Whether you are self employed or work for someone else, one of the best skills you can learn is to promote yourself and your work, to the right people and in the right way.
You can be extremely talented at what you do but if you don't know how to market yourself, you will never get the results you want. In 2016, talent is just not enough.
As I say in my first course, Be Your Own Publicist, "The way you think about yourself affects everything that you do, especially when it comes to promoting yourself and your business" So let's get your mindset sorted out so that you can start promoting your work and get things moving!
If you would like to feel more confident whilst promoting yourself and your business, keep reading because I am going to share eight ways you can boost yourself confidence and sky rocket your business!
Get clear on where you want to be.
Effective marketing needs to work towards a strategy. What do you want things to look like? If its more sales, how many per month? If you are wanting to attract more clients then how many? Getting clear on the results you want will help you to get better results.
STOP waiting to feel confident and just start now
One of the biggest tricks that the mind plays on us when it comes to moving forward is the idea that we have to feel confident before we can move forward. This just keeps us stuck.
Instead of waiting to feel more confident before starting, just start taking steps forward- even if they are small steps at first. Taking action in spite of your fears will help your confidence to grow.
Make a list
Make a list of daily actions that you can take to promote your work and commit at least 30 minutes a day to it (yes, you do have the time)
Write down people to send links to, agencies to reach out to and meetings to set up. If you are serious about getting results then you need to make it a priority.
Focus on the benefits to the customer / client
When doing anything to promote your business, products or services always...and I mean always focus on the benefits to the customer. People are surrounded by noise all day, people selling them things, telling them what they need etc. If you can make it very clear what someone gets from working with you then you are already half way there.
Understand you are not your work
You are much more than the work that you do, when you promote your business and the services you offer it is not about you personally and it's very important to get clear on that.
People who are self employed often attach too much of their self image to their work and this can lead to a sense of anxiety or even personal rejection when a potential client or customer says no. Learning to detach your personal self from your work and professional persona is a great way of keeping a healthy mental boundary that serves everyone.
Get over your fear of rejection
Really, get over it. I'm really direct with my clients because that's sometimes what you need when it comes to moving forward. Direct, no BS advice that can take you from where you are to where you want to be. We all have a fear of rejection, it's part of being a human being but it doesn't have to keep you stuck or hold you back.
Understand that it's not about you, it's just business and that you are far bigger than any perceived rejection.
Play "How would I act...."
A great exercise I use with my private clients is "How would I act if" I ask them to write down on a piece of paper how they would act if they felt confident, ready, able, powerful etc. I ask them to describe how they would speak, act, talk, dress and "show up" in the world. Then I have them act that out right now, starting their day as if they already have what they want. Try this and you'll be amazed at the results you get in your life.
Write down "How would I act if I felt confident?" and then read through that and start living it. (I've done this with money, new contacts, confidence etc and it's amazing)
Practice
Confidence is just like a muscle, it gets stronger the more you use it.
Instead of only using your confidence when a need arises, practice being the confident version of yourself through out your day.
Ask yourself questions like "How can I practice my confidence now?" It could be as simple as accepting an invitation to a networking event, reaching out to someone over e-mail or even following up with a prospect, the more you practice the easier it becomes.
Your Assignment: This week, I want you to apply at least one of these strategies when it comes to promoting your business and let me know how it goes! You can Tweet me @RyanJamesLock