The Craft of Selling "YOURSELF"

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2010-02-06T19:19:00.000+05:00

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On Developing Mastermind Group

2009-04-14T15:30:00.001+05:00

All mastermind members must be genuine and honest friends. Their exclusive objective and intention must be to deliver something to the group. When everybody gives, then as a natural corollary everybody receives. What goes around comes around in bucks and bundles. Life is like a boomerang; what we send comes back. The relation among masterminds is a heart-to-heart relation based on the highest degree of sincerity, purity and singleness of the purpose. These friendships can be genuine, soul-to-soul and not just circumstantial and symbiotic.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 13

On Lifelong Mentoring

2009-04-14T15:19:00.001+05:00

Along your exciting drive of selling your most valuable product in the market place, you may always take me as your trusted friend and mentor. You may contact me offline or online for advice and guidance.

As a mentor and couch, I’ll advise you to throw away old inhibiting, disempowering and crippling beliefs and ideals and replace them with dynamic, vibrant, buoyant, empowering and energizing and uplifting beliefs.

I’ll advise you to rise from the dust and ashes of the mediocrity, pessimism, low esteem and join the ranks of optimists and people having high sense of pride and remain unaffected, heedless and insensitive to the influences of external weather and create and carry your own weather.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 161

On Making First Impressions

2009-04-14T15:15:00.000+05:00

You never get a second chance for making the first impression

The word ‘IMAGE’ represents the qualities of a confident professional: ‘I’ is for Impression, the first and lasting impression you make on people; ‘M’ is for Movement, basically how you carry yourself including your posture and body language; ‘A’ is the most important ingredient and it stands for Attitude, the thoughts you feed your mind with; ‘G’ goes for Grooming, your dressing and personal hygiene; and ‘E’ is for Etiquette.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 21

On Dress Code

2009-04-14T15:12:00.000+05:00

As an interviewee, you must be exceptionally sensitive to the dress codes. As a serious and success-conscious potential corporate executive, you must broadly know the dress codes of different companies and industries. You must know that if you’re going to Levi’s for an interview, you better dress yourself in Levi’s.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 24

On Developing as a Personal Brand

2009-04-14T15:09:00.000+05:00

The era of commodities is over and gone with the wind. So stop commoditizing yourself.
Become a brand and become an experience.
Show that you’re unique.
Look that you’re unique.
Make people feel that you’re unique.
Become someone’s need.
Become indispensable for someone. As says Robin Williams (Mr. Keating):

"Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary."

MOVIE, DEAD POETS SOCIETY

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 20

On Big Bang Letter

2009-04-14T15:06:00.000+05:00

Big Bang Letter is different like every advertisement. The beauty of Big Bang Letter lies in its novelty and distinctiveness. Big Bang Letter is only scripted and crafted and can’t be copied or imitated or transcripted. If it’s copied, it’ll remain no more a Big Bang Letter; its bang, if any, will fizzle out. Its copy will make it a circular with no bang and beat at all.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 29

On USPs.....

2009-04-14T15:01:00.000+05:00

USPs are the differentiators. They differentiate BMW from cars on the roads; Rolex from the wrist watches; you from run-of-the- mill candidates. USPs make you a garden variety rather than a wild weed.

From The Craft of Selling “Yourself” page # 18

Seminar on The Craft of Selling "Yourself"

2009-04-12T19:12:00.000+05:00

A Seminar on

“The Craft of Selling Your Most Valuable Product”

Date: 4th June 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m
Venue: Beach Luxury Hotel. Karachi/Pakistan

For booking of your seat, please contact:-

Management Association of Pakistan
36-A/4, Lalazar, Opp: Beach Luxury Hotel,
Off: M.T Khan Road, Karachi
Phone: - (021) 5610903 Fax: - (021) 5611683
Email: - info@mappk.org / mappk@cyber.net.pk

Book Launch

2009-04-12T15:30:00.000+05:00

The Craft of Selling "Yourself" is being launched worldwide by end of April 2009. Keep in touch with www.amazon.com

Barry Siskind

2009-04-12T15:06:00.000+05:00

“Ashraf has clearly articulated the first step to selling success. Once you understand the importance of ‘YOU’ in the selling equations, everything is possible.”

Barry Siskind
Author of, Selling from the Inside Out
&
Powerful Exhibit Marketing

Mike Brooks

2009-04-12T14:59:00.000+05:00

"A brilliant handbook for all professionals! Packed with invaluable advice and techniques, this book will help you build value in the most important piece of the sales equation - YOU. Highly recommended!”

Mike Brooks

Author of, The Real Secrets of the Top 20%

Dr. Nido Qubein

2009-04-12T14:49:00.000+05:00

“Packed with meaningful information to grow your professional career, this book is worth a thorough read.”

Dr. Nido Qubein
President, High Point University
Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Co.

