What is my USP?

Unique Selling point? Which means we have to ‘sell’ ourselves? This sounds grotesque! Selling oneself…? Doesn’t it sound like the world’s oldest profession?;-)

But funnily, this term is used often in marketing world. To get the attention of the customer, we not only advertise our product, we need to advertise ourselves, sell our ideas!

Why did I get this subject today? This has a background!

Yesterday one of my colleagues messaged me out of the blue informing that I should market myself.  (market doesn’t sound that bad as sell!!!) I could not understand the message. So I had to ask.

I was informed that I know many languages (5 almost fully and 2 or 3 more little little!), and I should market myself.

I was very surprised and happy too. Yeah, I can do pun in 2 – 3 languages. A good word in one language turns out to be a very bad word in another language. There are people who try to talk Kannada. Here the pronunciation of a word or two, if done wrongly, gives a very wrong meaning!

Sorry, subject went for a detour!

So, marketing myself…. I should think of this seriously. But come to think of it, I am quite old – 55 years on 11^th August 2012 – should I try to do all these things?

Recently I was in my office canteen and was forced to eat alone. I spied a colleague of mine from the other department. I just say hello whenever I see him and I talk to him in his mother tongue.

He was sitting at a table and he invited me. I found one more person sitting in the table who smiled at me. I have seen him from the past 7 years but had no chance to talk to him. So, this colleague of mine with whom I talk in his mother tongue introduced me to the other guy, this is Yathiraj, the happiest person in our Company.

I was happy but surprised too. Is that the impression I have given to others that I am always happy?

Actually what do I do? I speak with anyone whom I have known with a smile and try to make the talk light and try to bring a smile on the other’s face. Has that behaviour of mine has earned me that name?

The other person said, I know him. I have seen him. But since the last year I know him better.

This intrigued me. What did he mean?

Then he explained. We had this internal office event. I was pushed to represent our team in an Indian Quiz competition which was conducted to keep us awake after a heavy lunch!

I was one of the finalists. There was a question which all the three of us could not answer, so all of us were declared winners!

So, I was called the most intelligent person in my office by one of my colleagues from the department which has only intelligent people. I corrected him saying, you are intelligent and I am smart… that’s all!

This year we had the 2^nd event. I took up to play an audio which turned out to be a live performance!

I did dance for about 15 minutes for various songs of the matinee idol Shammi Kapoor.

So, the whole office knows me. The songs, the pace of the songs do not go well along with my age.  They find my dance as amazing and energetic.

This way I gave happiness to all the people for some time.

In the office, many of my colleagues who are nearly 30 years younger get attracted to me and come and talk to me. Do they find their father in me? Is this the way they imagine their father? Is it that they can’t talk to their father this freely and they find me an alternative so that there is a person of their father’s age who talks friendly?

Is this my USP?