Group items tagged

does require that you come to certain realizations--that your professional abilities are valuable commodities, that your expertise and abilities don't speak for themselves, and that your phone won't ring just because it "should" be telepathically obvious that you have something valuable to contribute.

You're always a step closer to your goals when you have the ability to build from the relationships, reputation, and visibility you've established. What good does it do to put all this effort into perfecting your product (your skills, experiences, and abilities) and crafting yourself as "Me, Inc." if nobody knows about it? You need to be able to communicate what value you add and what you have to contribute.

The general approach of any consumer product marketing strategy is the same as that of marketing "Me, Inc.": to develop products and services that meet market needs at competitive prices, to gain recognition for those products and services, and to convince people to exchange money for the value they provide.

Identify your target markets. * Assess target market needs. * Develop your unique products and services. * Promote yourself in the internal and external marketplace. * Build credibility by providing high-quality services. * Evaluate your marketability.

The general career direction you choose will drive the process of determining where you should concentrate your marketing efforts. As your career goals become more clearly defined, your market targets will in turn become more specific.

you need to identify those who can help you, recommend you, or act as mentors, so that you begin to better understand how you can effectively enter that new "marketplace."

Develop your unique products and services. The most marketable people are those who bring obvious value to their target markets. Confidence comes from having a strong self-image and being able to answer the question: "What do I do that is uniquely different and better than anyone else?" If you cannot define this value-added dimension, that's the place to start in crafting you as a marketplace product.

hile it is important to differentiate yourself from the crowd, you also need to be accepted and heard if you're going to sell yourself and your ideas. Paying attention to "personal packaging" is an important part of developing you for the marketplaces you select.