By Xenia S. Estrella
It’s not that you’re a piece of meat. Don’t think you need to do this to degrade yourself in any way. Everyday is a challenge and nobody can change that reality, but it is your responsibility to take care of yourself; to love yourself, and be confident enough to take on every situation you are dealt with, and win in the end — whatever that may mean to you.
Not everyone is in the business of selling a product for work, but know that everyone is in the business of selling himself, in life.
Think about it. When you find yourself in front of a peer, you put your best foot forward to earn a soft spot in his heart. You’re selling yourself! When you’re in front of your child’s teacher, you stay calm, cool and collected to show her the respectable kind of family your child comes from. Sales! When you’re introduced to somebody new, you smile and try to put the other person at ease, so he’ll learn to like you. Sales! Yes, you are indeed constantly selling, even when you think you’re not. So, do your best to sell yourself well; and help yourself better engage with anyone, for anything.
- Be aware of your control. Don’t panic! As GI Joe always said (yes, I grew up during this period), “knowing is half the battle”. Since you already know that you’re selling yourself, make sure you don’t get rattled. Keep your focus on the situation at hand and consciously ask yourself, “What am I supposed to do now?”. Answer your question, after that.
- Know your purpose. Keep the end-goal in mind. It’s not just about being ready with an answer; you need to come up with a winning answer which you know will lead you to achieving your goal when you think about circumstances in your head. What is the goal? Well, you should know. Why are you selling yourself in those particular instances?
- Work out a strategy. Reverse-engineering is a game-changing tactic that everybody should consciously do whenever you’re working to achieve anything in life. You can see your goal being achieved on the horizon. You can almost reach it; you just don’t know how to get there yet. Well, look more closely. What steps would you need to take, in order to get to the goal? Take note of the last step first, and work your way back to the first step. Then, take action in doing these steps, starting from the first action step that’s closest to where you currently are. You can do it!
- Handle all objections. You will, obviously, encounter roadblocks and other obstacles before getting to your goal, whatever it may be. Be ready for them. Have a list of reasons why people or certain situations will likely keep you from reaching your goal. Block all these objections so you can gain confidence in the idea of success.
Prepare for an alternative/s. Let’s face it. Sometimes, we just don’t get what we want even when we do our best to achieve it. Don’t sweat it! Just be ready to work harder next time, and be prepared for a loss, just in case. Readying yourself for possible failure will get you ready for success that will be coming up beyond the darkness. You don’t have to achieve every goal in one try. You just have to keep on going; never giving up.