Episode 52: How to Pitch Yourself

Making the decision to work beyond the classroom is such an exciting time and trying something new and different. But if you’ve solely worked in the field of education, some of the “business” aspects might be unfamiliar to you, such as pitching yourself. As teachers, we don’t have to sell our services, except to maybe our students, so that idea might be uncomfortable for you. So, if you’re venturing out to a new career, I’m going to share three tips on how to pitch yourself effectively.

Although self-promotion isn’t a bad thing, it can often make people uncomfortable talking about themselves in such a high manner. But remember, you have the skills and expertise to be a vital asset at a company or running your own business. If that’s still a concern of yours, I provide three tips that help put you in the mindset of showcasing your skills as a benefit to others. Whether you’re hesitant about what tactics you need to take or just uncomfortable with self-promotion, this episode will teach you how to pitch yourself to set you up for success!

 

Topics Discussed:

  • How to think more positively about self-promotion

  • The importance of clearly communicating your purpose or message

  • 3 tips for pitching yourself as teachers going beyond the classroom

  • A list of different approaches you can take and why being yourself is a must

  • Bonus tip that gets you practicing your pitch

Resources mentioned:

Related episodes and blog posts:

 
 
 
 

Read the transcript for this episode:

Let's talk about how to get comfortable pitching yourself. I know as a teacher, I never felt like I had to like pitch my services to anyone, maybe my kindergarteners, but that was a real different vibe than pitching myself for flexible jobs beyond the classroom.

And often just thinking about the idea of pitching yourself for a job can feel uncomfortable. It can feel salesy, it can feel like self promotion, but like, what's the matter with self promotion? I challenge you to think about that.

You have real amazing skills that are transferable in so many ways that you deserve to promote. And a lot of this comes down to kind of unpacking our feelings about selling ourselves.

But what if we reframe selling as helping? Learning how to pitch yourself is really key to expanding your impacts beyond the classroom. And if you think about all the people, you can help with your expertise, it is so important that you learn how to pitch yourself how to promote yourself.

And so whether you're developing educational materials, or creating a tutoring business, or starting an education consulting business, or designing innovative teaching tools, learning how to pitch yourself is essential as you think about achieving success. You have to put yourself out there, you have to make the case that you can deliver the products or services or solutions that other people are looking for.

So communicating that value that you and your product or program or service bring is important, whether your ideal clients are individuals or school districts or companies or whoever you hope to reach. And as you leverage your expertise and share your offerings with a wider audience, you'll want to get more and more comfortable with self promotion, and confidently marketing your products and services.

But first, let's take a look at what it really means to pitch yourself as a teacher moving beyond the classroom.

So let's unpack what is it really mean? And perhaps you'll need to convince an edtech company that your curriculum experience as a teacher qualifies you for a freelance curriculum development role. Or maybe you want to pitch an education business idea to potential customer investor.

In these scenarios or similar ones, a successful pitch comes down to creating a message that communicates your expertise, resonates with your target audience, and helps build relationships with your potential clients and customers.

So now that we know what it means to pitch ourselves, it basically means putting yourself out there, sharing what you can offer, and really connecting with your target audience. Now that we know the definition, let's learn three tips for pitching yourself as a teacher going beyond the classroom.

So first tip is shift your focus and remember your purpose. To feel good about pitching your programs or products or services, it can be helpful to shift your mindset from selling to helping. Take the time to consider the unique value you bring to the table and how you can help the organization or company or individual make a difference.

Reflect on how your offerings can genuinely benefit teachers or students or schools or the education world. Remember the solutions and positive outcomes you and your offerings provide. And by reflecting on that why and reframing your mindset on how you can make a difference and help others.

You'll likely approach pitching opportunities authentically and with a greater sense of purpose. It's not just about closing a sale or getting somebody to sign up for your program or getting a job. It's about clearly communicating the why behind the work you do and really connecting with people who you can collaborate with and who will benefit from your expertise.

Second tip is to create your pitch with thoughtfulness. When exploring how to pitch yourself, it's important to develop messaging that resonates with your target audience while still aligning with your values and personal brand.

And I know even the phrase personal brand can seem intimidating and like what does that even mean? But as you move beyond the classroom, you are kind of becoming your own business and you are establishing a personal brand that aligns with your values.

So to create pitches that feel good to you, consider approaches that work best for you. A few approaches could be sharing your personal journey, and you might share about why you became interested in creating your products and services. These stories or anecdotes could highlight your journey as an educator and the motivation behind your offerings.

And by connecting emotionally with your audience through stories, you might highlight the challenges you faced, like be real, and how your offerings can really help educators and our students. And through telling your story, you'll likely inspire others and build genuine connections along the way.

You could also try focusing on a problem and a solution, you can focus on the pain points or needs of your target audience and position your offerings as the solution. Clearly communicate how your products or services address specific challenges or save time or improve learning outcomes are aligned with educational goals.

And by speaking directly to your target audience's needs, you'll capture their attention and interest. And by presenting yourself as a problem solver, you'll demonstrate your value and build trust.

You can also try to create your pitch by highlighting your expertise. Remember that as a teacher, you are an expert in the field of education, and you are an expert on teacher and student needs. You have so much to offer and it's just about trying to figure out the best way to highlight your experience.

So think about what sets you and your product or service apart from others. And by doing that you'll establish yourself as a trusted authority. You can consider highlighting any facts or figures or testimonials that show growth or support your offerings. And this can help potential clients and customers see the impact of your expertise and the value of your offerings.

So after remembering your purpose, creating your pitch with thoughtfulness, the third tip is to stay true to yourself and your values. And that connects back to number one honestly remembering your purpose. But learning how to pitch yourself confidently is truly about building relationships and helping people and growing an education business requires the same skills.

A successful business requires not just providing high quality products and services, but also establishing strong relationships with clients and customers. So when promoting yourself, authenticity is key. Ensure your pitches and marketing materials reflect your true self and genuinely aligned with your values. Always be transparent and honest. And focus on building meaningful connections and nurturing relationships.

When you do this, and you present yourself as you are you don't have to be perfect. But by being authentic, you're more likely to attract like minded individuals who resonate with your mission and offerings.

And I would say bonus tip that goes along with all three of these is that the way to get better at pitching is by pitching. So you have to do the thing. And you have to do it kind of awkwardly at the beginning to be able to find your voice and to come up with what is my message and what is my purpose? And how do I show my values?

It's really easy to get stuck in trying to perfect this pitch on paper away from actual people. Don't do that. Get out there. Try pitching, try connecting, building relationships be awkward and through those experiences you'll really find your voice.

And if you're really interested in building an education business and elevating your personal brand or growing a business that goes beyond you, I invite you to check out our Grow Your Education Business Accelerator, which is our program designed to help teachers to launch rewarding and profitable education businesses.

We are a small group but they're the education business accelerator we meet together weekly, we have amazing course curriculum and an awesome community of educators really growing impactful businesses together. This is an application only small group program and we'd love to have you apply to see if it's a great fit for you.

I am always cheering you on and I can't wait to see your pitches.

Guest User