Self Promotion: How to Sell Yourself

People who thrive in business are the ones who naturally market themselves to the right people in the right way. Self-marketing does not have to be an onerous process if your marketing components are designed based on who you are. Here are some tips to help you make self-promotion natural, whether you're looking for a job or working your way up the corporate ladder.

• Know Yourself
  • What are your values?
  • What are you passionate about?
  • How do you operate?
  • Be You.
    
• Be the best you can be
  • What can you do to raise the bar on what you have to offer?
  • Meet or exceed expectations.
  • Deliver a quality experience.
  • Doing your best is more than negotiating a good deal, or keeping the property in good shape, or getting a good lease for a client. It is also making sure the experience of the transaction is a quality experience. Were you easy to get hold of? Did you return calls promptly? Did you deliver what was asked of you in a timely fashion? Was your attitude can do throughout the transaction?
  • Be motivated.
  • Do your work well.
  • Be passionate about your work.
  • Where does your passion or energy live? "I learned that I was really looking for people who were filled with passion and a desire to get things done. A resume didn't tell me much about that inner hunger. I had to "feel" it."
    Jack Welch. Jack: Straight from the Gut
  • What skills, if any, do you need to improve? i.e.: Communication, negotiation, team playing, getting results, general competence.
    
• Develop quality relationships
  • Other people are whom you have to sell yourself to.
  • What does selling yourself mean? I think it means developing relationships with people so that they want to do business with you. They want to hire you. They want to work for or with you. They want to refer to you. They want to help you.
  • How satisfied are you with your relationships with:
    • Your employer or boss
    • Your employees
    • Team members
    • Other workers
    • Professional contacts
    • Industry Peers?
  • Consider what values you think are important to have a good reputation? Ones that will lead people to think of you if they need someone that does something like you do?
    
• Take initiative
  • What more can you do without being asked?
  • Be visible.
  • Be proactive.
  • Let relationships know of your successes and accomplishments.
    
• Project confidence
  • Have a positive attitude.
  • Trust yourself.
  • Know your strengths and accomplishments.
  • Be willing to take risks - learn from your actions.
  • Be realistic.
  • See possibilities or opportunities rather than failure.
    
• Be patient and determined
  • Give yourself time to reach your goals.
  • Be willing to fail so you can learn from your mistakes.
  • Be realistic.
  • Expand your comfort zone.
  • Don't let anything stop you.
    
• Know what is behind what stops you so you won't let it
  • Fear
  • "The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out . . . and do it." Susan Jeffers: "Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway"
  • Limiting Beliefs.
  • "I don't want to brag." or "That is not professional."
  • All or nothing thinking.
  • "I am a failure when my performance is not perfect."
  • Negative thinking.
  • "This is a problem."
  • Negative perspective.
  • Good things don't count nearly as much as bad ones. "I know I was successful at the last five deals, but losing this one makes me feel terrible."
  • Relying on "should" statements.
  • Should statements are often the result of the voice we share in our head that lets us know we never do anything right. "I should have done that differently." Or "I should have anticipated they were going to do that."

Directions:
Seeing the center of the wheel as 0 and the outer edge as 10, rank your level of satisfaction with each area by drawing a curved line to create a new outer edge. Give each pie the applicable number value as well. Use the knowledge gained from completing this exercise to decide what areas you want to improve. (credit: coachingforchange.com)