We Are All in Sales

This is an article I wrote for the YP Nashville newsletter.

When I left my previous job and began my own business, I started hearing: “I could never do what you do; I am just not cut out for sales.” It threw me off a bit, because I never truly considered myself a “salesman.” In my mind, that word conjured an image of a smarmy used car salesman type with the pistol-fingers and smoker’s cough, winking from across the lot. I didn’t want to be seen that way for sure. But the truth is, sales is merely convincing someone else of an idea and helping them own it. We all do that every day.

Think about it: Every time you engage in a political discussion, you are attempting to sell your viewpoints. Every time you speak up at a company meeting, you’re selling your coworkers on your ideas and your expertise. Every time you go above and beyond in your job in a public way, you’re selling yourself as an invaluable asset to your company. What I’m saying is that if you are striving to succeed, if you are determined to get ahead, then you too are in sales. You are in the business of selling yourself.

Now that you know you are in sales, so what?

Get out of your comfort zone and own it. Figure out how to make others realize that you’ve got something to offer them. Make yourself invaluable.

Here’s an example: I have a friend who started as an adjunct college instructor teaching one class two days a week. She was passionate about her job and decided to rewrite the outdated curriculum they had been using for years. She “sold” her curriculum to the department head and, before she knew it, other instructors started using her curriculum. Her bosses noticed her initiative and great ideas, and offered more classes for her to teach. Eventually she was offered a full-time position and is now making nearly twice what she was making before.

She successfully sold herself as an instructor – an instructor beyond what they had known her to be! Just think, if she had just sat back and taught two days a week and kept to herself, following the curriculum she was given, she most likely would be in the same position, working the same hours at the same pay. By taking the initiative, by selling herself and being proactive, now she has made herself indispensable to the department.

We are in a culture that moves fast and changes even faster, and the cold hard truth is, if you are not getting ahead, you are falling behind. Success in business comes from always propelling yourself forward, and that means selling yourself every day. Remember that everything you say and do at work has an impact on what and how other people think about you. Your expertise and reputation are shaped directly by none other than…you.

So, what are some tangible ways to sell yourself?

– Create opportunities to establish yourself as a leader. Don’t wait for someone to tell you what to do – make your own position.

– Find ways to volunteer. Remember that every time you volunteer for something, you are building your resume. Not only do you come out looking like a passionate team player, but you establish credibility and expertise in the process.

– Put yourself in a position to lead a team and then go above and beyond what’s expected. Get noticed!

– Don’t be a wall (cubicle) flower. Get involved in the corporate culture of your company and find ways to improve it.

Remember, if you don’t sell yourself, nobody else will. Don’t be status quo. Don’t get passed by. Whether you like it or not, you ARE in sales. So put on a smile and a wink and start selling yourself.  You’re the number-one expert on your own potential, and the more you realize this, the more you can work the product that is you!