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It’s a tricky thing being your own evangelist.
Crowing to the rooftops is not such a stretch when you’re selling your snazzy new product or the team of awesome people behind you.
Bragging on someone—or something—you’re excited about comes effortlessly.
Where it gets sticky is when you need to sell YOU.
When you are the pivot point.
When you want to be chosen. As the keynote speaker. As the first choice for a bet-the-business challenge. As the soloist competing against the name brands.
Selling yourself—your talents, passion, experience and commitment to getting the job done—is the difference between winning big and going home with your tail between your legs.
Because if you don’t believe what you’re preaching who will?
That’s why you need to become your own evangelist, without crossing over into carney barker territory (or becoming an insufferable narcissist shouting—“Look at me, look at me!”).
The key?
Focus on your outcomes: the visceral, emotional transformations you make happen.
Approach each one as a story. Who was your client? What was his backstory before he met you? How did she know it was time for change? What did you do together that made all the difference? And how is he better off now for that experience?
Because when you tell these experiences as stories, you’ve made the journey human—relatable.
Suddenly, you’re not bragging, you’re helping.
And the right people will be drawn to you like bees to honey.
So start working on those stories. Tell them to yourself. Carry them around with you so sharing them at the right times becomes like breathing. Put them on your website and weave them into your content. Share them with your circle and they may just share them with theirs.
Being your own evangelist isn’t about twisting arms to buy your stuff.
It’s about changing the world in ways only you can.