Can You Outsource Your Self-Marketing?

By Dr. Larina Kase

Your self-marketing is how you influence the perception that others have of you and your business. It includes both verbal and nonverbal communication. For example, your “audio logo,” how you describe the benefit that you bring to clients and customers, and what you say on your office voicemail make up verbal self-marketing. Your image, your tone of voice, and your body language are examples of nonverbal communication and self-branding.

Do you dislike marketing yourself? If so, you’re like many business owners, salespeople, and professionals who are afraid of being overly self promotional or marketing themselves in the wrong way.

I advise people to outsource things because others can effectively do those activities NOT because they fear those activities. That is, if you want to outsource your social media marketing because you don’t enjoy it and would like to free up time for other activities, great. But if you could be great at social media marketing, but avoid it because it makes you nervous, then it’s time to get better at it.

Cold-calling is another common example. If you represent yourself best but dread cold-calling, it’s worth getting good at it, and most of us can. (For help becoming proficient at cold-calling, here are some excellent resources).

Answering this key question requires being honest with yourself. You’ll likely come up with many reasons (excuses) why someone else could do a better job marketing or selling you and your business. Skeptically evaluate these reasons by asking yourself these questions:

1. Would I be the best person to do this activity?
2. Could I learn how to do this?
3. Could I be good at this if I overcome my discomfort with it?

If you answer yes to two or all of these questions, it is probably worth trying it out. You may eventually decide to outsource the activity, but it’s worth trying it out yourself first.

Keywords
Self-marketing, outsourcing, nonverbal communication, self branding, marketing yourself, self promotional, social media marketing, cold calling.