The fear of hearing those words when marketing your professional services can stop you in your tracks. It’s the response you may most dread hearing when you make a sales pitch: “You? You think I should hire you? Well, who do you think you are?” Read more (members only)

“I think I’m really good at what I do,” declares technical writer June, “but I don’t ever seem to get a chance to show people.” June is experienced, highly-skilled, and has written dozens of procedure manuals and other how-to guides throughout her career. But she isn’t getting enough work to earn a living as a freelancer. Read more (members only)

The 3 D’s for greater productivity are defer, delay, and delegate. I read, with great glee, these words in Brian Tracy’s Time Power. My work is all about getting focused on your priorities so you can stop, doing, doing, doing — the other 3 D’s. Now I’m happy; Brian Tracy is saying it too. Read more (members only)

I often speak to groups of independent professionals about what works and what doesn’t in marketing. We talk about the effectiveness of active, relationship-oriented strategies like networking, building referral partnerships, public speaking to groups of potential clients, Read more (members only)

Christopher McAuliffe interviews C.J. Hayden on The Coaching Show on how learning more about your stuck places can fix what’s wrong with your marketing. Here’s what you’ll learn in this program: Read more (members only)

Even the best marketing doesn’t always pay off quickly. In the lag time between when you launch a marketing campaign for your business and when you start to see results from it, it’s easy to become discouraged. Especially when you work mostly solo, it can be a difficult task Read more (members only)

One of the worst marketing mistakes a self-employed professional can make is to create a marketing plan that consists of activities you don’t enjoy and aren’t good at. There’s no boss looking over your shoulder, so who’s going to make you do things you don’t want to? Read more (members only)

“I don’t like to sell.” “Asking people for business makes me uncomfortable.” “Selling feels manipulative and sleazy.” “I’m good at what I do. Why don’t clients just come to me?”

If any of these thoughts seem familiar, Read more (members only)

It does seem that the vast majority of marketing advice is aimed at extroverts. “Go to networking mixers and meet new people,” the authorities say. “Make cold calls.” “Speak in front of groups.” “Call people up and chat with them about what’s new.” Read more (members only)

Recently, a client of mine complained, “I’m really good at what I do. I shouldn’t have to market myself.” In fact, he is quite good at his profession, but the problem is that not enough prospective clients know about him. Like many professionals, he is reluctant to talk about his accomplishments. Read more (members only)