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Shameless Self-Promotion Can Work For You

Too often I hear from people who are self-employed or business owners who say things like, "I could never go into sales because I'm an introvert," or "I suffer from shyness." I get it. There are days when I would rather stay in bed than go out and meet people, especially if I don't already know them. Even though I don't consider myself an introvert, there are those days when I am adverse to people in general.

But when I hear these people say these things I want to shake them. If you own a business or are a self-employed contract worker, odds are pretty good that you are in sales, whether you like it or not. Highly specialized people, like neurosurgeons, are fortunate that they don't need to market themselves, but for the rest of us, we have to find out how to get our message to the masses. 

It's not difficult, but it does take time and discipline. For example, carving out an hour each day to make phone calls, doing a few social media posts or attend a networking event can be a great investment of your time. The more people see your name or the name of your business, the better your chances of being "top of mind" when someone needs a product or service you offer.

Over the last year or so I have been a guest on a few podcasts, which I enjoy because I can share the link to the podcast on my social media platforms, or even email the link to prospective clients. This gives me extra credibility as an "expert" in my field, and if I'm lucky, will be shared by others too.

As an example, I was a guest on the Motivators In Motion podcast last year, which you can listen to here. It was fun to be interviewed and promote my book, but it was also a way to promote myself. 

I was also cited in an article by CB Nation titled "22 Entrepreneurs Share Their Best Sales Tips". (I'm number 11, by the way) You may be wondering how I find these opportunities to promote myself on the platforms of others. One way is to use HARO (Help a reporter out), where bloggers, news columnists and others are looking for insightful commentary and input for the articles they are writing. Appearing in a post like that gives me credibility, but it also gives me a credible "backlink" to my website, thus helping me with search engine optimization. 

With all of this in mind there needs to be a measurable return on your investment (ROI). Of course, there isn't really a monetary investment since most of these suggestions cost no money. Your time, however, is precious and needs to be taken seriously. An easy way to do this is to determine how much an hour of your time costs by taking a weeks worth of commissions, or however you get paid, and dividing it by 40 (not nearly the hours you probably put in each week) and multiplying times five (because you will be doing this each day of the work week). 

At first you will probably see a zero ROI, but as you progress you should start to notice some increases. I like to include anything into this, such as luncheons, chamber after hour socials and even coffee with an old client who may give me some referrals. 

In these times of Covid-19 and with everyone self isolating, it's important to be nimble, keep an open mind and continue to learn how to market yourself and your work. If you need help or have a suggestion, please leave a comment below. And in the meantime, stay healthy!

 Chris Castanes is a professional speaker and author who helps sales people succeed through workshops and humorous presentations. For booking information, click here. He's also the president of Surf Financial Brokers selling life and disability insurance in several states. Please subscribe!

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