How to promote yourself - Part 1

I’ve had the privilege to work with over 3000 talented and experienced executives over the last few years to help them build successful consulting/interim/corporate careers. At the start however, almost every one of them somehow found the concept of self-marketing to be 'distasteful' and 'un-British' (or un-wherever they were from!). It has been the one area that, more than any other had held them back. They were afraid of looking arrogant, bragging, annoying others, losing respect. These fears were based on a misunderstanding about what effective self-promotion really looks like. And once we cleared that misunderstanding up, they were on a roll. Based on this experience I’ve compiled the top 4 ‘tips’ that people say have helped them the most in their self-marketing. I’ll cover each in a separate post. So, for the first: You are a limited company looking for clients, not an individual looking for a job I cannot tell you how many people have been helped to a marketing breakthrough once they grasped this statement. It doesn't matter whether you are going independent or looking for a step up the corporate ladder, thinking in this way will help you. Why? Well I think many have a blind spot when it comes to marketing themselves and I also think they tend to spend far too much time agonising over their own personal qualities and ‘unique selling points’. Then, just when they think they’ve identified them, they get all coy and worried that they’ll look like they’re bragging. Excusing themselves with stuff like ‘it’s just not British is it!’ Even the marketeers who tell me they can market the wotsits out of any company, get all reticent when it comes to themselves. Just like any limited company, if you are to succeed, then: • You must offer a service that people need AND want • Those people (in your target market) need to know that you exist and that you offer that service • Those people need to have a favourable impression of your service before they’ll contact you or agree to meet you So, act like a consultant for your limited company. What would you be telling the owner of YOU Ltd that they need to do to promote the company. Listen (to yourself!!), then act on it. Hope you found this useful Simon - 07768 596026