Pitch Your Potential: The Secret to Unlocking Your Career with Dr. Vicki Johnson

Are you dreaming of a book deal, a keynote speech, or a fellowship but feel like those opportunities are out of reach? What if the secret to getting published and boosting your author visibility has nothing to do with your social media metrics or resume? This episode is all about reverse engineering your author marketing to get chosen for the rooms you belong in. 

Join host Allison Lane and guest Dr. Vicki Johnson, author of Pitch Your Potential, as they reveal the biggest mistake authors make when pitching themselves and the mindset shift you need to make to land your dream opportunities. You'll learn how to stop comparing yourself to others, overcome imposter syndrome, and get clear on your mission so you can attract the right opportunities without guesswork. 

Tune in to discover how to create a compelling vision of your future and unleash your full potential.

In this episode, Allison and Dr. Vicki discuss:

• [00:01:45] Discover the #1 mistake authors make when pitching their work.
• [00:05:00] Learn the mindset shift you need to build real authority.
• [00:09:20] Find out why you need to stop waiting for permission and create your own opportunities.
• [00:15:20] Understand how focusing on a mission, not just the opportunity, changes everything.
• [00:22:00] Get actionable tips on how to use LinkedIn to find book deals and get noticed.

Dr. Vicki Johnson, a speaker, author, and four-time fellowship winner, helps ambitious professionals secure elite opportunities by teaching persuasive communication strategies. As the founder of ProFellow and a social entrepreneur, her methods have helped her community win over $500 million in merit-based funding awards.

Resources Mentioned:

• Dr. Vicki’s Site: https://www.drvickijohnson.com 
• Pro-Fellow: A platform with a free database of fellowships and fully-funded graduate programs: https://www.profellow.com/ 
• Dr. Vicki’s Book: Pitch Your Potential: The Formula for Winning Dream Jobs, Awards, and Elite Opportunities: https://bookshop.org/a/55773/9781394328260 
• Connect with Dr. Vicki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vjohnson1 

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Transcript

Vicki: 0:00

Your desire to make the world a better place is the thing that makes you deserving of the opportunity. We have to stop worrying about, how does this look to other people? Am I successful? How do I prove my worth? It's not really about that. It's really about achieving your personal mission.

Allison: 0:30

What if the opportunities you dream about that you think are a pipe dream? The book deals. The grants. The keynotes. The fellowships. What if they're not out of reach? Because they're not out of reach for the other people getting them. And I know that it's like a thorn in your side of I can't believe she got a book deal. You can get a book deal too. You've just never been taught how to pitch yourself. And today's guest, Dr. Vicki Johnson, hello, is here to change that because you know you belong on stage. You know there's a book in you. And this is about building authority, a book deal, a grant, a keynote, a fellowship, all of that builds your credibility. It boosts your visibility. You become discoverable. And all of that makes you an authority or a leading expert. Dr. Vicki, please help us. Because I know you just wrote a book that's tremendous about pitch your potential and we'll talk about that a bit. But when you see people who are struggling, they know they need to get from where they are to where they want to be. And a lot of that has to do with building credibility. What is a mistake that everybody makes, especially with people who think it starts with social media metrics?

Vicki: 2:02

Yes. This is a good question. I think what I have seen throughout my career and working with lots and lots of people who are pursuing really competitive opportunities is that. The reframing of what it is that you need to put forward in your pitch. We tend to spend a lot of time focusing on how do we summarize and express what we've done in the past and spend very little time storytelling about the future. So, what I talk about in my book is how to tell that story of the future, which is your potential. What are the things that you can achieve if you were selected for this opportunity? And how is this opportunity aligned with your personal mission, which is a mission to solve a problem experienced by others. And so, if you reframe it as storytelling of the future, that's something anybody can do.

Allison: 2:52

Yeah. So it's not start out like, oh, I guess I need to post tomorrow on LinkedIn, or I'm going to do a series of videos for Instagram reels. It's not that. It's where do you see yourself serving? And where are those people you serve?

