Self-promote to showcase your value and selling will become easy

Last week, I took a trip halfway across the globe. I’ve been travelling a lot lately and I had decided to let my feet stay on the ground for at least a few months, but there I was up and about again.

The decision to travel was made rather abruptly for such an effort and capital-intensive commitment. A stranger walked into my office and less than an hour later I was calling my travel agent. I was queuing up for a visa a day later.

Here I was sold onto the idea of a trip that a few days before I would have thought was an unnecessary time, effort and capital expense.

So what changed? The man didn’t offer to take care of my running commitments here, neither did he offer me a free air ticket. He certainly did not pay me for the time I would be away on the trip.

This man didn’t go on the usual full sales mode ensuite with a razzmatazz PowerPoint presentation either.

He approached his mission differently. He walked in and spoke with (not at) me for a few minutes. He did not attempt to do the typical so-called “close” when he was done either.

On exit, he left two critical things behind: A clear demonstration on why the trip was beneficial to me and a great impression — you can’t beat this as a guaranteed-to-work winner.

I am writing to you who doesn’t like to “sell” yourself. If you were asked to write a two-sentence infomercial on yourself without using your job title, you wouldn’t know what to write.

You do not like networking events and if you have to go, you are one of those people who will be found huddled in one corner, nearly clinging to familiar faces or constantly typing on your phone if you do not know anyone.

You’d rather die than work the room meeting new people.

Like it or not, success requires that everybody must be engaged in selling to showcase their value; the selling begins at the individual level. No one buys your ideas (literally or metaphorically), products or services without having been sold onto you as a person.

Self doubt

Your aversion to productive self-promotion is probably a result of self-doubt. Because of second-guessing every decision before you get to the action stage, some less-qualified, less-capable but confident self-promoter grabs your opportunity as you struggle to muster the courage to mumble a few words that no one hears.

If this even remotely describes you, be good to yourself — get a good coach to help you build your confidence. Do it now. Hiding behind the scenes does not benefit you or anyone else. And for as long as no one benefits, neither do you.

It is unnecessary to sell yourself in the traditional sense. All you need to do is demonstrate the need for you, your service or product in a way that makes conventional selling totally obsolete.

Think of the street vendor who sells vegetable slicers along the highway. Cars fly by all day. He only has a few minutes when the traffic lights turn red to make sales yet the guy has made the highway his shop. He doesn’t even say a word.

Armed with a bunch of sukuma wiki on one hand and a slicer on the other, he calmly walks up and down the highway, effortlessly cutting wafer thin slices of the vegetables.

This basic action induces car windows to roll down, he quotes his price, women reach for their purses, he reaches into his backpack for a new unit, money changes hands, traffic lights turn green and the next lot of clients roll onto the highway. Minimal speaking. Sale closed. Tell me if that is not brilliance.

When you demonstrate your skills, product or service, you attract others. You magnetise the interested and even some disinterested people to yourself and what you are doing.

By the time you’re done, all you are going to be doing is quoting your fee and convinced willing buyers will be too happy to reach into their wallets. No objections to overcome, no endless follow-up calls to make; just closed sales one after another.

Decide today to demonstrate your skills, not sell... and then go ahead and do just that.

Mrs Ruligirwa-Kamara is an expert on attitude and human potential. E-mail: [email protected]