A while back, I responded to a ProfNet query. Unlike the many times I have done this before, this time I was the expert. Me. Seriously?
Unfortunately, I didn’t hear anything back from the reporter – and I’m not surprised. I didn’t really sell myself. I failed to describe how I was the perfect source for this story. I didn’t convince myself that I should be the expert source, so no wonder she didn’t email me asking for more information.
Why is it so hard to pitch myself when I pitch clients all the time?
- I’m passionate about myself.
- I believe in my abilities.
- I know myself better than any client I’ve ever had.
So then, why am I lackluster when it comes to sharing my successes and experience? As I look at many of the individuals who are successful in PR, blogging and other arenas, I strongly believe that I could hold my own in their company. I could, however, take some lessons and tips from those folks, observe their confidence and rhetoric when speaking about themselves and their work, and continue to make a name for myself.
Do you have any tips? Any advice for selling yourself? Or, are you like me and unable to sing your praises?
#1 by Arik Hanson on May 24, 2010 - 8:18 am
It’s hard to sell yourself. Tell everyone how great you are. We’re from Minnesota–we don’t do that, remember?
You’re right in that you have to believe in yourself first before you can make a successful pitch. It’s kinda like golf that way–you have to commit to the shot.
As someone who doesn’t like to toot his own horn, here’s how I try to think about it: Be humble, but exude a quiet confidence. It won’t get you the story/placement/client every time (those more boisterous and self-promoting will win out a decent percentage of the time), but you will see success. No question. And more importantly, at the end of the day, you’ll feel much better about how you attained it.
My two cents.
@arikhanson
#2 by Kristin on May 25, 2010 - 2:59 pm
Thanks for the comment, Arik. It’s good to hear that the quiet confidence doesn’t go unnoticed. Even though I am a very (very) loud person by nature, I am much more quiet when it comes to talking about myself. So, I’m not a lost cause yet
#3 by Art on May 24, 2010 - 8:22 am
I think that last bullet point is your (and everyone’s) downfall. You know everything about yourself, which means you know exactly where all your bad spots are in addition to the bountiful good. For me at least, this is the source of some self-consciousness. Plus, when it comes to pitching yourself as an expert there’s a fear you’ll over-promise and then be on the hook for results.
With a client, you’ve usually got a team (or at least a counterpart on the other side) to help you out, you know them well enough to pitch to their strengths but you probably aren’t getting the whole story on all their disfunctions, which keeps you from thinking you need to lie about them or otherwise distract from them, and if something goes wrong and the client doesn’t live up to the hype, it’s not the end of the world; you just move on to the next client.
My best advice is grow your ego. Not so big that you lose friends or over-promise, but so that you are comfortable with the label “expert.”
#4 by Kristin on May 24, 2010 - 10:10 am
Art, thanks for the comment. I think your comment about being fearful of over-promising on a topic is an interesting one. Since I currently struggle with even selling myself as a resource, I wouldn’t have even thought about over-promising, yet it’s a concern (with clients as well). But you definitely are right on about what happens if something goes awry on a personal sell.
#5 by Lauren on May 24, 2010 - 10:02 am
I think it’s harder to pitch yourself because we are taught to be modest. You don’t have to worry about sounding like a cocky jerk when you pitch a client.
#6 by Paul DeBettignies on May 25, 2010 - 2:51 pm
You will not believe this but I suck at selling myself. I much rather sing the praises of others. I feel weird doing it for myself.
How I get over it (reluctantly) is that for me and what I do, if I do not do this I do not eat.
It is that simple.
So I have to.
#7 by Kristin on May 26, 2010 - 2:52 pm
Well, there’s no better teacher than necessity, so I suppose you’ve got me beat there. It’s good to know that even people like you, Paul, who are out there a lot, still find it a bit uncomfortable.
#8 by Kari Nolan on May 26, 2010 - 10:36 am
This is something I struggle with all the time – especially when job searching. I want to be realistic about my strengths and abilities, while making them stand out amongst my peers.
This is a great post. I’ll be checking back for more advice.
@kbnolan