Stephen Reynolds

2009-04-12T14:46:00.000+05:00

“This is NOT just a book about getting a job. This book is about building a foundation of success for your entire life. The priceless wisdom sits in each chapter like your own private master mind group of personal coaches and consultants that exist only for the purpose of making you a success.

Don’t just think about buying this book. BUY IT NOW. Don't just buy this book. READ IT NOW. Don't just read this book. Put this powerfully effective advice to work for you NOW! AND WATCH YOUR LIFE BECOMING SUCCESSFUL.”

Master Trainer
Stephen Reynolds
Stephen Reynolds Seminars International

Bob Urichuck

2009-04-12T14:40:00.000+05:00

“Sales is all about engagement and the most important engagement you can have is with yourself. Ashraf’s book gives you the tools and the strategic edge to promoting and selling you, the most valuable product on earth. In the current global economic meltdown, you will survive and thrive by treading the path laid out for you in this book. Invest in yourself now and stand out in the crowd!”

Bob Urichuck
International Professional Speaker, Trainer and Author of
Disciplined For Life: You Are the Author of Your Future and
Up Your Bottom Line; Featuring the ABC, 123 Sales Results System
Internationally Recognized Sales Guru - Ranked # 7 in World's Top 30

Ron Kaufman

2009-04-12T14:35:00.000+05:00

"If you are the kind of person who loves to serve others, you will be well served by reading this new book. When you sell yourself, you are selling a promise to serve other people well. Keep that promise and watch your business grow."

Ron Kaufman
Author, UP Your Service!
Founder, UP Your Service! College

Your Resume is Your Marketing Communication Tool

2009-04-12T12:33:00.000+05:00

If you are a product then your resume is your marketing communication tool. Imagine the resume as being a brochure that will list the benefits of a particular service. The service being your time, talent and skills! When writing a resume, look at it from your employers’ point of view. Would you stand out against the competition (the other candidates)? In what way, can you meet your employers’ needs? What value addition can you bring to the organization? You’ve to ask these questions when writing your resume.

I read somewhere that resume is just like “toothpaste commercial” that means that an average employment manager devotes about the same amount of time to scanning a resume that most television viewers spend watching a commercial designed to sell toothpaste-about 30 seconds. But rather than advertising the features and benefits of toothpaste, a resume is designed to advertise the accomplishments and track record of its author- that’s, you.

Think for a moment about the concept of marketing. Marketing means taking a careful look at the needs of a certain segment of consumers and finding a way to satisfy those needs. A resume is, fundamentally, a marketing tool. The consumer is the employment manager or the person in the company who makes the hiring decisions. The needs of that consumer are the requirements of the position he or she’s trying to fill. You’re the product, and your qualifications for that job are the way in which you’ll meet that employer's needs. After Big Bang letter, your first form of advertising will be your resume.

Another way to understand what a resume should be is to look at what it shouldn't be. Obviously, if it’s a marketing tool, it’s not a chronicling of everything you’ve ever done or experienced with no regard for how that list meets an employer’s needs.

A resume, then, isn’t your entire life story, because your entire life couldn’t possibly be relevant to the requirements of a single job. It’s not amateurish or contrived. If you want anyone to read it, it’s obviously not a cluttered, wordy, unreadable mess. And most important, it’s never a work of fiction, full of exaggerations, inaccuracies, or just pure fabrications.

The fact of the matter is:

An average candidate with a stronger resume gets better results than a superior candidate with a mediocre resume.

So resume scripting is a serious business. It shouldn’t be taken casually or unceremoniously. Instead, one must have the passion and obsession to write and maintain a stunning and striking resume. You must derive the pleasure when you’re scripting it. Pleasure because it’s all about you; it’s more like venturing out your own self and exploring every nook and cranny of your personality, a rediscovery indeed. This piece of paper is description of who you’re, where’ve you been from, where’ve your contributed before; where’ve you been educated; what’re your belief systems; what stands possible and what appears impossible for you; what’s difficult and what’s challenging for you. What holds you back; what puts you off and what inspires you; what’re your motivators and what’re inhibitors; what’re your skill-sets; what your mind-set is; what your strengths are and what’re your hiccups and handicaps; what’re your ambitions and aspirations; what’re your dreams and what’re your career goals. Since it all relates to you, so it’s only YOU who can and should write your brochure. The designing and embellishment part of the resume can be left to others but as for as contents are concerned, as far as real stuff is concerned, as far as juice is concerned, it’s your basic and fundamental job. It can’t be delegated; it can’t be relegated; it can’t be outsourced.

My observation is that graduates take least interest in writing their own resumes. For them, it’s no less than drudgery, a monotonous, tedious and boring work. Writing a compelling, convincing and captivating resume shouldn’t be taken as something like filling an income tax return pro forma. This activity rather must be loved, enjoyed, cherished and treasured.

Selling yourself depends on getting noticed, standing apart and being different from everybody else. If at the outset you’re represented only by your resume and your resume looks like everybody else’s resume, then you look like everybody else.