10 最有效的方法如何提升自己

Ok, so you can’t wait to get started with your new career, but wait a minute!

The market may be ready for you, but you’re not yet ready for the market. If you want to capitalize on the opportunity, 您展示服务的方式至关重要. 他们说你永远没有第二次机会给人留下第一印象——所以你必须让第一印象发挥作用.

假设您决定从网上商店订购一些圣诞礼物. 这似乎是节省时间的好方法, 所以你在雅虎寻找一个听起来像的商店! 加里的礼物石窟似乎符合要求, 所以你点击.

Unfortunately, 该站点的图形非常密集，以至于需要很长时间才能加载主页. 当它最终发生时, 你发现没有“搜索”工具可以帮助你找到你想要的产品. 您尝试浏览列表, 但有几次你会收到“找不到页面”的错误.

你会怎样做?

你会坚持吗, 弄清楚如何下订单，并希望加里和他的朋友们能在圣诞节前及时送货? 当然不是. 您将点击“后退”按钮并转到其他人.

幕后花絮, Gary's Gift Grotto 可能是一家非常高效的企业. 他们可能会提供最低的价格, 最大的股票, 最快的交货时间和最好的客户服务. 但这一切都是徒劳的. 第一印象并没有破冰, 另一位顾客咬了灰尘.

那么如何给人留下良好的第一印象? 这个问题的答案在于准备. 在您开始营销活动之前, 您需要考虑潜在客户如何看待您和您的服务, 以及如何将其转化为优势. 如果您能从接触的第一刻起就传达出专业和专业的形象, 你已经完成了获得合同的一半.

考虑到这一点, 让我们从您最重要的营销工具之一开始, 并找出.

如果客户对使用您的服务非常感兴趣, 您将被要求做的第一件事是转发您的简历. 这是让潜在客户大吃一惊并让您的竞争对手陷入困境的绝好机会.

毫无疑问，您已经准备好了简历, 所以现在我希望你找到一份副本并仔细检查.

我敢打赌我可以告诉你事情进展如何.

它可能提供了迄今为止您职业生涯各个方面的事实和有序总结, 加上你的资格清单, 爱好, 兴趣和愿望. 结构很可能与此类似:

这样对吗? 伟大的. 这就是我要你做的……

双手握住页面顶部, 每只手的食指和拇指在中间夹住纸. 现在将你的左手拉向你的胸部, 同时将右手推开. 继续这个动作，直到你把页面完全撕成两半. 把这两部分揉成一团扔进垃圾桶……

传统的简历创造了伟大的个人历史, 但它们对营销没有用. 如果您想以自由职业者的身份赚取真钱, 你需要一个真正销售的个人资料!

想象一下麦当劳的广播广告是这样的:

“麦当劳公司 has been in business since 1953 and now has over 200,000 restaurants worldwide. This fast-food chain is renowned for the consistent quality of its products and an enduring commitment to service.”

Now, would that make you want to rush out and buy a Big Mac?

No, it certainly wouldn’t, you’re more likely to hear something like this.

“Try the new Triple Mega Mac, the biggest, juiciest burger you’ve ever tasted. Buy one today and get one free.”

Benefits, benefits and more benefits. This ad ‘sells the sizzle’, and shows you exactly what you get in return for your money – taste, quantity and value. Any information which doesn’t persuade the customer to buy is ruthlessly cut. Your résumé should be equally effective.

这是您的主要销售工具——您有很大的机会来传达使用您的好处, 而不是别人. 实际上, 光有简历是不够的. 你需要一个强硬的演示包.

当您使用展示包时, 销售变得更容易实现.

客户倾注你简历的日子已经一去不复返了, 询问更多信息然后犹豫并犹豫了一些.

当您通过电子邮件或邮寄方式发送包裹时, 为潜在客户提供做出决定所需的所有信息. 更多时候不是, 你会接到回复电话说:

伟大的! 你什么时候能够开始?

通常, 他们将包括:

一页个人资料

最新的客户名单

相关推荐的选择

一些相关工作的样本

个性化的求职信.

其中每一个都明确重点, 提供简明信息，说明为什么您是手头项目的理想人选. 一起, 他们提供了一个完整的销售宣传，可以带来很多重要的好处.

这是您传统简历的替代品. 请记住，您的潜在客户并不是在寻找长期雇员, 但为了短期解决眼前的需求. 如果一切顺利, 这可能会成为一种长期的关系, 但这都是未来的事. 现在, 客户想知道您是否可以提供高质量标准的特定服务.

这就是传统简历行不通的原因. Take a look back at Joe’s résumé, and consider the obstacles it presents for the prospect.

A – Hidden benefits

Joe’s résumé gets off to a poor start. The client wants to know what Joe can do, but instead Joe forces him to read through all his personal details. Contact details are important, 当然, but here they are taking up prime selling space. The client won’t need contact information until he has read the document and decides to pursue things further.

