A few months ago, I had lunch with a friend who’d recently been laid off from a high profile job in media. She was, of course, nervous and afraid about starting out on her own, but at the same time she was excited — she’d always wanted to do her own thing.
I was personally thrilled for her — she has GREAT work experience and would be a no-brainer hire as a staffer or a consultant. I was positive that as soon as she “put up her shingle,†the offers would start rolling in.
About a month later we met up again in our same lunch spot. Her energy had changed from excitement to nervous anxiety. I could tell that she was worried and I asked her to tell me why.
Well, the offers hadn’t come rolling in as she had expected. Freelance gigs had slowed to a trickle, and she was beginning to wonder if she could really make a go of it. At one point in our conversation, she even said she’d begun to consider looking for another full-time job.
I was flabbergasted — she has an AMAZING resume. She’s got great references and even done work for celebrities. What had gone wrong?
As I began to probe her, the answer became clear. While indeed she wanted clients, she hadn’t TOLD anyone. She just expected the opportunities to find her. In fact, most people didn’t even know that she was no longer at her full-time job.
For years, she’d worked in large organizations and promoted the work of her CEO. She was used to going by a script and fulfilling her job role. She was used to being behind the scenes — in the background so as not to outshine the higher ups. She’d never mastered the subtle art of promoting her own work.
“How do you expect people to know about you, if you don’t tell them?†I asked. And we began to formulate her plan.
Over a lunch that turned into an extended lunch that turned into a long walk around the city, we outlined her strategy. She jotted down the action steps to really begin to show people WHAT she could do and WHY they should hire her. She had a list of people to call for meetings and a script for how the meeting would go. She was so excited she wanted to skip her afternoon meeting so she could go home right away and get to work.
When I checked in with her again just a week or so later, she’d made a complete 180. She had not only picked up 6 new clients, but now had others sending clients her way! She felt silly for having even contemplated looking for another job when her own marketing machine was right under her nose.
Any of this sound familiar? If you’re looking for better opportunities — clients for your business or even a better paying job — you HAVE to make a name for yourself.
No one is going to knock your door down until they know three key things –
1. WHO you are.
2. WHAT you’ve done.
3. WHAT you can do.
What are you waiting for?
Want to know my strategy? Join me on Tuesday for my new e-course ACTIVATE Your Brand – http://www.amandamillerlittlejohn.com/activate – 4 weeks, 4 training calls, plus a one-on-one PR strategy session with me and we will put you on the map.