The Accidental Influencer
If you asked me to describe myself I’d get through a long list of adjectives before I’d think to say “I’m influential”.
You can imagine my surprise, then, when it recently dawned on me that I might be somewhat of an influencer.
Being an introvert and a bit on the quiet side, you won’t typically catch me at the centre of attention. I’ve also never been hot on self-promotion - singing my own praises always struck me as a bit artless and left me feeling icky. So I stopped doing it.
As the owner of a fledgeling Virtual Assistant business, I understood the need to get myself and my business in front of prospective clients. Being a wallflower wasn’t going to win me any clients but the idea of blowing my own trumpet left me cold. I needed a new strategy. I had to find a way to market myself that didn’t feel forced or fake.
I decided that instead of telling people what I’m good at, I’d show them.
There’s a quiet confidence in knowing that my experience and expertise speak for themselves without the histrionics of the ‘hard-sell’. Sharing my professional skills and personal qualities is how I let others in on who I am and what I do. It’s then up to them to decide if/when they want to buy from me.
Being consistent and authentic in how I showcase my services has proved remarkably effective. The simple act of adding value to the people in my networks is earning their trust and growing my reputation as an expert in the things I’m good at. It’s also resulted (entirely accidentally!) in my newest identity - that of an influencer.
Being Influential
It began slowly, almost imperceptibly. Colleagues and clients were noticing how I go about getting things done. They saw something in how I approached my work, organised my time or devised my workflow that sparked their curiosity. I received lots of requests to ‘pick my brains’ about my methods from people wanting to incorporate them into their own practices. The variety of things for which my brains were being picked steadily grew. Emboldened, people soon began to venture the odd question on how I cultivate certain habits and routines which they aimed to emulate. What to me had seemed ordinary was to others aspirational. (I have a reputation for being averse to a cluttered workspace - you should see my desk, it’s the very definition of tidy!) There was no ‘look at me’-ing going on in an effort to draw people’s gaze, I was getting noticed simply for being me.
That was the beginning of my evolution from Quiet Achiever to Accidental Influencer. Looking ahead, as my business continues to grow so does my network. This is affording me new and exciting opportunities to share who I am and what I know. This, I hope, will inspire and encourage others who like what I do or who themselves favour subtlety over showing off.
Perhaps my influence is more incidental than accidental - simply a by-product of a job well done. Either way, the introvert in me is jumping for joy to know that success in business doesn’t require being shouty, showy and shady. There’s still plenty of room amongst all that noise for quiet achievers like me.
