No hard sell at Christmas

Blogger Lucy Mori has written about how architects should remember still to market themselves at Christmas. She illustrates her blog with  pics of family Christmases replete with the kind of festive jumpers  no self-respecting architect would be seen dead in - certainly not when marketing themselves.
And that is the problem.
Mori is not suggesting a hard sell - in fact only what she calls a soft version of the elevator pitch. But she says that friends and family include potential clients and that the architect should both make them aware of what he/ she does for a living, and sound confident and optimistic. No potential client wants to meet somebody self-denigrating or lacking in confidence.
That is undeniably true but what that means is that the architect who obeys Mori's dictum is always 'on'. Obviously non-stop moaning doesn't make for good company, but if an architect has had a hard year, who can they be frank with if not their nearest and dearest?
PR Leanne Tritton wrote a piece in last week's BD entitled 'In hard times a break is more vital than ever'. Part of this was about the importance of the office party but she also discussed the importance of switching off and recharging at Christmas. With all offices shut, this is probably the only time of year when there is no need to keep responding to emails and texts (I know Tritton is keen on holidaying beyond reach of either). But it will hardly be a break if you have to be on your best, cheery, positive, elevator pitching form just in case you encounter a potential client. Maybe at Christmas even those with secret or not so secret doubts should let their fronts slip and just be themselves.