mission and values is essential, as the spokesperson should be the brand’s advocate.
Strong leadership and crisis-management skills are vital. They must handle pressure with grace, steering public perception through strategic communication. A clean reputation is non-negotiable, as any personal indiscretions can damage the brand.
The selection requires a balance of personal qualities, professional skills, and company understanding. With these in mind, the ideal spokesperson can powerfully and authentically drive the brand’s message forward.
Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission
Should Reflect the Ideal Customer
Choosing a spokesperson for a company goes beyond just their ability to convey messages; it’s about finding someone who genuinely resonates with your target audience. When looking for the face of the business, consider someone who reflects your ideal customer profile, or who your customers aspire to be.
At ZenMaid, for example, we strive to pick someone who understands the challenges and aspirations of our core audience—maid service owners. This person, ideally, would have firsthand experience with the day-to-day issues our customers face. They’d know what it’s like to run a cleaning business and how our solutions can make life easier.
That relatability makes a spokesperson truly effective and meaningful for our brand. This approach helps us foster a genuine connection with our audience and reflects a clear, positive image of who we are and who we serve.
Amar Ghose
CEO, ZenMaid
Can Strategically Remain “On Message”
A good and smart spokesperson must be strategic; they know what they want to say and how to express it. The spokesperson needs to have already identified key points and information they want to convey before speaking to the media or the general public.
Following this, the spokesperson’s key messages should be brief and specific to the organization. Their skills will employ bridge strategies to handle the toughest interview questions while remaining “on message.” A journalist will not hesitate to ask uncomfortable questions because they can easily segue from difficult queries to the topic at hand.
Samantha Hawrylack
CEO, SJ Digital Solutions LLC
Locate a Positive and Motivating Leader
A spokesperson will be the first person who consumers think of when they hear the company name. Since we are a motivational company, it is very important that the company spokesperson embodies a positive and motivating personality.
It is a plus if the person has leadership skills that can be validated by past experiences. This way, the spokesperson has the authority in the field related to our company.
Danielle Dahl
Managing Editor, Leadership Expert, and PhD Candidate in Psychology, Everyday Power
Representing Company Values and Culture
Choosing a company spokesperson is like picking the lead singer for a band. They’re the face, the voice, and the personality that sets the tone. You want someone who can hit the high notes under pressure, who can improvise a solo when the script fails, and who can harmonize with the rest of the band—your company’s values and culture.
They need to be authentic because today’s audiences can smell a fake a mile away. They need to be relatable because people do business with people, not corporations. And they need to be resilient because they’ll be the ones taking the heat when things go south.
So, when you’re auditioning for your lead singer, don’t just look for a pretty face or a smooth talker. Look for the soul of your band.
James Allen
Founder, CPA, CFP, and CFEI, Billpin.com
Choose Someone Who Believes in Your Brand
Picking the right spokesperson for your company can be difficult, but it is important to choose someone who believes in your brand and embodies your core values.
It might be enticing to select a spokesperson with an established, large following, but if they are not fans of your company, the content they produce may not be genuine enough, or the partnership might sour.
It could be worthwhile to reach out to people who use your products or services so they are already familiar with your company. Overall, the right spokesperson is someone who is enthusiastic about your company and is excited to represent your brand’s values.
Tyler York
CEO, Achievable
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