By Nancy Juetten

Out here in free agent nation, millions of independent business professionals are pounding the pavement, attending networking events, and sharing their messages via cyberspace and social networks as they seek more perfect clients and media opportunities.  The trouble is, many of them are failing to launch because the stories they tell about their background, experience, and qualifications are falling way too short of the mark.

Now more than ever, decision makers are doing business with PEOPLE as opposed to companies.  That means they need to like, trust, and respect you immediately in order to engage. If the story you share in your online bio or social networking profile is bland, boring, and unremarkable, you’ve built a roadblock that can stand in the way of attracting the perfect engagements you seek.  Here are among the most common bio blunders independent business professionals make that can stop opportunity in its tracks.

Arrogance and Affect

–        Lofty language
–        Too many five dollar words that don’t count for a lot
–        Too many words that say too little
–        The story leaves you with a gut feeling that this emperor has no clothes
–        You feel at arms length as opposed to wanting to lean in and engage

Blah, Blah, Blah Boring, Bland, and Boilerplate

–        The words scream “Who cares!”
–        The story conveys no personality
–        Unmemorable and unremarkable information put the reader to sleep

Content

–        Crisis of credibility
–        Absence of credentials or proof to your claims
–        Absence of clarity about who you serve and why it matters
–        “Cute” stories that don’t deliver content your ideal client cares about
–        Too little content, too much content, and absence of “right sized” choices

Differentiation

–        Information is disconnected and fails to tell a compelling story
–        The words read like every other professional in your category
–        Absence of  stunning results, quotes, or compelling facts

Failure to Compel

–        There is a “so what” reader reaction that fails to attract clients or opportunities
–        Frustration continues to mount, along with your obligations

If you are fed up, fired up, and finally ready to do something about it, here are three suggestions.

  1. Put your own bio through these filters.
  2. Revisit the content to lead with your stunning results, succinct stories, sassy sound bites, and social information to help your ideal clients connect with you.
  3. Share your new and improved story with the right decision makers to invite more of the right opportunities you seek.

Oh, by the way, help is close at hand with three ways to get the help you need, no matter the size of your budget.

Review the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide success stories and generous audio files posted to this blog.  It’s free and fabulous information to guide you along your own path to bio success.

Buy the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide so you have the best tips, tools, templates, and examples to make it even easier to achieve success.

Make your appointment for an Extreme Bio Makeover and benefit from the inspired work of a professional who cares about putting your best story forward almost as much as you do.

You get one chance to make a fabulous first impression. Take the time to showcase what you bring to the marketplace in a compelling, memorable way in your online bio and social networking profiles. That will increase the likelihood that ideal clients will learn to like, trust, and respect you more readily, and you will likely get to “YES” a whole lot faster.

No matter which approach you take, remember this.  It’s your story.  Tell it well.

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Nancy S. Juetten is a “Media Savvy” newspaper columnist, speaker, Publici-Tea™ trainer, and the author of the Bye-Bye Boring Bio Action Guide. If you are a rock star, but your bio is all washed up, this guide shows you how to write a rockin’ bio, one step-by-easy-step. Get an excerpt from this popular guide when you opt-in to receive the Authentic Visibility ezine at www.byebyeboringbio.com. Reach Nancy at nancy@nsjmktg.com or 425-641-5214 (PST).