Selling Yourself – The art of Upselling
These days we’re making sure that while we’re looking after our family, our friends, our coworkers, and our clients – we’re looking after ourselves.
We’re taking the time to ensure we’re happy, healthy, and that glass is never dropping below half full.
We’re looking after ourselves and making sure to constantly remind ourselves that we’re great and most importantly – we’re worth it.
What most of us aren’t that used to is convincing others how great we are.
While its still most important that we’ve convinced ourselves, we still need to ensure that those around know and appreciate our worth.
We need to be building positive circles. Circles that enhance growth, spirit, happiness and love.
Aside from self motivation and self love – we need to sell ourselves for many other reasons.
The main one being our work.
Selling ourselves for work starts from even before day one. We apply for a job. We’re handing in a resume that is basically a menu for a potential employer.
This ‘menu’ highlights our best qualities. Relevant experience. Everything we’ve done to improve ourselves.
Resumes can be a lot of work – and its helpful if we tailor them to fit the job we want. If you decide that you have a few career path options, you should have a few resumes so you’re remaining relevant. If your’e applying for a security career – make sure your resume is relevant to that field.
You wouldn’t go out for dinner wanting Italian and ending up at a place like McDonalds. Ensure the job you’re applying for, is made clear in the resume you send in. This is only going to help your chances.
Once you clear the resume stage and the people looking at it decided they liked what they see, you’re typically through to the interview stage.
Time to put on a show. This is where your resume is expressed through your own words, your own tone, your own experience. You pick out the highlights of the highlights and make it so it looks like they’d be crazy NOT to hire you. You are truly selling yourself.
Sure, it can sound scary and difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. When you think about it, this is the one opportunity you have to talk about the one thing that you know best. Yourself. This is your moment to talk about all the best parts of you to a person who has never heard about your lows or has any clue any low potentially exists.
You’re talking about a subject that really can’t be argued – you’re talking about yourself. The person questioning you can’t tell you if you’re right or wrong when it comes to you. They don’t know you so they don’t have those answers.
They will ask questions pertinent to the job you’re applying for, questions that will have you putting yourself in the shoes of the job you aspire to have, and giving the answers that will make you sound like you’re the best fit.
Yes. This is where it gets tricky. But – if you’re sure of yourself, sure of your skills, and sure this is the job for you, confidence will help set the tone.
While we need to have the answers that impress – and the skills and ability to follow through with our word, we need to make sure we’re communicating this.
Selling ourselves can be a tricky thing. We know who we are, we know our capabilities and what we will and won’t do. Sometimes explaining this to others and making them see our point of view is the hardest part. This is why we need to make sure we feel confident about ourselves and we make sure we get our confidence across to others.
It doesn’t end with the interview stage either. Sure we made it through, sold ourselves and landed the job. Now we have to ensure what we sold comes through. We need to follow through on our word and our worth.
Especially in the security industry selling ourselves may never truly end.
Whether you’re working for a boutique Security agency, or a larger firm, in this industry you always need to bring your A game. You always need to make sure you are confident, sure of yourself and your abilities. Constantly selling yourself to your team, those around you, and your future.
Knowing your worth is half the battle, making sure everyone sees it is the hardest part. But once everyone sees the ‘You’ that you’ve put out there – the hard work is done.
Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and 
experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent.
