W is for… Winning Business
The further up the hierarchy you go within the business the more likely you are to be responsible for managing relationships with clients and winning new work.
So one of the things that will be looked at when you are going for a promotion is often you relationship with clients and your ability/potential to win work.
This can be hard to show when you are working hard on the day job. Often you will not have a track record or opportunity to demonstrate this until you get to the next level as you boss is responsible for it, or you are too busy with the day job – so it can be hard to demonstrate. However, if all you can do is execute work – you have a very weak case for a promotion. Therefore if this is a criteria, it is important that you look for ways to demonstrate your potential (even if you can’t provide the figures/evidence).
- Be interested and active in business development. Understand what BD initiatives there are, be aware of the ongoing initiatives and sector plans and get involved where you can.
- Volunteer to draft and prepare things for your boss (most people will be happy to get it off their desk).
- Get Pitch experience. Get experience in preparing the paperwork and presentations. You need to be good, so get training and develop those skills so you are ready to do the job. Ask for help. Ask for the experience. This is something that you need to push for (and keep pushing for until you get it).
- Keep up with your networking. By keeping up with your network you are demonstrating that you understand the importance of it and may have the opportunity to use it in the future.
This blog post is an extract from our upcoming book “Prompt: 52 Prompts for Getting a Promotion Using Your Career Journal” which is being published later this year. You can pre-order your copy.
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