Become An Expert And Improve Your Bottom Line
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 4:57AM
How would you like to improve your bottom line? How would you like the phones ringing asking you for your expert opinion? And how is being an expert going to improve your bottom line? There are several ways to become an expert in your field. If you are in business long enough and have enough contacts in your field you will eventually be seen as an expert, but who wants to wait that long?
Who do you think of as an expert? Their success may seem to be out of your reach. Customers are always seeking them out without even comparing their services with yours. The trick is to be seen as an expert so customers seek your expertise. Most of the experts are just like you and usually don’t know any more about the field than you do. So what makes them special? Experts deliberately do a series of activities that helped them achieve expert status. It is not an easy road but it will yield great results in the long run and customers will begin looking for you. And this will improve your bottom line.
First thing you must do is actually know what you are doing. I don’t propose pretending to be an expert. You actually have to have some expertise in your field and then you can promote your skills so that others see you as an expert. You should read journal articles and go to seminars in the area that you wish to be an expert. Whether you want national attention or local attention the steps are similar. You will need to network with other businesses either through local or national networking events and through social networking such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.
Next you must start by giving your expertise away so that people will begin to ask you questions. I know you are thinking, “I thought I was supposed to be improving my bottom line?” You can give expert advice without giving away services. Example: respond to a post on a LinkedIn discussion, or start a blog and give tips on a topic related to your service. Speak at a local chamber event, write an article and post it on an online journal.
After you have some followers on your blogs, local events, LinkedIn and etc., you should write a book. Writing a book is one of the quickest ways to increase credibility and establish youself as an expert. If you have been writing articles, posting blogs or speaking at local events you probably are well on your way to writing a book. The book doesn’t have to be a text book. In fact if you are going to use it to promote yourself to your customers it would be better to keep it simple with easy to read terminology. Once you have published your book, you will become a published author and people will immediately see you as an expert.
Publishing a book is easier than it use to be. In the past, you would have had to submit your manuscript to a publishing company and hope they would see the value in your topic. The problem with a business book is it usually is geared toward a niche market and not appealing to the masses which made it less interesting to a publishing company. Now, you can self-publish a book and use it for your own purposes. There are many self publishing companies out there that have all of the services you need to publish your book.
Next time you look at the expert in your field, remember they are not that much different than you. They have just taken a few extra steps and now their customers are calling them. The work that you do now will pay off in the long run.
If you are interested in publishing a little book to become an expert, please check out our Free e-Book on How a Book Will Improve Your Credibillity and Make You an Expert. See the Sign up on the side of this page.
Reader Comments (1)
I totally agree with this post!! iI have been preaching this to my husband for so long now! I'm going to forward this pos tto him. Maybe he'll listen if it's coming from an "expert".!