Vicki: 3:08

I imagine that the people that listen to your podcast and are doing this kind of work, they want to write books, they want to speak, they want to do truly exceptional things. It is driven by a desire to help other people. There is some sort of mission there. Whatever your message is, you're trying to get it out to other people and share it. And maybe you have a real talent at how you teach your practices, your approaches, and helping. Other people unlock ways that they can be successful. So that's a great place to start in terms of accessing these really competitive opportunities. It comes to; can you inspire the selection committee to pick you? Because we forget that they're choosing someone to invest in for a future outcome. They're not picking people based on who's got the best resume. No one's numerically, adding up all the accomplishments and then picking someone with the highest score. Sometimes it seems that way because people with big numbers, as I say, big schools, big resumes, top job titles, it seems like they win all of the opportunities, but that's not the reason that they were selected. It was really because they gave a compelling vision of their future potential. That inspired the selection committee to say, Hey, I, I want to invest in that. And so, getting really good at telling that story of what you're going to do in the future. Using evidence of your accomplishments in the past to back up your story is how you really can change the game. So, if you're someone who's faced rejections or you're saying, why is this person selected and not me? It's really the storytelling.

Allison: 4:42

It happens when someone sees someone they appear a colleague on a stage that they're like, wait, they're, I trained them in their job. Why am I not up there? And that's because you're not in a union. Like you don't get to go first. And that you don't get to go in sequence. It's did someone make a decision? And you didn't make that decision. You didn't step forward. You didn't take the steps that Dr. Vicki you're sharing now. So, when someone wants to build their platform, or real authority. And the one first shift they need to make so that they're defining their relevance. where do you start with people?

Vicki: 5:32

It does start with your mindset about the competition. And this is due to our comparison culture which is deeply fueled by social media. But we're so concerned about our competitors and what they're bringing. And about the subjective decision making process that we don't focus enough on what we bring. So, we really need to stop worrying about the competitors and even the process itself. And really get focused on how do I be the most prepared applicant in this competition? And that starts with the mindset that number one, you deserve the opportunity. And hopefully most of you start there, but even then people have imposter syndrome and other things and think they still are not ready yet. But the thing is, you are ready. You are ready with everything you have right at this moment. But you need to express how are you going to use your unique package of lived experiences, skills, talents, ideas. And present that in a way that says, if I could be unleashed into this opportunity, here's what the outcome's going to be. And that storytelling is not something we're taught. I would say that people who know how to do this and have been really successful tend to either have it from intergenerational knowledge that they've gotten through their family networks or academic networks or a lot of experience applying to lots of things and trying lots of things, failing a lot, having some success, building on that, improving the effort, or a combination of both of those things. And I would say for me, I didn't have a lot of intergenerational knowledge, but I did have some skills that I got from my parents. One was storytelling from my dad, who's a Lutheran minister. He's an experienced writer and speaker, so I was an apprentice of that all through my childhood. And then, my mom she was a not a professional designer, but she loved interior design. She went back late in life to do her art history degree and did very well in it. And I realized that I learned attention to detail from my mom. So, those two kind of innate. I don't know if they weren't innate, they were learn from my parents. Those skills, I kept cultivating them and realized, man, these two skills, just those two alone could really unleash a lot more of who I am and what I could achieve and really tell that story. And that is what got me into a lot of competitive opportunities that other people said I wasn't really qualified for. We've got gatekeepers, we've got comparison culture, we have a lot of messaging in society that tells us, hey, oh, you've got a big goal. Be prepared for disappointment because there's a lot of competition and look what you're up against. I got that at every level in my career. I'm supplying to college. As I was leaving a college applying to professional fellowships. I got it when I started my company. I got it when I tried to start my PhD in my mid thirties. Every level, there's somebody that's going to tell you, Ooh, be careful there. That's a big goal. Maybe you're going to face some failure, some rejection. And I just said, so what? Maybe I will, but maybe I won't. That's the attitude we should have.

Allison: 8:29

You can go bolder and you don't have to earn it in someone else's eyes. We're so accustomed to getting permission or an invitation to the next level. But there's something about the people you serve and you work with and the readers of your book, who they still are living that. They're probably not entrepreneurs, but you are entrepreneurial in your heart'cause you know you are in charge of your career. Not just the job that you're in. Everything that you help people do with going for like a dream job or a even beyond that, becoming a speaker and still keeping your job. And is really about building a bigger future for yourself. Knowing that you have more. And you can give more, but you're the one who has to pitch yourself.