Then we reach Joe’s career objective. Unfortunately, however, the client couldn’t care less what Joe wants to achieve. She’s only interested in her objective, and how you will help her achieve it. Anything else is simply a distraction.

Next we reach education. Having a relevant degree is a major asset, but having the right experience is even more critical. So a paragraph on education is slowing the prospect down, and increasing the chance that she will never get as far as reading about skills and experience.

B – No ‘sizzle’

Then we get to skills and experience, cunningly hidden under the heading Employment History. This heading is not only dull, it is again focused on Joe, and not on the customer.

A heading like Skills and Expertise would be more likely to attract her attention. But if the heading is dull, it’s nothing compared to the job descriptions.

The language is passive, and totally impersonal – not so much as an I to inject a little life and interest. What we have is simply an incredibly boring list of career steps.

C. Irrelevant information

附加信息? 谁在乎? 除非你能抓住一个要点并证明它与手头工作的相关性, 你只是在浪费潜在客户的时间, 并增加您的简历进入循环文件的机会.

丁. 结构不良

Finally, 我们达到“计算机技能”. 但因为这是问题的真正实质, 为什么把这个部分隐藏在最后?

参考部分不属于这里, 任何一个. 如果你有很好的推荐信, 这些应该包含在包中, 以便潜在客户掌握所有支持信息. 我们将在“如何获得出色的推荐”下再次讨论这一点.

所以现在我们已经看到了传统简历的问题所在, let’s see if we can do something better. Let’s build a personal profile page that really sells your skills and expertise.

The basic principles of selling remain the same, regardless of whether you’re selling baked beans or consultancy skills.

So we can take the most successful sales techniques used to market products worldwide, and apply them to your profile. And the most popular and successful approach to writing copy that sells is:

AIDA … which stands for … Attention … Interest … Desire … Action

It’s a simple formula, but still very effective. You aim to capture the prospects attention quickly, then stimulate interest by showing the benefits. You provide enough information to generate a desire for your service, then encourage them to take action by getting in touch.

In the case of your personal profile, you might use the AIDA formula to produce a structure like this:

Write a benefit-driven summary paragraph that captures attention. This will highlight your key strengths, and shows why you are the perfect choice for relevant projects.

Generate interest by listing your key skills and competencies in bullet point format, so that the prospect can immediately see what you have to offer.

Demonstrate the depth of these skills by showing how they have developed during the course of your career, creating a desire to find out more.

Encourage the prospect to take immediate action by providing all necessary contact details at the end of your profile.

I think I’ll give him call, just in case I redesign my corporate database. So what have we done? 好, we have:

Replaced the rather dull word résumé with profile, which suggests a more interesting document

Supported this with a subheading, Freelance Programmer and
Database Consultant, so that the prospect can see exactly what skills are on offer

Stressed the benefits to the client in the summary (deliver quality work your projects remain on schedule)

Written in the first person (I can)

Used active, positive language (deliver, help, gained, offer)

Supported the claims with facts (degree, relevant experience)

Mentioned major clients, to reassure the prospect

Demonstrated appropriate experience through recent projects

Ended with a ‘call to action’ and key contact details.

A strong client list is perhaps one of the most valuable assets you can acquire during your freelance career. A wide selection of clients shows that you have a broad range of experience. And if you can name some well-respected organizations in your list, you will immediately be taken more seriously as a potential freelance.

当然, if you’re just setting out on your freelance career, you will not have many clients to list. If that’s the case, simply omit this part of your presentation pack for the time being. But as soon as you have some jobs under your belt, create a list and use them to advantage.

You don’t need to list them alphabetically. On the contrary, you’ll want to name your big guns first to make a strong impression as quickly as possible. If you have some impressive clients, a simple list may be all you need. But if you’re still building up, or your customers are individuals or small organizations, you can add further information, such as the kind of work undertaken for each company.

If there is one element that will convince your prospects faster than anything else, it’s a great set of testimonials. 毕竟, it’s easy for you to make claims about yourself that are somewhat exaggerated. A potential client may be impressed by your résumé, but still unsure. But if you back up a strong résumé with rock-solid recommendations from existing clients, you’ve virtually closed the sale.

The trouble is, clients rarely send testimonials. If they think your work is great, you may get a ‘thank you’ call or two, but you are unlikely to get anything in writing. So how do you get a great testimonial? There’s only one way. Ask!

In many cases, a client will be happy to recommend your services. You just need to persuade them to put pen to paper – or finger to keyboard. The best way to do this is to send a letter, outlining your request, and including a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Wording the letter is a delicate matter, as you don’t want to put the client under undue pressure.

另一方面, if you don’t ask, you don’t get – it’s as simple as that. You might write something like this:

Dear Jessica,

Thanks for asking me to help with your recent projects, and I trust they are all progressing well.

I am currently updating my résumé and portfolio, and would like to include recent testimonials from satisfied clients. If you are happy with the work I have completed for you to date, it would be very helpful if you would consider writing a short testimonial.

