|
Beyond Self-Promotion:
Why Good People Should SELL Themselves
If you work for yourself, and are perhaps a teeny weeny bit resistant
to selling, this wake up call is for you. It is possible that
"learning to sell" -- as opposed to learning how to promote
yourself -- is not on your priority list. But, if you truly care about
your customers, self promotion deserves your attention.
Maybe you feel that it is inappropriate to promote yourself in
any way, especially when you meet new people. Have you ever you
met someone who asked about what you do, and watched their look of confusion
when you gave them a barely adequate answer, all because you didn't want
to seem pushy or self-interested?
I imagine you have the most sincere motives for avoiding self
promotion, but may I also suggest that you may be confusing modesty with
self-protection? It's natural to want to protect yourself against
anything short of drooling adulation that you might receive in response
to a sales pitch. (By the way, how does that phrase "sales pitch"
land with you?) It's natural, but it isn't modest.
It also isn't kind to the other person. There they are,
carrying on a friendly conversation, and suddenly you classify them as
a threat to your self-esteem. How likely are they to benefit from the
interaction?
Until quite recently I thought that the reason I lit up in some
sales situations while hanging back in others, was that I was highly sensitive.
(I hear this from my clients a lot. Highly sensitive people keep a lot
of coaches employed.)
One day I realized that I wasn't avoiding self promotion out
of sensitivity, but out of fear. And it wasn't even fear of a
particularly elevated kind. It was the venal fear of not getting what
I wanted when I wanted it and as I wanted it. In other words, when I felt
confident of getting the result I wanted, I'd reach out. If I thought
somewhat might question what I wanted or say, "No," I'd hang
back.
Notice that the fear of being denied what you want is not the
same as the fear of rejection. Being told "no" in response
to a sales pitch does not signal the end of a relationship. It doesn't
have anything to do with accepting or rejecting you as a human being.
It doesn't even have anything to do with increasing or decreasing your
perceived worthiness. All it means is "No. I do not want what you
are offering." (Hey, you want a glass of water while I'm up? No.
You see?)
You are perhaps a better person than I. But even if
your reluctance to self-promote or sell is rooted in the soil of modesty,
isn't it time to distinguish modesty from playing small?
Cloaking self-seeking in the garment of selflessness is not a
mortal sin (believe me, I would know), but it's awfully unattractive
and it's an abysmally ineffective strategy for staying employed when you
work for yourself.
So what's a person to do? Ask your internal monitor
to nudge you when you move away from instead of toward selling or self-promotion.
Don't try to change anything yet, just notice. Jot down some of the flickering
of thoughtlets that run through your mind at these moments.
“Just noticing” will allow you to experience how
your current attitudes toward selling and self promotion keep you from
being a clear and open channel for your best work. As you become
more aware of how avoiding sales or promotion keeps you from authentic
engagement with your best clients and customers, your reluctance to sell
or self-promote will shift into curiosity about how to reach and support
the people you serve.
* * *
Learn more about Authentic Promotion - a comprehensive
small business marketing resource that turns marketing and self promotion
into a path of increasing self-awareness, authenticity, and right livelihood.
You can look forward to promoting your work. (It is possible.)
* * *
Self Promotion Index
|| Self Promotion,
Small Business Marketing, and Your Business Values || Expand
Your Vision of Your Small Business Marketing and Self Promotion Practices
|| Your Effective
Self Promotional Marketing Tool - The Rule of Threes || Preparing
Your Promotional Marketing Materials - Inventorying Your Unique Appeal
|| Preparing
Your Promotional Marketing Materials - Inquiries || Elevator Speech
|| Self Promotion
Resources: Websites and Books || Reprint
Terms for Self Promotion Articles
* * *
Contact an acknowledged expert
on self promotion Molly Gordon at:
Shaboom Inc. Life could be a dream…
PO Box 195
Suquamish, WA 98392-0195
mgordon@authenticpromotion.com
As a business coach and small
business marketing consultant, Molly Gordon, MCC, is available in Greater
Seattle Area and internationally |
