Although it’s proven time and again that introverts have a number of skills that make them great business people, when it comes to the self-promotion needed to get ahead, they can struggle. What’s needed are some strategic suggestions to show that is is possible to self-promote within your comfort zone.
There are ways to get your message across without bragging that are still impactful – learning at least a few of these and using them skilfully can have a massive impact on your career and your business. The best thing? Most of the actions you can take are straight forward and won’t make your spine tingle with embarrassment.
Pen an article to show your expertise
Dilemma – you want to demonstrate your hard-earned knowledge and show potential clients and employers that you’re an expert in your field. But you don’t want to shoehorn your expertise into every passing conversation. What can you do? By authoring an article, you get a chance to help others by sharing knowledge, while also showcasing your own experience and skill. So, start by crafting an article on a hot topic that clients often ask you about, or that has an angle on a current item of news. Then spread it far and wide – contribute to newsletters, submit it to local business magazines and see if there are any business blogs in your niche accepting guest posts. LinkedIn is also a great platform to share relevant articles to contacts and their wider networks. Join a few virtual groups focused on your industry and spread the word. Use the article to showcase your voice and your opinion. Highlight things that matter to you and show what problem you can solve. Once you’ve mastered the first time, you could brainstorm other topics and make it a regular thing. This may gain you quite a following, which is exactly how to become an asset to your company.
Practice Telling Your Story
Humans are creatures that love a good story – and if you make your personal native compelling enough, people will always want to hear it. The best tales are ones that are practised and polished, so that they become both refined and concise. Start by learning to articulate your why. Not what you do, but why you do it? What fires you up in the world? What sparks your passion? What one thing is your business or career going to change? Once you’ve distilled that essence, you have a story to tell. Take the chance to tell that story to business contacts and people you meet. You’ll be presenting them with something genuine, which will ‘sell’ what you do in a good light – and if it’s something you believe in, it won’t make you uncomfortable. Whether you realise it or not, you are constantly in sales mode when you meet new contacts. So make it more comfortable by finding a way to speak from the heart about what it is you do.
Learn The Power of Thank You
‘Thank you’ is a more powerful word than we realise. It can change situations, win people over – and help an introvert promote themselves cleverly without being arrogant. Bring others with you by thanking them in reference to your own accomplishments. This will make you come across as gracious and make advocates of others. For example, acknowledging the support of your team, or a mentor. This has the double effect of making you humble while also highlighting something you’ve achieved – it’s literally a win-win situation.
Use Reciprocal Endorsement
You don’t have to sing your own praises if there’s another party willing to do it for you. Earn public endorsements by giving them out yourself. Create testimonials thanking those you have worked for a great job where appropriate. Providing endorsement for others is also a subtle way to shed light on your own achievements in a way that isn’t all about you, but allows you to highlight the complementary roles you’ve played with someone else. In return, others will be much more willing to endorse your own work – be that word of mouth referrals or on social media. A detailed case study showing a project that you’ve worked on with others can also be informative, while providing a platform for mutual praise.
These methods are great ones because none of them require you to stop being humble. There are ways and means that even an introvert can use to come top of the range at self-promotion
