Marketing: Why is it urgent to take care of ourselves?
For many years, I was in charge of selling services and offers for my company or on behalf of a third party. One day, my wife told me: « you sell others but you don't sell yourself ». At this moment I decided to take care of my personal marketing. What is allowable to me, certainly is to other people. Here, I pick up concrete situations that I have encountered, for which, in my opinion, it is urgent to take care of.
Case no. 1: I have an entrepreneurial project that I have to better define before contacting people. Why taking care of my image now?
What if the first thing to do was precisely to discuss with the prospects you are targeting, to know how they react to your project?
If you are convinced that every business starts with customers, then it is urgent to meet them to adapt your offer to their needs.
In this case, a professional image, a network of qualified contacts and a good approach method are necessary. This is your priority.
Case no. 2: I am looking for customers and fundings. Why taking care of my image now?
The first thing your prospects or investors will do is to check who you are. Your storytelling, your experiences, your vision for the future, your analyses… every detail will matter. It is essential not only to develop your network and your image to succeed but also to know how to use them to get concluding appointments.
Case no. 3: How to move forward and promote myself if I don't know where to go?
You necessarily have projects, ideas that inspire you and you desire to share it. You have to start from there. The goal is to develop a community of people around you who can be interested in your ideas and values. They are the ones who will help emerging your project. The others will reveal how you can help them… So go ahead…
Case no. 4: I am not looking for anything, I am fine right where I am.
Not preparing for the future, is like condemning yourself the day you will be exposed. Professional life became chaotic, uncertain. No company can predict its future. Yours is then necessarily uncertain. Your best asset is to be able to bounce back, this is your personal marketing and your network. But neither your network nor your image can be built up in 5 minutes. So you have to start working on it as of now.
Case no. 5: I am in a recruitment stage, I will take care of my image if I don't succeed.
Two persons with the same profile will be recruited for the same position in two different companies but completely similar. One will have €60k as an annual salary and the other €75k. Why? One worked on his personal marketing and his network that he promoted… the other didn’t do anything. You have to work on your image on social networks because it is there that the recruiters will start checking who you are. An excellent product without knowledge of it is worth far less than a product for which the image has been worked on. Being alert to your personal marketing is the first step to prepare interviews.
Case no. 6: I tried but it didn't worked.
The critical point of personal marketing is the transformation of our communication work in qualified appointments. How to efficiently activate a network of contacts to meet decision makers in regard to your projects? Most of those who failed never found the efficient solution on this critical point. This has to be the heart of the method you will use not to fail again.
Case no. 7: I seek to evolve but I don't want people to know that I am seeking.
The art of prospection or an efficient job hunting isn't about saying that we seek to evolve or that we are looking for customers. It’s counterproductive. Looking for opportunities is listening to others and showing them how you can help them… You have to set forth to develop you network, listen to your community, broadcast content that can help it. It is by valuing yourself, your company, your analyses that people will come to you and business or development opportunities will be offered to you…
Case no. 8: I don't want to invest because I have other priorities.
Your image is you. You are the ambassador of your projects.
- If you don't invest in your image to communicate your professionalism, you legitimacy, your inspiration,
- If you don't have any community to listen to you,
- If you don't have anybody supporting you,
- Then, how can your project be achieved?
Case no. 9: I don't have any legitimacy for what I want to do.
Legitimacy build up itself with a storytelling and articles about what interests you. Your personal marketing will then be essential to allow you to reach your new goal by revealing your new legitimacy.
Case no. 10: My company is on the verge of bankruptcy, it is difficult to prospect in these conditions.
If you are running a SME, you are the real value of the company and not the brand of your company. You then have to lean on your personal marketing to revive a business. It is your singularity, your commitment, your values, your experiences or your creativity that will allow you to start again. You have to work on that, with the network to rebuild a future for your company.
To conclude: your capital is yourself!
Professeur chez École Supérieure de Technologie Fès (ESTF)
7yI really like this sentence "It is by valuing yourself, your company, your analyses that people will come to you and business or development opportunities will be offered to you"