Vicki: 9:36

Yes. And I want to mention too, there's also this idea that there's a limited number of opportunities. That there's somehow too few opportunities to do the things that we want to do. And I think that's because we have this comparison culture and this competitive culture. I think it's untrue. I think there is an endless number of opportunities too take your career to the next level, to take your education to the next level to make an impact. You can do it through someone else's opportunity. A university, an employer, a conference gives you the opportunity. You can also make your own opportunities. I talk about being a speaker to my own audience, which is much more accessible to me building an audience and then speaking to them versus hoping that someone will let me speak at their conference. And getting that permission to be there up against all the other factors. I think there also, we reach a stage early in our careers. We have to apply to things and learn the landscape and how to be competitive. At a certain point in our careers, we have to start creating opportunities for ourselves. And I think that if we try hard in our early career to go after things, experience failure, experience success. Then, we'll have more confidence to create those opportunities when we reach that mid-career stage when it's time to really do it ourselves.

Allison: 10:54

Yeah, that's the thing. You have to be in charge of that and know that early, that this is a speedway. And you get to decide what your speed is and where you go. And at some point, you're going to become the leader. You're not learning from anyone and no one else is saying. So, the promotion that you get is possible is this,'cause you're already at the tip top. Maybe you're keynoting an industry conference. To be a paid speaker, you need to speak to people who are not your peers. So you do need to break out and go bigger. And those opportunities require some proof that you have broken out. And that's what you're talking about when you say pitch your potential. But people don't know what do I they're busy doing the thing that makes them awesome, makes them an expert. They don't know where a list of awards is. Or what is a fellowship or how do I find out what my dream job is? So, when someone has the yearning and they're past their mindset issues, what's next for them? What's their assignment?

Vicki: 12:08

Well, Allison, I am founder and director of Pro Fellow, pro fellow.com. Not to plug it so deeply on this podcast, but it is a platform for fellowships and fully funded graduate programs, business accelerators. This is just one place that you can access opportunities that are merit-based that you have to apply for. That's one place that you can go. And we have a big free database that you can explore and it's for all different career levels. So, when you get there, you'll see that there's an early career platform, mid-career, scholar, and graduate student. But beyond that, beyond pro fellow, I would say that what I talk about in the book is really opening your eyes to the many different ways that opportunities come to you throughout your career. And one is just through your network. As you're working hard in your career, you're not just building your network where people that you're meeting and working with, but you're also setting your reputation. When you set a reputation for being a hard worker, when you're setting a reputation as wow, that applicant, they didn't get chosen maybe for whatever reason, but they put in a very high effort into that application. It builds your reputation. So, that's why I say there isn't, it isn't completely unrewarded when you apply for something and you don't get it. It's not completely unrewarded if you put in your highest effort because people notice, people notice. And then, if you start to realize that at mid-career people start tapping you for opportunities that you're not going to find on the internet. So, that is why you want to be that focused, authentically focused applicant throughout your career. It also means you need to stop applying for things that you don't really want. Sometimes we're applying for things that make us look successful, or it's something our parents told us to do. Or this is what other peers are doing. But do you authentically desire that opportunity? Because if you are finding it hard to want to work on your application for it. Might also be a signal that you don't really want it that badly, and that's okay. But if you authentically desire something, I'll tell you what, it'll be much easier to put in that really high effort that's going to pay off no matter what the outcome is.

Allison: 14:14

I think that's so important to know what you want. And that's not the end. It's what does that opportunity then open a door to? Everything is a means to the next thing. Yes, the fellowship might be really enjoyable and really powerful. But if you don't know what you're going to do with the knowledge or with the experience, or if you don't know what you think it can lead to. It sure does help to start by knowing where you're headed. You Certainly know that a book deal is not the end because a book deal opens doors to speaking, or consulting, or many ways to monetize. And you can do, you can choose any of them. But it also, it gives you such power to know, oh, I don't want to do that. Great. That means you're focused. That means the more you shine a light on the thing that you are aiming for, the more you'll see the opportunities along the way that make sense.

Vicki: 15:16

Exactly. And it's not so much the opportunity itself, it's the mission outcome. So, I do think it's important for people to decide, what problem is it that they want to help solve in the world? And I don't mean your personal problems, problems experienced by other people. So, it could be a social issue, it could be one of our big policy challenges. It could even just be making workplaces a better place to be. It could be raising children. It could be any number of challenges. I think most of us, and especially people who listen to podcasts like this are focused on some sort of problem that's experienced by other people. If you stay focused on that, less so much, I have to get this opportunity and this, the world doesn't work that way and life doesn't work that way. But if you stay focused on a mission and your mission may change over years, this could be one thing this year, in 10 years, it's something different. But the mission is what drives you. And then, it also helps you decide, what you authentically desire? What is it that is going to help you achieve that mission? And then, that will give you the focus to be a really exceptional applicant and be able to tell that story of future impact. Maybe where we all start is finding out what is that mission? What do we care about? What do we want to do? Then, it's easier to identify the right opportunities to put together the right story and then develop the mindset that, Hey, I deserve this opportunity because if I get it, I'm going to make the world a better place. That's really what it comes down to. Your desire to make the world a better place is the thing that makes you deserving of the opportunity. We have to stop worrying about, how does this look to other people? Am I successful? How do I prove my worth? It's not really about that. It's really about achieving your personal mission.

