What are you selling? Services, products… sure, ok. But what are you really selling? Read just about any book about selling and marketing and you’ll find that in every case people don’t just buy the product, they buy the idea of the thing and the idea behind the thing.

As a freelancer, you sell not only your technical or creative capabilities. You for sure sure don’t sell hours of time. You sell your personal brand, your relationship, and your experience. You sell your reputation to deliver on time and within budget. You sell what makes you valuable and unique.

Is anyone buying? If not, then there may be some hard questions ahead, but the good news is that most of this will be within your control to remedy.

Some of the best advice I was ever given about selling myself came from my first creative director. He told me “if you take care of your portfolio, your portfolio will take care of you.” That advice extends beyond having a sweet set of projects to show. It is also making sure you take care of your name and reputation. It is making sure that your portfolio of clients and partners speak nothing but resounding praise about you.

Now that’ll sell.

[ I’m presenting on these topics and more at 360|Flex Sept.18-23 in DC. 360|Flex is one of the community’s most beloved Flash Platform developer conferences. If you’re attending, I hope you’ll join one or both of my sessions. Register here. ]