Best in Class?
// Being Best in Class is the Only Way to Earn Accolades - Right? Wrong.
I sat here thinking “How the hell did this happen?”
I saw my name alongside the other Top 26 Marketers to Follow in 2026. And my first reaction was a punch in the gut of imposter syndrome.
I mean, I’m a one-woman band back bedroom copywriting, content strategy and digital marketing business in Manchester. Yes, I work like a Trojan to do great things every day, sometimes for household names I’m NDA-ed to not name drop. But I’m hardly talking to the mothership.
By comparison, just look at the credentials of the other 25! Surely my inclusion’s a typo.
So, I kept schtum and let it sink in. And here’s what came back to me, as I picked off the scabs of wobble, comparisonitis, and British stiff upper link instinct to downplay everything.
// Inspire Buy In
An uncomfortable truth. But we’ve all seen less competent, more confident people winning out in business over brilliant, capable, quietly excellent humans.
Infuriating. But truthfully, why should anybody else believe in you, let alone cross your palm with silver, if you’re dithering and lacking assurance?
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m no grifter. I’m really, really good at what I do, as many of my past and present clients testify in glowing terms.
Although competence saves your set on the top table, confidence gets you there in the first place.
Fortunately for me, I benefited from a head start of 25+ years in hospitality and events sales, selling bedrooms, boardrooms, banqueting - and myself.
People buy people. Always have. Always will.
This is where I see so many small business warriors struggle, and sometimes fail. They’re exceptional at what they do. But, as I always say in my dulcet Mancunian tones, “They couldn’t sell a box of matches to a chain smoker with a dead lighter”.
Sales teaches you how to:
Be present and do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’ll do it, whether you like it or not
Build rapport and a collaborative mindset
Take rejection on the chin without crumbling
Brush it off and keep showing up anyway with a smile on your face
// Don't Believe the Hype
I’ve long since been dubious about business awards and accolades. There’s so many around they pale into insignificance and mean little, especially when they’re self-nominated, and even paid for.
So, let’s not pretend these things are meritocracy-oriented, with the so-called best always taking home the prize.
On the contrary, I approach visibility as strategy rather than vanity. This means making extra effort and going out of your way come rain or shine to:
Put your head above the parapet by showing up to local and national IRL events, participating, asking questions, and listening to others
Treat LinkedIn (or whatever your preferred social media channels are) as a networking party, have a laugh, make friends, cheer people on, share expertise, be one of life’s good eggs
Magpie other people’s audiences in a spirit of caring and sharing, like podcast appearances, panels, guest blogs, and newsletter takeovers like I’m doing right now
Joy attracts joy when you raise your visibility as your authentic self, rather than a constructed persona or other people’s perceptions of you.
// Netgive
One of the best phrases to come out of lockdown was netgiving in place of networking.
There was this collective moment of generosity, before we were all released back into the wild to re-chase a mindless more, when we freely and generously served up:
Introductions
Referrals
Shout outs
Advice
A “What can I do for you?” mentality, rather than “What’s in it for me?”
I’ve held onto that. And not because of any tacit hope of getting something back in return. But I believe in karma. And when you give consistently:
People remember you
People recommend you
Opportunities find their way back
Usually sideways. Often unexpectedly. Such is life’s rich tapestry.
Claim the Potential You Know You’re Capable Of
I don’t consider myself a thought leader. I’m not the next David Ogilvy - or Dave Harland. But I’ve almost turned myself inside out to curate a level of success I know I deserve.
Lockdown changed everything for me, like it did for many people. Faced with little to do for the first time in my working life, apart from bake High Fernley-Whittingstall’s beer bread and lapping up Tim Burgess’ Twitter Listening Parties, I became a student again.
My appetite turned out to be voracious. It was exhilarating.
There was also devastation, standing shoulder to shoulder with so many other hard grafting, tax paying doers and go-getters, denied parity of financial support through no fault of our own. We watched helplessly as the cash was flashed with smirking incompetence, including folks who didn’t need it, and even OCGs.
I have an acute sense of social justice. The unfairness ate at me. But the focus had to be re-channelled at better not bitter.
So, I dreamt a future that felt worthy of me, threw everything at it, and showed up, living up to the ideals I aspired to.
// So, Why do you think i was recognised?
It’s not because I’m the loudest or the cleverest.
But if you aspire to professional recognition, or you’re just keen to shine your unique brilliance on a world that needs more of you, these are my recommendations:
Show up
Get involved
Give generously
Invest relentlessly in your craft
Work on converting discomfort to a positive energy that propels you forwards
Seek out your tribe
Roll up your sleeves
Give a shit, really
So, I’ll end by saying this accolade feels like a responsibility besides a trophy. And it gives me impetus to:
Keep doing the things that got me here in the first place
Stay curious
Keep backing myself, even on wobble days
I couldn’t change the government’s mind during lockdown, despite lobbying. But real people notice when you proactively live your life with intention, integrity, and grit. Not always immediately. Not always loudly. But meaningfully.
And if you’re reading this and questioning whether your consistency counts or your values are visible? Trust me. They are. So, keep keeping on, giving, and choosing the most you version of yourself.
Who knows, you might even find yourself gaining public recognition, just for the thing nobody else on the planet will ever be able to do better.
