親愛的安妮：我的年底績效評估剛剛結束，與往常一樣，評估結果依然是優秀，但有一點除外。我的上司對我說，在如何更快速、更經濟地完成工作方面，我總能有一些好的點子，但我并沒有努力推銷自己這個特長。例如，在開會的時候我很少發言，在評估過程中，我們要求進行自我評估，可我經常只是列出當年的成績，卻從不解釋其中的卓越之處。

????我在之前的工作中也曾聽到管理者給出同樣的評價。只是，與往常一樣，我確實不知道該怎么做。我天性不喜歡張揚，也不是銷售員那種類型的性格。而且，從小到大我一直都認為，經常宣揚自己成就的人非常愚蠢，謙遜才是堅強個性的標志。我到底該如何才能學會在工作中推銷自己？您和您的讀者有什么建議嗎？——B.B.

親愛的B.B.：你可能會覺得很有意思的一件事是，跟你一樣感到疑惑的人不在少數。銷售培訓公司Sandler Training近期對1,082名就業的美國人進行了調查。其中有80%認為，“在當今社會，人們應該更加擅長自我推銷?！比欢?，依然有三分之二（63%）的受訪者表示，他們每天在自我推銷上所花的時間不到一個小時。

????Sandler公司CEO大衛?馬特森說：“我們最大的受眾并不是專業的銷售人員，而是其他商務人士。他們希望自己的創意引起關注，同時又不會給人留下愛出風頭的印象?！彼a充道，我們大多數人一直堅信，只要努力工作必能出人頭地，這樣的觀點沒有幫助。他說：“眾所周知，最聰明的人不見得就是最成功的人。歸根結底，還是要具備能力，開展有效的自我推銷?！?/p>

????約有45%的受訪者表示，職場是推銷好創意最困難的地方。（其次是家庭，比例為21%。）至于如何清楚表達自己的創意，以便讓合適的人聽到，馬特森為你，以及和你處境相同的人提供了以下十條建議。

????1. 不要把拒絕看成是針對個人。馬特森說：“人們在推銷一種觀念的時候，主要的障礙在于，一旦自己的觀點被拒絕，他們會把它看成對自身的一種否定，進而停止嘗試?！毕喾?，馬特森建議，至少在這方面，要向專業運動員學習：“大多數一流的美國職業棒球運動員，三振出局的次數要遠遠多于安打的次數。但即便如此，他們也從來不會放棄努力?！?/p>

????2. 打電話，而不是發郵件。許多人（尤其是害羞的人）在提出自己最好的創意時，往往會使用電子郵件，但這種方式的效率卻要遠遠低于面對面或（若有必要）打電話。馬特森說：“打電話的效率更高。你可以利用自己的語調，也可以對其他人可能提出的任何問題給予更積極地回應?！?/p>

????3. 70%的時間用來傾聽，30%的時間用來說話。馬特森說：“銷售領域有一種說法：沒有人喜歡被推銷，但所有人都喜歡購買。優秀的銷售人員從來不會強賣。相反，他們擅長傾聽，因為傾聽能讓你專注于別人——他們的職位以及他們做出某種反應的原因等?！?/p>

????4. 練習。找一位愿意聽你練習推銷的朋友或信得過的同事。馬特森建議，在將自己的創意呈獻給決策者之前，重復練習六次。他說：“前一兩次的主要任務是解決陳述創意所用的方式。到第六次的時候，你就能用切實可信的言語推銷自己的創意?！?/p>

????5. 融入其他人的觀點。馬特森說：“成功的推銷不能以‘我’為主體，而是‘我們’。即便顯意識并未進行區分，但從潛意識仍能分辨出你的陳述是以‘我’還是‘我們’為主體。每個人都希望能成為解決問題的一份子。所以，在自己的創意中融入他們的建議?！边@樣做不僅能讓自己的創意更加完善，你也會因為推動了項目而獲得聲譽。

Dear Annie: I just came from my year-end evaluation and, as usual, it was excellent, except for one thing, also as usual. My boss told me I often have great ideas for how to do things faster and cheaper, but I don't sell them enough. For example, I don't speak up too often in meetings and, when we were asked to do a self-evaluation as part of the review process, I listed my achievements for the year without saying what's so great about them.

????I've heard this from managers before, in past jobs, and as in the past, I really don't know what to do about it. I'm not a rah-rah type by nature, and certainly not a salesperson. Also, I was brought up to think that people who are always plugging their own wonderfulness are jerks, and that modesty is a sign of a strong character. So how am I supposed to learn to sell myself at work? Do you or your readers have any suggestions? -- Baffled in Boston

Dear B.B.: It may interest you to know that you're not the only one wondering. Almost 80% of 1,082 employed Americans in a recent survey by sales development firm Sandler Training believe that "in today's world, people need to be better at selling themselves." Still, two-thirds (63%) say they spend less than an hour a day doing so.

????"Our biggest audience now is not professional salespeople, but other kinds of businesspeople who want to get attention for their ideas without seeming pushy," says Dave Mattson, Sandler's CEO. It doesn't help, he adds, that most of us were brought up to believe that hard work alone would lead to the corner office. "We all know that the smartest people aren't always the most successful," he notes. "It boils down to being able to sell yourself effectively.

????About 45% of the people Sandler surveyed say their workplace is the hardest place to pitch a good idea. (The next largest group, 21%, said home is.) For you, and for those folks, Mattson offers 10 ways of putting an idea across so that the right people will listen.

????1. Don't take rejection personally. "One of the major stumbling blocks for people trying to sell a concept is that, if the idea is rejected, they take it as a rejection of them personally -- and they stop trying," Mattson says. Instead, he suggests, take professional athletes as your role model, at least in this respect: "Most major-league players strike out far more than they hit. Even so, they keep trying."

????2. Use your voice, rather than email. Many of us (especially the shy) use email to put our best ideas forward, but that's not nearly as effective as doing it in person or, if necessary, on the phone. "The phone is much more effective," Mattson says. "You have your tone of voice working for you, and you can be far more responsive to any questions the other person may have."

????3. Listen 70% of the time, and talk 30%. "In the sales world there's a saying: Everybody hates to be sold but loves to buy," Mattson says. "Top salespeople don't steamroll others. Instead, they listen, which forces you to focus on the other person -- what their position is, and why they're responding the way they are."

????4. Practice. Find a friend or trusted colleague who will hear you out while you practice your pitch. Mattson recommends repeating your idea six times before presenting it to decision-makers. "The first one or two times, you'll still be figuring out how you want to put it," he says. "By the sixth time, you're usually speaking with real conviction."

????5. Get others to weigh in. "Successful selling isn't 'I,' it's 'we,'" Mattson says. "Our subconscious can tell one from the other even if our conscious mind doesn't. People want to be part of a solution. So include their suggestions in your idea." Not only will that probably make the idea even better, but you'll still get the credit for having gotten the ball rolling.