Today it’s not uncommon for some people to stretch the truth in order to get a job, get ahead or just get noticed, but this behaviour raises some important issues about the good, the bad and the ugly of self-promotion.

There has been significant research undertaken over the last 30 years in the area of Self Promotion and its impact on earning capacity, image and credibility of people and businesses. The basic aim of self-promotion is sound: you’re communicating your abilities to people who can make use of them.

 

 

However, self-promotion doesn’t come naturally to most people and its principles need to be understood so that people can benefit from its application. Learning how to identify ethical versus unethical behaviour, can make a huge difference, whatever your bottom line might be. Effective and ethical self-promotion needs to be done with the care and consideration of others in mind. 

For some people, self promotion or sales is taboo - actions, they say, should speak louder than words. Likewise, women tend to be less likely to self promote than men, either feeling uncomfortable doing so or preferring to share the spotlight.  These motives are fine, but in the smart organisation, self-promotion is a bottom line issue.

 

Because discomfort with self-promotion or selling (in whatever form) is holding back careers, wasting opportunities and decreasing productivity. In today’s competitive market place it has become a life skill which if practiced ethically will help you achieve your goals and get ahead.

 

Implication:

To make more MONEY you have to like SELLING and SALES PEOPLE and SALES PEOPLE are Morally & Ethically inclined. All people in sales need to prospect and self promote.

 

 

 

Some questions you should ask when examining your own (or someone else’s) behaviour:

 

 

 

 

If you can honestly answer “yes” to these questions... fine. But then test them out by asking those who know you well to give you feedback on your self promotion activities by answering the questions above - if you get agreement that your activities are ethical then continue to use them.

 

 

 

In short ... you work hard and perform your job well - you can and should, take pride in that. But if you want to be recognised and financially rewarded for your contributions, you must first make those contributions visible. Visibility precedes recognition, and it’s much too important to be left to chance. Only when your contributions are recognised can you be rewarded. Not until.

 

 

 

Even if self-promotion doesn’t come naturally to you it can be learned and applied in positive and beneficial ways. If you don’t know how to make contact with people who need to know about you, your products or services, call us at BARRETT and we will help you develop the self promotion skills and behaviours necessary for you to achieve your goals.

 

 

Established in 1995 and winner of the 1997 Telstra & Victorian Government Small Business Award, BARRETT is an Australian Sales Fitness firm offering the best and latest in sales and sales management research, training, consulting, process & tools and sales recruitment kits to help people and companies achieve peak sales fitness.  BARRETT's ability to demystify the practices around achieving increased and sustainable sales performance has allowed many individuals and organisations to achieve remarkable sales and financial  success.

Visit BARRETT at: www.barrett.com.au