***Toot Your Horn to Get Ahead

Successful professionals, business owners, and entrepreneurs have a lot in common. One of those commonalities is an artful approach to letting others know about what they do, how they do it, and why customers, clients, and prospects will find value in doing business with them.nnIt's not about boastful, chest-thumping self-promotion. It's about crafting a thoughtful and effective way to share information or create awareness about your business, profession, or organization. It also is an essential part of your overarching marketing and communications strategy.nnOne of the most effective and credible ways to tell people about your success is to let other people do the talking. Basic human nature and cultural sensitivities make us skeptical about over-the-top self promotion, so it's advisable to seek other ways to "tell your story." One effective method is the use of testimonials by satisfied customers or clients.nnIn our hype-filled world, the use of testimonials is a great way to be heard through the "noise" and to build credibility. It’s like having loyal customers serve as your unpaid sales force. To make this work, go to satisfied customers and ask them to include their thoughts in your communications strategy. You will be pleasantly surprised at how interested your customers will be in letting others know about the value they find in doing business with you. Once you have captured customers’ testimonials, use the testimonials to support your marketing and communications messages in your company brochure, website, and formal proposals or sales presentations.nnYou can also tell people about your success by supplementing your marketing and communication strategy through the use of newsletters, blogs, and e-mail contact lists.nnBecause of the huge amount of information most of us receive every day, it’s easy for messages to customers to get quickly overrun by the next message, and soon the customer has relegated your inquiry to the bottom of the pile of messages that are vying for attention.nnOur Internet-wired world makes it easy to stay in touch with our customers via an electronic newsletter. That provides an excellent way to keep our success in front of our current and prospective customers.nnThe best way we keep our message at the “top of mind” is to communicate consistently and often, not to the point of annoyance, but to keep a steady “drip” of information about ourselves, our company, and importantly, our value proposition.nnThe thoughtful use of a regularly-produced newsletter or an up-to-date and well-maintained blog will serve you well as a way to tell others about your success and, importantly, keep your message in the minds of your current, and prospective, customers and clients.nnDon’t be afraid to "toot your own horn"--carefully and professionally--and let others know about your success and how they will benefit from doing business with you!nnn

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nSteven Stralser Ph.D. is a Trump University faculty member and author of MBA in a DAY, published by John Wiley & Sons (www.mbainaday.com)