Selling Yourself
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Tuesday, 1 July, 2008 | Tagged in Contractors, Getting the Role | Written by Crackerjacks
As a marketer, it’s my experience that the basic principles of selling are the same no matter what the product or service. It’s my firm belief that you go through the same process to sell beer as you would a stop-smoking campaign, a heart medication, passionfruit yoghurt, a recruitment campaign for prison guards, cleaning liquid, accounting software or life insurance. While the products are radically different, the process and approach is pretty much the same.
So based on that assumption, selling yourself to a company wishing to engage your services shouldn’t be any different. So lets run through some fundamental marketing concepts that might help you as you create a CV, a work-based social networking profile, personal website, or as you go through the interview process.
Define Your Competencies
Who are you? What are you good at? What are the key skills you have? Can you define a job title for yourself? Can you define your perfect job title?
The most important conversation you can have with a prospective employer or client is to simply articulate what you can do. If you can’t put that into words off the top of your head – sit down and write a list now.
What Is Your Point Of Difference?
Setting yourself apart from the competition should be the focus of any interview or sales job. What are you the best at? What can nobody else offer? Do you have a unique combination of skills? Have you won awards nobody else has? Are you the best at what you do? Are you the nicest person they’ve met all day? Are you more passionate than the rest of the applicants?
Remember that interviewers want somebody to jump out from the crowd. If you can sell them on the reason you’re a better choice than the rest of the me-too club then you’re in with a shot.
Be A Brand That People Love
Kevin Roberts of Saatchi & Saatchi believes brands should aim to be Lovemarks. He defines a Lovemark as being a brand that engenders “Loyalty beyond reason.” Can you create preference for yourself by making people like you? It sounds simple, but if you walk into someone’s office with all the credentials in the world but they think you’re a not-nice person, you’re unlikely to win a piece of work. If you take an interest in their world, their day, and smile then you’re in with a chance.
Value brevity. Be concise.
Get an elevator pitch. The concept is simple – you should be able to explain to someone why they should hire you or use your services in the space of a short elevator ride. Work out your pitch. Don’t waffle. Work out the most important things that you have to offer. Learn to articulate your competence and point of difference in a concise manner. Don’t bore people, dazzle them.
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Piero has contracted to Crackerjacks since early in the sites gestation period working on the branding, communications and advertising via his agency The Whisper Shop.
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