The idea of selling yourself internally may seem crazy, but what we are seeking here is the key to advancing your career with a little self-marketing.

1.
Do’s
and
Don’ts
of
Selling
Yourself
Internally
Key
Points
• Define
your
goal;
know
what
you
want
to
achieve
• Taking
big
steps
without
stepping
on
anybody
• How
to
know
when
you
have
gone
too
far
In
a
recent
article
(Building
your
Social
Credibility
in
the
Workplace),
we
spoke
about
the
importance
of
creating
personal
credibility
through
sociability
within
your
office
or
business
and
how
that
leads
to
your
success
or
the
success
of
the
team.
This
article
plans
to
expand
on
that
concept
but
focus
more
on
highlighting
the
do’s
and
don’ts
of
selling
yourself
internally.
To
many
in
the
workplace,
the
idea
of
selling
yourself
internally
may
seem
suitable
for
only
those
who
are
overly
ambitious,
promotion-­‐seeking,
kiss
asses
that
are
trying
to
get
ahead
without
putting
in
the
hard
work.
In
some
cases
that
may
be
true,
but
what
we
are
seeking
here
is
the
key
to
advancing
your
career
by
complementing
the
hard
work
that
you
put
in
every
single
day
with
a
little
self-­‐
marketing.
Like
most
people
in
the
workplace
you
work
60+
hours
a
week
and
do
great
things
for
the
company
and
drive
revenue
quarter
after
quarter,
but
it
seems
like
you
never
get
the
opportunity
to
be
seen
or
have
visibility
with
key
leadership.
That
missing
piece
of
your
success
may
just
be
that
you
have
not
figured
out
how
to
sell
yourself
internally.
That
is
not
an
easy
thing
to
do.
There
are
definitely
ways
to
do
it
right
and
there
are
definitely
ways
to
ensure
that
you
never
get
another
promotion
again.
Ever.
Art
of
the
Wingman
for
Business
is
dedicated
to
the
businesswomen
and
businessmen
who
seek
greatness
beyond
their
own
and
find
their
successes
through
helping
others
succeed.
The
Business
Wingman
follows
the
path
of
the
selfless
person.

2.
1) Define
your
goal;
know
what
you
want
to
achieve
Before
we
get
too
far
along,
let’s
be
clear
about
what
it
means
to
define
your
goal
and
to
clearly
say
what
you
want
to
achieve.
You
need
to
be
realistic.
Saying
that
you
want
to
get
a
2-­‐level
promotion
and
a
20%
raise
is
not
likely
for
most
people…
it’s
just
not…
but
I’m
also
not
saying
you
shouldn’t
have
big
dreams.
The
key
is
to
define
a
goal
that
you
realistically
feel
that
you
can
accomplish.
The
last
thing
you
want
to
do
you
is
give
yourself
too
much
of
a
far-­‐reaching
goal
and
then
put
all
your
efforts
into
achieving
that
goal
only
to
find
out
that
you
will
never
ever
succeed.
You’re
better
off
giving
yourself
a
goal
standard
that
can
be
reached
through
realistic
milestones.
Don’t
set
yourself
up
to
fail
before
you’ve
even
started.
Don’t
get
discouraged
if
you
do
fail
along
the
way.
There’ll
be
many
times
that
you
will
fail.
And
for
every
time
that
you
fail,
you
will
become
stronger.