Whilst I understand that you are busy, I am sure you appreciate this will help potential clients reach a decision more easily. Your cooperation would be much appreciated, but if you would prefer not to respond for any reason, please just discard this email.

I hope to work with you on many more projects in the future, and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes,

Your Name

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, the proof of your expertise is in your samples.

Building up a good portfolio is an essential element in developing your career and how to promote yourself effectively. As time goes on, you will undertake an ever-wider range of projects, allowing you to build up a diverse portfolio. So whatever a client is looking for, there’s a growing chance that you will be able to demonstrate relevant expertise.

Having experience of exactly the right kind of work can be surprisingly important on how you promote yourself. Clients have an unfortunate habit of pigeonholing people and skills. Someone looking for a freelancer to take photographs for an annual report, for example, may demand a photographer with an impressive portfolio in this field. Although any professional photographer may be able to undertake the project with ease, those with no annual reports to show may never be considered.

Although this can be frustrating, it demonstrates the importance of keeping samples from every job you undertake. If you are involved in producing printed materials – magazines, brochures, adverts, etc. – be sure to get hold of a file copy for your records.

In many cases, you will have to go out of your way to get them, but it is important to persevere on how to promote yourself effectively. If you are, say, an interior designer or a landscape gardener, remember to take photos of every project, preferably both before and after.

Once you have a good portfolio, you can then select appropriate items to send to individual prospects, turning each pack you mail out into a personalized presentation.

The cover letter may be the last item you think about, but it will most likely be the first one 如何提升自己 that your prospect reads. So you need to ensure that is well written and professional in approach. As in your profile, you need to emphasize the benefits, sell your skills and suggest a call to action.

Make sure the letter is personally addressed to the individual concerned – and triple check that you’ve spelt the name correctly. Names are very personal, and misspelling them is a sure fire way to kill a working relationship before it has even started.

If you have had contact with the prospect, either in person on the phone, try and make reference to something you discussed. This will help to establish that the letter is a personal response, not a standard reply.

A typical letter in response to a telephone inquiry might run as follows:

Dear John,

Thanks your enquiry regarding database consultancy services. As we discussed on the phone, I have considerable experience in this field, and would be free to work on your project from Monday the 15th.

I have undertaken similar work for hi-tech clients in the last two years, including a major project for Hewlett-Packard. The project sounds interesting and challenging, and would allow me to use my formal qualifications and practical experience to good advantage. I am committed to delivering excellent work, often to tight deadlines, and would welcome the opportunity to contribute to your success.

I hope the attached documents will provide all the information you need. But if you would like further information, please let me know. You can call me on 415 123 1234, or send an email to [email protected].

I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best wishes,

Your Name

So now you have all the materials for your presentation pack – profile, client list, testimonials and samples, plus a separate covering letter. If you’re going to send the package by mail, or deliver it personally to a prospect in a meeting, it’s worth investing in good-quality binding.

再次, first impressions count. A bundle of loose papers shoved into a folder won’t impress anyone. A wire-bound presentation with quality report covers shows a professional approach.

Nowadays, however, most business communication happens by email. This is a big advantage, as it means you can get your presentation pack to a prospect within minutes of your first contact. There’s a definite advantage to striking while the iron is hot – so make the most of it.

The simplest and most convenient way 如何提升自己 and send your presentation pack is to use the covering letter as your email message, and add the other elements as attachments. But using attachments raises a couple of issues.

Firstly, if you have a number of samples to send, you could end up sending a long list of attachments which could be rather daunting for the prospect. You can resolve this by combining your profile, client list and testimonials into a single file, and keeping your samples to a sensible number. Three samples should be enough for most circumstances.

Secondly, there is the issue of file size. If you’re sending graphics files, presentations or Acrobat documents, downloading them could be a problem for your prospective client. Try to select smaller documents, or warn the prospect in advance. Alternatively, you could post them on the web, so that he can view them online without downloading.

Thirdly, and most significantly, there is the virus issue. Sending attachments is an easy way to accidentally forward a virus, and many people are rightly wary of opening attachments.

当然, you should install the latest virus detection software on your computer, to minimize the risk of picking up an infection and passing it on. Trashing a prospects hard disk is not a great way to generate business.

Marketing your skills over the web is something we will address in more detail a little later. But as we are talking about presentation, we need to cover the subject briefly here.

毕竟, creating your own website is the most effective way to showcase your skills. All the elements of your presentation pack can be included on your website, with as many samples as you feel are required. Photos, graphics, presentations and even programs can be uploaded for prospects to browse at their leisure.

Here again, you need to be sure of making a good impression. If customers find your site through a search engine or directory, for example, it will be their first point of contact. If you don’t achieve the right impact, they will hit the back button and try elsewhere.

OK. So you’ve created your presentation pack, you’ve launched your website, and now you’re ready to do business. Now let’s go out and make money.