Don’t Undersell

I see a lot of this all around, and have been guilty of these on many counts too.

- As a sales person, sometimes we are ready to discount even before client asks for a price reduction.

- As job seeker, we end up justifying to ourselves why the hike we originally hoped for is a bit too aspirational and maybe we should settle for something lower.

- As a employee, we are at times, shy of having an open but assertive conversation with our managers about what we seek in our careers, or even about the management style that works best for us.

- As a client manager, we hesitate to engage in a discussion when the client maybe unreasonably asking for things that weren't agreed upfront.

How often do we undersell ourselves? On reflection, the need to undersell is driven by two things.
1. Not being confident of what we have to offer
2. Worrying whether asking for what we deserve will make us unpopular and disliked

Unless we our assertive and confident in our approach, we are leaving the results we seek to chance and benevolence of others around us. It takes effort, and conscious practice to navigate to this state. As they say "If you are your biggest critique, you must also be your best cheerleader"!!