Are You Afraid to Look Your Inner Expert in the Eye?

Running scared, are you?  I know how it goes – positioning yourself as an expert can strike fear into the heart of even the most intrepid entrepreneur.  After all, what gives you the right to claim that title?  And what happens if you don’t come through on your promise of expertise?

For many serviced-based business owners like speakers, trainers, coaches and the like, it’s a tightrope of tension.  We need to stand out from the pack in some significant way, and ballyhooing our skill in a particular area seems tailor-made for the task.  On the other hand, there’s that fear of tooting our own horn (perhaps mistakenly) and being thought too big for our britches.

It’s an easy trap to fall into.  I still catch myself sometimes assuming that most people already know at least as much as I do about my chosen field, only to be surprised over and over again that they don’t.  I don’t know it all but I’m definitely an expert in many ways.

I’ve got news for you.  You’re not doing your business or your clients any favors by being bashful about staking claim to your patch of expertise.  When you’ve got that kind of single-minded focus, it solidifies your ability to talk about what you do clearly and compellingly (which, by the way, is very attractive to potential clients).  Plus, when concentrated in one or two areas, your expertise grows on itself, expanding your skill and knowledge, and your confidence.

Would you like to bridge that gap between savvy marketing and false pride?  Fabulous.  I’m going to share 3 ideas for connecting those dots.

First, let’s deal with that pesky fear that keeps you from claiming your inner expert as part of the family.

The word expert comes from the Latin expertus, which means to try or experience.  So as an expert, you not claiming to be The World Authority.  You’re merely acknowledging that you’ve experimented with something and want to pass on your experience.  Pretty generous of you, actually.

Next, we’ve got to have some frank words about HOW to be viewed as a legitimate expert.  One thing’s for sure, you don’t do it by trying to be all things to all clients.  You’ve got to pick a niche. 

No, don’t let me hear you say, “But my services can help anyone!”  That’s as may be.  But holding on to “everyone” as your Core Audience is a huge obstacle to developing expert status.  No one is an expert at everything.

Last, don’t keep your expertise a secret.  Get the word out –and generate income at the same time- by creating information products like e-books, audio programs or podcasts ballyhooing all you know in your chosen specialty.

Information products are a terrific way to share your knowledge, boost your credibility and cement your status as an authority.  After creating my first information product (“Toss the Rules Out the Window: 12 Actions to Break the Marketing Mold and Create Success YOUR Way!”), I was amazed at how even colleagues and clients who’d known me for years suddenly took me more seriously.

Don’t let the description “jack of all trades, master of none” apply to you. Decide what your area of expertise is, and create a name for yourself. 

• The great thing about being considered an expert is that experts:
• Are highly sought after,
• Earn larger fees,
• Become very good at what they do. 

What’s not to love about that?

P. S. Next time we meet, if you catch me staring and the ground, shuffling my feet and saying “Aw, shucks” when you ask about what Crackerjack Online Marketing can do for you, give me a sharp poke in the side and tell me to buck up!