Adam Riccoboni - The Art of Selling Yourself: The Simple Step-By-Step Process for Success in Business and Life

The Art of
Selling Yourself

An excellent read for anyone wanting to improve their ability to persuade others. This book covers all of the key areas needed to be a more effective communicator and salesperson.

Neal Gandhi, Author of Born Global, Entrepreneur and Investor

An incredibly useful, pragmatic and practical guide that should be read by all those searching for a framework for building a successful career and, perhaps, a successful journey through life. At whatever stage you are at in your career or life, this book contains information that will enable you to improve Youif thats what you want to do! An enjoyable and easy read.

Roger Skinner, former Strategy & Business Development Director with Ally Financial Services Inc. and The Lombard Group

A truly inspiring read that is a must for anyone in business with aspirations to stand out from the crowd.

Julian Humphreys, Managing Director, P2 Performance Squared Ltd

The Art of
Selling
Yourself

The Simple Step-by-Step Process
for Success in Business and Life

Adam Riccoboni and Daniel Callaghan

J EREMY P. T ARCHER /P ENGUIN

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

New York

JEREMY P. TARCHER / PENGUIN

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Originally published in the United Kingdom as Buy Me! by Michael OMara Books Limited in 2011

First American edition published by Tarcher/Penguin in 2012

Copyright 2011 by Michael OMara Books Limited

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Most Tarcher/Penguin books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. Special books or book excerpts also can be created to fit specific needs. For details, write Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

ISBN: 978-1-101-60135-8

Printed in the United States of America

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

While the authors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

This book is dedicated to our parents,
who gave us everything:
Paul & Elaine, Gerry & Carol

We would like to thank and acknowledge 3H Partners for their invaluable help and direct contributions to writing this book, including:

Dr. Davide Sola, Associate Professor of Strategy, ESCP Europe

Dr. Jrme Couturier, Associate Professor of Strategy, ESCP Europe

Cristina Raiciu, for contributions to Step 5: Empathy

Alisa Gusakova, for contributions to Step 9: Managing the Media

Francesco Maselli, for contributions to Step 10: Leadership

Sandro Cuzzolin, for contributions to Step 7: Going the Extra Mile

Saurav Majumder, for contributions to Step 3: Personal Presentation

Alexandre Vigneron, for contributions to Step 6: Under-Promise and Over-Deliver

We would also like to thank our team at MBA & Company, including Romy Fawehinmi.

If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

Thomas A. Edison

There is a broad choice of business and self-development books on the bookshop shelves. These books can help you win friends and influence people, achieve confidence, be a brilliant manager and show you how to get rich. It is now even possible to read books purporting to provide a 30-Day MBA, a 10-Day MBA andfor the really time-strappedan 80-Minute MBA. This is even more startling knowing that many reputable business schools would charge in excess of $100,000 in fees and require attendance of a one- or two-year full-time course before awarding an MBA.

So, why have we had the audacity to write The Art of Selling Yourself? The simple answer is that learning how to sell yourself is the most important skill you can have in your working life. Selling yourself is crucial to influencing people, to having confidence, to being a brilliant manager and to becoming rich. (It wont, however, give you an MBA!)

Selling yourself is the key to success

The impact you have on your life will be fundamentally determined by how well you sell yourself. Selling yourself is the single most important skill you could have in your career. It is vital to every aspect of commerciality, and convincing others to buy you is the secret to unlocking your full potential.

Ask yourself:

Do people recognize your full potential when they meet you?

Are all your qualities truly utilized at work?

Are you having the impact on your life that you aspire to?

Selling yourself is essential in the corporate world

Consider all the times you need to promote yourself directly in your working life: writing a rsum, attending a job interview, convincing your colleagues of a new idea, attaining more responsibility from your boss, gaining a promotion, receiving a raise, etc. However, selling yourself is also necessary in all aspects of business, as people do not just buy your company, products or services, they buy you. It is vital in winning a new client, managing teams, public relations, establishing a strategic partnership, to name just a few examples.

Selling yourself is crucial as an entrepreneur

To be an entrepreneur it is essential that you have the ability to sell yourself to others. Initially, you have to sell a concept to the world, with the only physical representation of the business being you. When seeking funding for your venture, selling yourself is absolutely keyventure capitalists or angel investors do not just assess your great business idea, they also assess you.