Allison: 16:54

Wow. Oh my gosh, that was so good. There's so much to dig into there because it's good to have criteria upfront. Even for the folks who go on Shark Tank and they're pitching their thing, sometimes one of the sharks will say, I love this idea, but I don't invest in this. So I'm out. Because they have criteria, even if they're like, that is a great idea. I love it. Good luck. Anybody should get this. But those are the steps that people like to skip'cause they're not fun.

Vicki: 17:24

And I hear this from young people especially, but I hear it from people of mid-career too. What am I doing with my career? What do I want to work on? There's people that want to do things that are more fulfilling. Maybe you've been in a career track for a long time and you're not sure. There's something about it that's missing. And I think it's because you do have a personal mission and it's misaligned with that. But even if you don't know what that mission is yet, there's something about it. It's not achieving something that is deeply personal to you. I do think if we all start there. And hopefully as early in our careers as we can, the more fulfilling the opportunities will be. We'll be less focused on looking successful and more focused on making an impact, working hard, creating a strong reputation, building our networks. And so, this is like the whole ethos that I try to teach in the book. And the people who follow my work and have taken part in my workshops and courses. They do develop this mindset because a lot of people come in with this sense of, I need to have a better resume. I need to get over this. I have a lower EGPA from undergrad. What do I do about that? I don't know what I want to pursue. These are very common questions. You're not alone if you feel that way. But your undergraduate GPA is not going to determine your success. I'll tell you that right now. When you read my book, you'll see strategies that explain how you leverage things that are completely accessible to you. I've talked about things like how to be memorable, how to show alignment how to have the right tone when you're talking about both your accomplishments and what you want to achieve. And also, how to look at selection committees like friends and collaborators rather than, thinking of them as judges. Which just right there will put you at a disadvantage because you're thinking in a negative way about them and about your competitors. It's all just a mindset toward, I have a personal mission, I want to achieve that mission, and I'm going to pursue opportunities that will give me the resources and skills to do that. And if you are that focused, you're going to have success. I know it's hard to believe. But I really do feel like if you think in the moments in your life that you've had the most success. I'm going to guess it's because you had a deep, authentic desire for the thing that you were pursuing. And it aligned with your personal mission.

Allison: 19:37

Absolutely. The side benefit to that is the things that don't align, fall away. They do. You don't have to do everything you shouldn't try and do everything. What I find the success factor can be is don't wait until you are like, I should get that fellowship this year, or I want to get a book deal this year. But you haven't done any of the other work. You don't have criteria. You haven't been collecting the opportunities that get you closer to your mission. So, you're starting with half the ingredients, and then kicking yourself'cause you didn't start earlier. You can start today. You can start today with what you have and then keep going.

Vicki: 20:27

Exactly. You can always build on that. And actually Allison, I'm going to ask you if someone wants to write a book and they're struggling to get a book deal from a traditional publisher. I would question like, is that what is the outcome? Is it the mission to get this work out into the world so you can impact people? Or is the mission just to get the book deal because it looks prestigious and meets those. I don't know. What would you say to someone who's really struggling? They're spinning their wheels for months or years trying to get that deal, to get this book out into the world.

Allison: 20:56

Usually the person who has struggled for years feels like they have all this wisdom they want to dump into a book. And they feel a sense of responsibility that they have all this knowledge that only becomes wisdom when they pass it on. And yes, that is necessary. But if you hold it all in until it's a book, you're missing the opportunity to contribute to media, to speak on panels. Things that you can do from your office. But if you wait until you're like, wow, I really want this book. Why is it not selling? It's not selling'cause you haven't shown that you are visible to the people who will buy the book.

Vicki: 21:41

And so, it all feeds in. It's the same if you share what you want to put into this book in other forums that are immediate, you can go on YouTube and talk. You don't even have to go to other people's things. You can create your own platform, create your email list, create your LinkedIn pages. Wherever you can share your message, you should do that. And then, the more that you do that, probably the higher the likelihood you'll build a following and get a book deal. There's no read to wait. That's what I mean by creating your own opportunities. You don't have to wait for someone to give you something to achieve your mission. You can also just find every opportunity to achieve that mission that's completely accessible to you. That there's nothing stopping you, right? From doing it.

