It's Not Bragging, It's Sharing Your Passion

By Lisa Cherney

A client came to me a few years ago and asked me to help her write a bio.  She was a massage therapist and wanted to have a nice piece to use on her website and to hand out when she taught workshops.  She had tried to write it herself, but kept getting stuck.  So, I proceeded to interview her to gather information about her accomplishments, background, expertise, talents, etc.  A few days later I proudly presented what I wrote and got a surprising reaction.  Half way through reading it she started to physically back away from the paper with this worried look in her eyes.  I didn’t understand what was happening because I had spent a couple hours crafting a wonderful story that truly conveyed her passion and unique gifts.  After a few moments of silence she looked at me and said, “I can’t say these things, it will sound like I’m bragging!”  All of my years in corporate marketing and as a sales trainer came flooding to my mind and I knew immediately we had a huge problem.  If she was uncomfortable reading about herself, how the heck was she going to sell herself?  This is the moment I realized that there is lots of “work” to be done before we begin to create marketing materials, and that was the start of Conscious Marketing.  It wasn’t helpful to her to have a bio if she didn’t truly know these things about herself and felt comfortable sharing them with potential clients.

Authentic Words = Ideal Clients

In order to share your gifts with the world, you need to be able to talk about what makes you great.  Why are you different then all the other folks who appear to be doing similar work (or providing a similar product)?   This goes hand-in-hand with finding words for your marketing material (bio, website, brochure) that truly convey your passion and authentic message.  After all, when you can clearly articulate your uniqueness, you will attract the Ideal Clients.  These are the clients that resonate with your message.  If you hold back for fear of bragging, the result may be a message that sounds like everyone else’s and/or it won’t match who you really are.  If you have a special approach to your work, but don’t include it for fear of bragging, the clients that call will want the plain vanilla stuff instead of your unique twist.  It’s just like dating.  If you say you like Thai food just because that’s what you think he/or she wants you to say, then that’s what you will wind up eating!

Finding Your Words

First we need to get over the bragging thing.  Here’s the truth: If you are worried that you sound like you are bragging, you’re not, because people that make a habit of bragging don’t worry about it.  The thought doesn’t even cross their mind! Ok, now that we got that straight, let’s talk about ways to find the words you need in order to sell yourself.  (If you don’t like the word “selling” think of it as sharing about yourself instead.)  Let’s face it; if you want to do more of your work and help increasing numbers of people, you need to be able to talk about what you do with passion and clarity.  The attributes you want to connect with are what I call your Unique Abilities.  Unlike Juicy Benefits (see article called Creating a Marketing Message With Juicy) your Unique Abilities are about you, not your product or service.   What do you bring to the table that will help clients understand how you are different then other folks in your field?  Here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. What do other people (clients or friends) compliment you on?
2. What comes easy to you, that isn’t easy for everyone? (Sometimes we dismiss our Unique Abilities because we think that everyone is good at it.)
3. What would you like to teach others?
4. How have you touched peoples live?

Take some time to answer these questions, and the result will be lists of all the things that make you unique, that make you who you are as an individual.  There are lots of marketing consultants out there.  I’ve learned, from listening to what my clients say (question #1) that one of my Unique Abilities is my knack for asking questions that bring about profound realizations.  Listen closely to what your clients and friends say about you, and use it in your marketing. 

Practice saying the answers to the above questions over and over until you truly believe them in your heart.  There are people that need your service and don’t know about it because you are holding back.  Remember, It’s not bragging or being pushy when you share from your heart with the intention of touching lives. 

Lisa Cherney is a Marketing Intuitive and President & Founder of Conscious Marketing™. A dynamic speaker, Lisa has helped thousands of business owners tap into their intuition and market their businesses from the ‘Inside Out’. She has 15 years corporate and advertising agency experience working with clients like AT&T, Lipton and Nissan. 

Conscious Marketing offers workshops, coaching, business consulting and creates marketing materials.  Products include Listening a guided imagery audio program and the Conscious Marketing Audio Workshop and Workbook.  Visit www.ConsciousMarketing.com for more details or call 888-771-0156.