A Short Guide to Selling Yourself (For the Modest at Heart)

You’re a very talented individual. You’re educated, highly skilled, respected by your peers, and a slew of people have a lot of nice things to say about you.

Blushing yet? Any modest person would be. But this is no longer about being modest, because modesty doesn’t sell. And your job is to sell yourself. The catch is that, naturally, talking yourself up can be difficult without coming off as an entitled snob.

Image from Jon Fife , licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

So what’s a job seeker/business owner/average person to do? Slip your tactful self-promotion hat on and dive into this brief guide for all the answers.

Be unmistakably frank, and even blunt when necessary

Get into a “listen, I’m not going to beat around the bush” mentality. ALL people appreciate unadulterated honesty, and some will hold you in higher regard if you cut to the chase and skip the fluff.

If you have the fastest pizza delivery service in town, don’t be afraid to say so. Make it your main selling point and shout it from the rooftops!

Image from Mary Ann Clarke Scott , licensed under CC Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (changes made)

With bold, believable statements, you’re building a shiny white tower of credibility and polishing the windows of sublime transparency. If my analogy went over your head, this means people are more bound to trust and listen to you.

Just realize that the straight truth is often only worth its weight in facts…

Tout the cold, hard facts

Words can be frail without hearty backup. As a self-salesman, you need to have a trove of impressive numbers at your disposal, or you risk being caught with your pants down.

Some ideas on what to [tastefully] boast:

• How many awards or special designations have you garnered?


• How long have you been [in business] [in your industry] [at the same company] [based in your community]?


• Who have you used your skills to help, and exactly how have they benefitted?


• How many [people do you help] [products do you sell] [services do you provide] in a year?


• What was your biggest success story, and who can attest to it?

Pro tip: Numbers will speak volumes when it comes to showcasing facts. Putting a number behind your statement gives it undeniable substance, and makes you that much more accountable for its accuracy.

Now about that success story…

Tell vivid stories

If talking about yourself is hard, recounting real-life tales can be an appropriate diversion.

Why not describe the time you helped that little old lady cross the street, or retrieved a stranded cat from a tree? Or, even better, the times you helped clients and customers achieve their wildest dreams using your dedicated expertise.

People tend to remember a well-delivered story better than a list of raw credentials. The major difference lies in chronicling a genuine experience, and feeding your audience a situation they can imagine themselves in. A few storytelling tips to keep in mind:

• Present a rising action: “The old lady perilously began to cross the street as cars whizzed by, unaided and in imminent danger”, a climax: “An 18-wheeler rounded the corner and approached the woman with no signs of stopping”, and clear resolution (or punchline): “I swooped in, signaled the truck to yield and took the woman’s arm to cross her to safety”.


• Highlight the important details using brilliant adjectives and clever wording – mundane descriptions aren’t going to impress.


• Tailor the length of your story to the context, and don’t be longwinded (or you’ll lose their interest).

And who’s to say you can’t embellish just a little bit? Sticking to the truth is important, but (for example) describing your customer’s satisfied expression as “a cheek-to-cheek grin of unsullied happiness” as opposed to “a big smile” makes a huge difference.

Always have a memorable story or two at the ready; if nothing else, they’re great fodder for breaking the ice and making first impressions.

Talk about the exciting stuff

Sure, you know 13 programming languages and can code a simple webpage with your eyes closed; you’re obligated to mention such things. But what about the gorgeous website you built for Nike that lets visitors digitally don the sneakers they’re browsing for through an advanced simulation in HTML5? That’s more like it.

Image from Alexandre Normand , licensed under CC Attribution 2.0 Generic (changes made)

Get your interviewers and potential clients enthusiastic about your skills by aiming for what truly impresses them. This will vary depending on whether you’re an individual applying for a job, a business selling products to consumers or services to other businesses.

Just remember the things that excite you and the things that excite them aren’t necessarily the same. I might be really proud of the super-smooth dolly shot in the last interview I filmed (video nerd here), but a client might think the animated title sequence is a more impressive demonstration.

Be observant and meticulous in personal interactions

Part of selling yourself is being a good listener.

Interviewers remember candidates who are attentive and address every part of a question that’s asked. Customers want their voices to be heard on the phone and across social media. And just about everyone will want you to give them the time of day.

When you make someone feel valued under such circumstances, you’re doing yourself a huge solid. And it’s not just about reinforcing someone’s self-esteem; when you listen closely and reciprocate resolute communication, you’re proving that you’re closely invested in the interaction. That’s always going to be a vital part of conducting business, no matter the scenario.

Try speaking in the third person

Note: this is not an approach you should use in face-to-face conversations. But being the smart person you are, I’ll assume you already know this.

In relevant contexts – such as rhetorical statements on websites and bios – using the third person to sell yourself can be an effective way to circumvent narcissistic sentiments. Utilizing the aforementioned initiatives, one is capable of crafting some killer promotional materials from the third person perspective.

So, if I was the owner of Larry’s Illumination, I might write:

“Larry’s Illumination has been Western New York’s top-rated source for customizable lighting solutions since 1983. Their outdoor LED floodlight systems withstand the very worst of weather, with an average lifespan of more than 20 years. Their fixtures light up Ralph Wilson Stadium, Coca-Cola Field, and other local staples for large scale sporting events. To get the jump on your own lighting needs, give them a call at 123-4567 today.”

Whether your name is Larry, John, Jeanette or Rumpelstiltskin, you can now go forth with confidence and market yourself like a boss. You can thank me the next time you land the job/client/sale.

A Short Guide to Selling Yourself (For the Modest at Heart)