Shameless Self-Promotion is Key to Achieving Results
“If you are unable to self-promote your achievements, you cannot sell your ideas, products, or services…or be taken seriously.” Jeannette Seibly
Many women and men today downplay their value, success, and awesomeness! Why? It’s not socially acceptable to share what you’ve accomplished. However, the good news is, this is quickly changing!
“Although self-promotion (communicating one’s past accomplishments and positive characteristics) is important for obtaining career and educational opportunities, women feel uncomfortable when doing it, which limits their self-promotion success.” (Sage Journals, 2019)
In my many years of delivering the award-winning “Get Your Brag On!” presentation, many men have also shared they lack the skills to effectively promote themselves.
The myth that you can rely on others to toot your horn has cost many people job opportunities, sales, and awards!
Stop Downplaying Your Accomplishments!
Why? We’ve been taught since we were very young that it’s wrong to brag! Baby Boomers and GenXs were often shamed by their parents, teachers, and others when they promoted themselves. Millennials and GenZs have peer group pressure to maintain the “We,” excluding the individual “I” from recognition.
Today, self-promotion in interviews, sales presentations, and nominations for awards is critical. Using “I accomplished” is also important. Yet, many deserving people shy away from doing so and as a result, are not offered the job or contract, or win the recognition. Many times, less qualified people achieve these results because they learned how to brag in a business-savvy manner.
Fill the Confidence Gap. In my experience, I’ve found that both women and men fear sharing their accomplishments. (I continue to emphasize both genders since many articles only focus on women.) While there are gender biases (e.g., men need to talk powerfully, but when women speak powerfully, they are seen as bossy), shameless self-promotion does build natural inner confidence when done in a business-savvy manner.
Inner power and mindful awareness naturally communicate confidence and most people want to work with winners!
I didn’t say it was easy … or that others would readily acknowledge your successes. I’m saying stand up and speak up about your accomplishments. It makes a significant difference in getting pay increases, job promotions, and closing sales.
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. Let go of your fears … if someone doesn’t like you, bragging isn’t going to change their opinion. If others are jealous of your success, they aren’t going to suddenly want you on their team. Get over trying to win others’ positive opinions.
Remember, in business, do you only want to be liked and make friends? Or, make money and achieve needed results? The irony is that when you build your true inner confidence, people are more likely to like you! And, do business with you!
Get Guidance on How to Share Your Successes with Others. One of the reasons potentially successful people fail to brag, is they don’t seek out an industry mentor or hire an executive coach to help them learn the art of self-promotion. And, it is an art! The other challenge is many overlook the need to know their numbers, metrics, and other accomplishments. Instead, they take the latest saying or blurb and attempt to fit their own accomplishments into it. The problem? It lacks authenticity and truth!
Start by completing the 5 simple exercises in the book, “Get Your Brag On!” Then, work with a good marketing coach or executive coach to fine-tune. Remember, the key is to differentiate yourself so that others readily understand what you’re saying and who you really are.
· Saying, “I’m a coach.” Does not differentiate you since there are 1,000s of coaches.
· Saying, “I’m a coach that inspires business professionals to want to succeed and win.” This uses words that are overused and fails to differentiate who you are.
· Saying, “I’m a Leadership Results Coach and along the way guided the creation of 3 millionaires.” It brags! Focuses. Differentiates. Attracts clients.
Be Authentic and Don’t Exaggerate. Recently, I presented “Get Your Brag On!” A woman in the audience was livid and stated emphatically, “Everyone lies and cannot tell the truth about their accomplishments! They over-exaggerate!” In my experience, I find most people struggle to be authentic and tell the truth about what they’ve accomplished. The lesson? Be honest — if someone finds out you lied, it will hurt your credibility, now and in the future.
While many people are taught to tone down the achievements (or dummy it down), it’s usually at your own expense to do so. You want to keep your self-promotion and smart without using words that most people don’t readily understand (e.g., generous v. magnanimous). Plus, use accurate numbers, metrics, and estimates that reflect your successes.
Remember your goal — acknowledge your greatness, then, share your self-promotion effectively.
Grab my book, “Get Your Brag On!” and start bragging and self-promoting today!
Jeannette Seibly is a Talent Advisor/Leadership Results Coach with over 31 years of practical experience guiding leaders and bosses to improve their hiring, coaching, and managing practices and produce amazing results! And yes, achieving business success always starts with having the right people in the right jobs! She has been an Authorized PXT Select® Partner for over 32 years. Contact Jeannette to learn more about these state-of-the-art job-fit assessment tools or how to coach and manage your people to achieve incredible results.
A note from Jeannette: Learning how to self-promote or brag about your accomplishments is critical to win the opportunity, job, sales contract, or well-deserved award. But too many people downplay and hide their achievements at their own expense. If you’re stuck, contact me now for 1:1 coaching (after doing the exercises in the book, “Get Your Brag On!”) or to schedule me for the award-winning presentation for your company or organization.
It’s time to talk it out! Are there days you dread managing people, projects, and your team’s financial performance? You’re not alone! Everyone has their blind spots! NOW is the time to get the guidance you need to make the right changes. I have extensive experience and wisdom guiding bosses and leaders to hire, coach, and manage their teams successfully. The bonus is that they achieve unprecedented results. Contact me to learn more about my in-depth, one-on-one, customized coaching programs.
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