If you come from a marketing or sales background, selling probably comes pretty easy to you. But selling a product or service for an employer or company is a lot different from selling yourself as a product or service. It’s a very personal thing – it’s hard to be impartial. Usually professionals that “sell themselves” end up being one of two types – either an overly confident egomaniac or a shy and reserved sort that comes off sounding wishy-washy and uncertain. What you want to strive for here, however, is something in-between.
You need to have confidence in yourself – confidence in your strengths, your knowledge, your experience and your ability to do a good job. What are your 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 rests in sales and marketing? Whatever your strengths, whatever it is that you’ve been doing successfully all these years for someone else – why not take a chance and start building some of that success for yourself for a change?
Just don’t 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 patting yourself on the back repeatedly is definitely discouraged. If you aren’t sure, have a friend read your profile and ask for honest opinions. It will help you out in the long run - big time.
Believe it or not, service-based businesses are really a big deal. The benefits of owning a home-based business are enticing enough on their own – working from your own office in your pajamas if you want - no commuting, no office gossip or cubicles – but there’s more, much more. A service-based business can be very profitable, 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 business are service based!
Are you a candidate for self-selling? That is the key question.
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