3. The
best
way
to
start
is
to
first
state
your
realistic
goal.
Then,
give
yourself
a
set
of
steps/milestones
to
follow
where
achieving
each
of
these
milestones
gets
you
closer
and
closer
to
achieving
your
ultimate
goal.
Let’s
use
an
example.
My
Goal:
Get
promoted
from
a
Manager
to
a
Sr.
Manager
in
the
next
year
Step
1:
Identify
your
target
audience.
Who
within
the
company
needs
to
see
your
successes
in
order
to
make
this
promotion
happen?
Step
2:
Once
you’ve
identified
those
people,
gain
some
insight
into
who
they
are
and
what
they
value
as
a
success.
Also,
you
must
identify
how
many
people
you
think
is
appropriate
for
you
to
show
success,
and
these
will
be
your
milestones.
Step
3:
Prepare
yourself.
For
most
Business
Leadership,
if
you
are
trying
to
show
your
successes,
they
will
mostly
be
interested
in
how
you’ve
been
able
to
create
growth
or
change
for
the
company.
This
can
be
a
measurement
of
efficiency,
functionality,
revenue,
market
expansion,
customer
retention,
etc.
I’m
not
saying
prepare
a
full
PowerPoint
presentation,
but
be
ready
to
have
a
discussion
with
proof
and
if
you
need
to
bring
documentation,
be
prepared.
Step
4:
To
achieve
your
first
milestone,
run
a
test
against
one
of
these
key
people
by
engaging
with
them
on
a
professional
level
and
speaking
to
them
about
ambition
and
eagerness
to
grow
within
the
company
and
your
wanting
to
reach
the
next
level.
Talk
to
them
about
your
successes.
If
you
succeed….
Then
congratulations.
If
you
fail
in
this
attempt,
then
learn
from
your
lessons
and
be
prepared
to
do
better
the
next
time.
Repeat
step
3.
Step
5:
Once
you
feel
that
you
have
gained
a
favorable
status
from
each
of
your
target
people,
next
is
to
set
expectations
with
each
of
them.
Speak
to
each
of
them
about
what
exactly
it
will
take
for
you
to
get
to
the
next
level
along
with
realistic
expectations
on
when
they
might
be
willing
to
assess
those
achievements
again
and
help
to
get
you
your
deserved
promotion.
2) Taking
big
steps
without
stepping
on
anybody
One
key
thing
to
remember
is
that
the
successes
that
you
have
had
within
the
company
may
not
have
been
all
your
own
doing.
You
have
to
understand
that
business
is
a
team
effort.
That
means
that
there
have
been
people
along
the
way
(your
team)
that
have
helped
you
to
succeed
and
to
get
you
to
where
you
are
today.
And
without
their
support,
you
would
not
be
where
you
are
now.
Remember
even
when
speaking
to
those
key
people
that
you
think
might
help
you
get
promoted,
they
will
be
referencing
your
team
and
asking
your
team
about
your
performance
and
your
ability
to
be
that
leader.
So
don’t
forget
the
people
who
helped
you
along
the
way
and
be
sure
not
to
step
on
them
on
your
way
to
success.

4.
3) How
to
know
when
you
have
gone
too
far
How
do
you
know
you’ve
gone
too
far
in
pushing
your
dreams?
Well
one
of
the
easiest
signs
is
that
now
you
have
somehow
alienated
yourself
from
key
management
and
you’re
now
on
a
PIP
(performance
improvement
plan)
and
possibly
on
your
way
out.
Yes,
that
may
be
drastic,
but
it
could
happen.
A
much
more
subtle
sign
is
to
realize
that
the
key
management
that
you
have
previously
reached
out
to
and
have
spoken
about
your
eagerness
to
move
forward
with
the
company,
has
now
decided
to
avoid
you
and
has
not
accepted
any
of
your
invitations
to
speak
or
meet.
Another
sign
is
that
you
have
socially
separated
yourself
from
the
rest
of
your
team,
and
your
coworkers
have
somehow
alienated
you
to
isolation.
This
is
definitely
not
good
and
if
this
does
happen,
your
best
bet
is
to
just
reboot
your
relationship
with
your
coworkers.
In
conclusion:
Selling
yourself
is
not
easy;
it’s
very
difficult
to
do.
There
are
definitely
people
whom
this
comes
more
natural
than
others,
but
for
most
of
us,
this
is
something
that
you
will
have
to
work
on.
Everyone
wants
to
advance
their
career
and
get
paid
more
money
but
remember
that
you
will
need
to
stay
ambitious
and
keep
your
eyes
open
for
those
opportunities.
You
have
to
fight
for
yourself
and
part
of
the
fighting
is
selling.
And
selling
yourself
within
the
company
is
one
of
the
quickest
ways
to
getting
a
promotion.
Good
luck
in
your
endeavors.
Visit
our
blog
at
http://www.artofthewingman.com.