Who would you go see if faced with a life threatening medical diagnosis? A general practitioner or a specialist? You’d be drawn like a magnet to the expert, wouldn’t you? Well, this same decision making process works for selecting any business or professional your prospects trust with their business. The PERCEIVED expert has a massive competitive advantage in any marketplace.
So, are you the recognized expert in your niche and community? Do your customers and target prospect agree? Regardless of the business you are in – even in a business that is considered a commodity – there is usually a way to gain the EXPERT ADVANTAGE. Gaining expert status has been a huge contributor to success in my own business.
You may be wondering about now how you can position yourself as an expert. With focus and a plan it is easier than you think. Here’s some quick tips that will move you or your business to expert status:
- Teach – When you teach a topic people will automatically assume you are an expert. Many will think, “If he’s teaching this he must really know what he is doing.” Today there are many teaching venues including teleseminars, webinars, live events, authoring eBooks, delivering training programs or distributing videos via YouTube.
- Educate While You Communicate – Education based marketing is a powerful tool. There are many ways to educate through communications. For example, you could distribute a weekly email newsletter which includes specific tips of interest to subscribers. You could also publish and distribute special reports of interest to your target audience.
- Answer Unanswered Questions and Questions Prospects and Customers Should be Asking – One successful video marketing technique is to produce and distribute a series of 30 second videos each answering a different question and distribute one each week.
- Charge High Fees – If you are a professional who bills for his time or on a project basis, charging high prices often establishes your expertise. Prospects often conclude that if you charge a high price you must be expert at what you do.
Think about your current marketplace positioning. Are you perceived as an expert? If not, what actions can you take right away to move from just another professional or company to a leading expert in your field?
