In competitive times like these, the most important sale business professionals can make is the personal one. And the best "sell yourself" tool is your online bio. No marketing piece does a better job of spelling out your "special-ness" than an effective personal promotion profile on your website, in social media and elsewhere.

Problem is too many professionals misuse their bios — or, worse yet, fail to use them at all.

Your bio is your most versatile, vital and valuable self-promotion vehicle. Use it in the right way in the right places, and it can dramatically differentiate you and establish you as a uniquely qualified one-of-a-kind leader in your field. It can and should do the bragging in type that you don't want to do in person.

But exactly how, when and where do you use this important tool for maximum impact?

Once you've crafted a killer bio, you want to use it wherever and whenever you can. For starters, plug it into the "About Us" section of your website, and in your personal profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. And it's a great fit for the community or industry directories in which you're included.

Your goal should be to get your bio in front of everyone you seek to influence. Showcase it — "P.S.: I've attached some valuable background information" the next time you send out new product announcements, policy information or other materials to those in your database.

Some savvy promoters use their new or revised bio as the centerpiece of a marketing outreach campaign. They'll do an e-blast or client letter announcing new and exciting developments at their company, and attach their new and improved bio to it.

An easy way to gain exposure for your online profile is to include a link to it in your email signature. That way, every recipient of your emails has the opportunity to check out your bio.

Your profile is an excellent device with which to reach out for free publicity, the best advertising that you can't buy. Compile a list of reporters, editors, bloggers, TV producers and others who provide news about your industry, then forward them your bio along with the suggestion that they consider you the next time they develop an industry-related story.

Offer to share information, respond to questions and help in other ways as they develop content. Your bio can establish your credibility when you make yourself available as an industry source and resource. It can pave the way for you to get quoted and promoted in the media on a regular basis.

Your personal profile is also useful when you're seeking writing or guest blogging opportunities. Use excerpts from it in the "about the author" section of the articles or posts that you contribute.

Speaking in front of groups of those you seek to influence is an outstanding marketing strategy, and sending your bio to meeting planners can lead to seminars, workshops, classes and/or other opportunities. Make your bio available to those who promote your presentation, and include it among the handouts for attendees.

Chances are your prospects and clients can get your products and services elsewhere, but they can't get you elsewhere. That's why is so important to get your personal bio in hands of everyone you need to know, and who needs to know you.