SELLING YOURSELF…IN TODAY’S MARKET
HERE IS AN INTRIGUING COMMENT TO A BLOG POST:
There are tens of thousands, soon perhaps millions of people who will suddenly learn they no longer have a job. The travesty occurring both in the US and abroad, isn’t so much that it didn’t need to happen, but looking at how to help those for whom it happened.
The termination of a person’s job rarely allows for the emotion and clarity to answer the question asked by the formerly employed person, “what will I do now?” Few business experiences can match the collective range of negative feelings felt by all concerned.
Some companies to their credit send those former employees to a form of outplacement for rehab/retraining/counseling that unfortunately doesn’t really address the most critical component needed by the person at the moment! The component needed is a clear understanding of how to improve the person’s self-image, and give the individual a better sense of self-worth to get the next job.
The first sale made in any sales presentation is the salesperson selling him/herself to the prospect. The same process holds true in a first interview for a new job. People have got to like you, trust you, believe you, and understand you. A learned skill is learning how to tell the right story, to the right person, in the right way, at the right time, with the right attitude. And simultaneously understanding that it’s not what you say to someone…but how you say it! These last five words are really the key…every job applicant has to realize that everyone’s a salesperson, including them!
It’s true that virtually everyone over eighteen years of age has, at one time or another, bought something from someone, that they didn’t want, didn’t need, couldn’t afford, and wouldn’t use! That enlightening experience has lead a vast majority of people to have a negative opinion when first confronting their next salesperson, and moreover, has reinforced their own wish to never be seen as a salesperson! Two truths however are unavoidable: nothing happens until someone sells something, and secondly, the most single important sale you will ever make is you!
