Promote Yourself The Best Way Possible

Self-publishing a book explaining your specialty is a proven strategy for gaining an edge over the competition and establishing immediate credibility.

For sales excellence, there is little doubt that professional credibility in your field of study is a prime requisite in convincing customers and clients to trust in your ability to meet or exceed their special needs. If customers are uncertain that you know your subject better than anyone else, it is unlikely that you will be selected for the consulting or employment opportunity.

In traditional methods of self-promotion, one might focus on well written solicitation letters, excellent brochures and promotional materials, on-target communication and follow-up procedures, and a number of industry-pertinent personal referrals from those that have already relied on your judgment in the past. But, using these methods, which are in vogue with your competitors as well, there is no assurance that you will stand out from the crowd and be considered for the assignment. And, without this one-on-one face time to sell your abilities in person, your efforts may just fall by the wayside and you will accept that you have failed to sell yourself properly and will move onto the next customer or target of opportunity.

One of the best strategies you can employ to set yourself apart from the competition is to self-publish your own book on your trained discipline so that you may present it to prospects and inquiring customers prior to your initial visit with them. In this way, you will have a very impressive and dynamic “living business card” in their hands to read at their pace as they determine if you really know your subject well enough to be considered for their current requirement.

Some benefits of having your own professionally bound book are:

-Can be used as gifts at trade shows, chamber of commerce events, charity golf tournaments and local business shows.
-Can be mailed to prospects with your initial solicitation letter to arouse interest in you and your capabilities.
-Can be handed to new clients and customers on your first meeting with them to establish your credibility with them immediately.
-Can be the basis of a free or paid seminar program on the content where you can include the book for free or determine if you want to charge a minimal amount to help cover your costs.
-Can be sold in bulk as industry training tools for your clients and customers. Here, they may even want you to spearhead the in-house training for them.

How to get started:

When writing your non-fiction book or technical guide, be sure to follow he following writing techniques for maximum impact on your audience:

1. Decide on the overall purpose of the book. What is hoped to be accomplished from reading it.

2. Decide on the chapter headings for the entire book. You don’t have to order them yet. Just decide what topics are going to be covered in your publication. You can write in any order and then edit into the logical place later.

3. Decide on a center chapter content that will be worth the full price of the book. What would one of your customers, clients, or target individuals want so desperately that they would purchase the book to get it? This might be an independent comparative results study of competing products. Or, it might be a comprehensive industry directory with websites and contacts for the reader. Make it valuable and clever. The money you spend on getting that center chapter content may insure that your sales pass the break-even point on your publication.

4. Once the center chapter content is decided, you can embark on the research or compilation necessary to make sure that that section is perfect and worth the value of the purchase price.

5. Writing all other chapters as you wish, you will have your opportunity to explain your discipline in your own terms for the benefit of the reader. Here your way of thinking, and philosophy and methodology can be explained so that the reader will know what to expect when they meet you for a specific task.

6. Choose an appropriate and”catchy”cover that will explain exactly what the content includes. Use book sub-titles like “Training Guide” or “Comparative Study” or “Technical Mysteries Explained” to get the reader to open up to the Preface where you can explain your intent in more detail.

Summary:

Salespeople today need an edge to stay ahead of the competition. If you take the time to develop, write, and promote your “credibility” through this inexpensive promotion mechanism, it will yield results for years to come. You will find that second, third, and even more printings of your book will be required.

You will also garner new customer bases and new avenues of generating revenue as a “consultant” in your field. A properly constructed and printed publication remains the best way to self-promote in an ever more technical industry environment.