Allison: 22:24

Often that person is feeling overwhelmed because there are so many ways. Choose one way you're going to share. If it's LinkedIn, be there because LinkedIn has many ways, but at least four ways that they show your content to people who don't already follow you. And if you don't know what those are, I'll tell you in a second. LinkedIn is not a social platform. It is a search engine. People are looking for solutions and information. If you're curating insight for them, freaking awesome, do it. The four ways are you can have a LinkedIn newsletter, you can host a LinkedIn event, free. You can comment, and add commentary to one of the trending news pieces that are on the upper right hand column. The short videos are also shared to people who don't know you and have never heard of you. You certainly to get a book deal with a traditional publisher, or even for your book, your hybrid book to be a success. You can't be a stranger to the people who will buy your book. You can't come out of the woods and be like, ha it's here now cause nobody's waiting for you. They have to know you. The book is one way for them to get your insight, but the other ways are 200 word LinkedIn newsletter. Do that once a week.

Vicki: 24:01

And the other thing I tell people is that LinkedIn is an extremely powerful platform for getting opportunities, not because it has a job board and people are posting jobs. That's neither here nor there. It's because when you connect with people on LinkedIn, it then unlocks their networks. I just did a LinkedIn post a week or two ago about where I calculated approximately how many mutual connection or people that I could be mutually connected to for an introduction or referral. It was over 5.7 million people because I have 7,700 first LinkedIn connections that I've built over many years, which means, and those people have on average 750 connections. Some have many more. So, it's probably over 10 million. Wow. But conservatively 5.7 million people. For me, I found LinkedIn to be an extremely powerful tool to stand out in these very competitive spheres where we're looking to get book deals and jobs and leadership opportunities. You've got to really leverage that human network. And that's one of the things I talk about in the book is leveraging the things that are available to you. And that, again, like you said, it's free. It's free. Connect with everybody you know. You want to be the person that just takes it to the next level. Narrow down to the things you really want. Get focused on your mission and then figure out how do I give myself an edge by really doing those extra things'cause what you were talking about with LinkedIn is giving yourself an edge. Pick a channel, like you said, above and beyond on that one approach. Don't half do it. Go above and beyond. That's when you start to see results is when you get really focused. And go the extra mile.

Allison: 25:39

And you can do it. You're not seeing a bunch of other special people achieve something that's not available to you. Decide to do it. Your headline under your name on LinkedIn should absolutely be the value that you bring to the world, not your job title. We want to know, what good result happens from you doing the thing that you do. Which makes it so much easier to pitch yourself to these opportunities that you help people find and achieve. So, where can people find you, Dr. Vicki?

Vicki: 26:16

Oh, yes. First, check out pro fellow.com because that's our web platform where we have a big database of opportunities. You can also find me@drvickijohnson.com. And of course, I'm on LinkedIn if you're listening to this podcast I'd love to connect. Believe me, this is not a one woman show over here. It's really a whole effort of people throughout my life that helped me get to where I am. I love helping people tell their story not because of the outcome of the opportunity, but because it unlocks a whole new level of confidence and it unleashes their impact on others. And so, I want to unleash that in every single person. I don't want them to be held back by fear that they can't do it. By this idea that it's too competitive to try. We support each other in the amazing diversity of this network of people that are pursuing fellowships in graduate study and research technology. You're going to want to be a part of it, so everyone please come to Pro, fellow and find me.

Allison: 27:18

And every time you see someone in a network like that succeed, you feel like you had a part in it. Not just you, Dr. Vicki, but like when you're a member of something like that, their achievement has splashes on you a little.

Vicki: 27:32

Oh, it's deeply fulfilling. Every mentee is a mentor in training.

Allison: 27:37

Everything you're doing now is in service of someone else and Dr. Vicki. I'm so happy to have you here. We'll have all these in the show notes and a link to your book because you're going to want the bonuses that come when there are with the pre-order. So you're going to want access to Dr. Vicki, and you can only get that would be pre-order the book for a low cost. So, don't miss out. This is your edge as an author, you have to lean in. And that's why we're here. I hope that you'll share this with someone who needs this message and needs these opportunities. So, stop what you're doing, pull over if you're driving and share this episode with someone. And I so appreciate it. And I know they will too.