If you want to be successful in life, business, or relationships, you must learn one simple secret. That secret is … you must learn how to sell yourself!
Now before you get too antsy and worried, and begin to list all the reasons why you are not a salesperson and you could never do this, please understand that selling yourself is not about learning and using finely honed sales skills like you would in business.
Selling yourself is as simple as the way you present yourself.
Let’s look at a common sense example from everyday life — yourself!
If you are married, or even dating someone, this applies to you. Think back to your first date, or even your first several dates. Remember the great care you took to make sure you looked good and were on time.
If you were supposed to pick your date up at 7pm, you made sure to block out enough time to shower, do your hair, get dressed in nice clothes, and leave with enough time to meet your deadline. Perhaps you even bought new clothes for the occasion!
This is an example of selling yourself. You displayed interest in your appearance and confidence in yourself as you prepared for and executed this “sales plan.”
We could go on and on about the many other things you did on your first date to sell yourself, but you should get the picture from this example. Suffice it to say, if you began talking about your bug collection on your first date, you probably stopped selling yourself!
Now, let’s look at it from the business point of view.
Suppose you are looking for a dry cleaning service to use on a weekly basis. There are two in your neighborhood, and you decide to visit each one. When you walk into the first one, you are struck by how dim the lights are, how cluttered the counter is, and by the fact that you had to wait five minutes for the clerk to come out to see you. When he finally does, he looks at the ground while he explains to you that the lights are so dim because rent is high and they are trying to cut costs.
So you visit the second dry cleaning business, and immediately notice a big difference. The store is bright, the counters are clean, and the clerk is waiting at the counter as you walk in, with a demeanor that says to you, “I am ready to serve you.” He politely explains all his stores policies, and you have a very good feeling as you leave.
Which dry cleaning service will you pick? The second one. Why? Because the store, and the clerk, “sold” you on that store. In the clerk’s case, he sold you on himself.
You should never afraid of promoting yourself when it comes to achieving success in whatever you do. All it takes is a little self-confidence and a little effort to display that self-confidence, whether in the form of your dress, your appearance, your conversation, or your people skills.
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