opinion

Sell Yourself Online

Current economic conditions portend major innovations to come – that is, if you are wile and ready to adapt to the times and reinvent your strategies and capabilities in anticipation of the coming national and global infrastructural changes. Many businesses continue the trend to cut fixed carrying costs across the board consolidating both operating and labor expenses. These structural renovations include hiring outside sources to meet their technical and online development needs as well as marketing and some business development functions.

Here are some ideas and tips on how to market your biggest commodity - YOU. Depending on ones personality type, selling oneself is sometimes the most challenging undertaking for many people who might be perfectly comfortable selling products, services, or even the skills of others! This mini-tutorial will help you create a website that will catch the attention of companies seeking to hire and develop an online marketing plan that will help you build a small Web-based service business that focuses on your skills and experience.

Believe in Yourself: You Can Do It!

If you come from a marketing or sales background selling probably seems pretty easy to you. But selling a product or service for your employer or company can feel a lot different from selling yourself as that product or service. It’s a very personal thing – it’s hard to be impartial, and often hard to be objective. Some of us are in denial of our shortcomings, and others of us are more critical of ourselves than anyone evaluating our potential value to their organizations would ever be. Often, professionals “selling themselves” end up being typed in one of two ways – either as overly confident egomaniacs or the shy reserved sort that appear uncertain of their capability. Obviously, what you want to strive for here is something in between.

Self confidence is a prerequisite for anyone attempting to forge a career as an independent contractor or expert consultant. You must have confidence in yourself – in your strengths, your knowledge, your experience and your ability to do an outstanding job matched with your potential clients. What are your skills and talents? Are you great with graphics or Flash? Can you whip up a high-tech shopping site like nobody’s business? Maybe your true talent lies in sales and marketing? Communications? Facilitating productive introductions for business development? Brokering financial dealings? Whatever your strengths, whatever you’ve been doing successfully for someone else for years – consider beginning to build some of that success into a vehicle to promote yourself for a change…

Just be certain not to cross that line between confident and conceited. There’s nothing worse than a salesperson tooting their own horn or some Web designer boasting that he’s the #1 Designer on the Web. Does he know how big the Web is – or how many other great designers there are out there? Making outrageous claims or repeatedly patting oneself on the back is definitely discouraged. If you aren’t sure, have a friend or trusted colleague read your profile and listen to your spiel, and ask for honest opinions. This can help you out big-time in the long run.

Believe it or not, service-based businesses are really a big deal. The benefits to owning and operating your own home-based business are enticing enough on their own – working from your own office in your pajamas if you are so disposed - no commuting, no office gossip or cubicles – but there’s more, much more. A service-based business can be very profitable indeed - especially because there is practically no overhead. No products to buy, no shipping or customer service costs – no processing fees, no bank approvals needed – it’s just you, and the services you provide - out there making money. In fact, studies show that nearly 80% of small businesses are service based!

What about the demand? The service-based home business model should show unprecedented growth in 2009 as people now leaving more traditional employment whether on their own or forced volition decide to finally go for it and establish their own service businesses. There isn’t a better time to get started than RIGHT NOW.

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