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Home » Business And Finance Articles » What Makes You An Expert Anyway

What Makes You An Expert Anyway?

A few months ago, my husband wanted to learn more about using real estate to build our wealth. So, he hopped on our computer, visited web sites, looked at discussion boards, and scanned newsletters to see who the real experts were. After asking around and doing some research, he was impressed with William Bronchick and John T. Reed's for their advice and strategies. On the other hand, while there is a lot of hype about Robert Kiyosaki, when it came right down to it, people said his information was mostly inspirational and lacked practical strategies. So after getting a better sense of who the real experts were, he was off to get some books and start building our family fortune.

Have you bought any good books lately? If so, what inspired you to buy the book? Chances are that you didn't just browse around in a bookstore and buy a book on the spot. I'll bet that there were a lot of exposures that went into you deciding to make that purchase. You may have read about the book in a newsletter. Perhaps you saw the author on a television show. Much of our decision purchases come down to one decision: does the author have real credibility?

The same is when speaker's bureaus and corporations want to hire speakers. Let's face it, meeting planners want to look good.

Budgets are tight. They want an expert who delivers measurable results.

No one will risk hiring you unless you have a proven reputation and the credentials to back it up.

This puts authors and speakers in a defensive position. With so many consultants, authors, and speakers claiming to be gurus, how can you prove that you are the expert you say you are?

Here are three ways to you showcase your expertise and be irresistible.

=> METRICS: Personal brand metrics provide a yardstick from which prospects can measure your experience and expertise. Examples of metrics include the number of years of experience you have, number of interviews done, number of books sold, and other items. These numbers add instant credibility to your bio, media platform and other marketing materials.

=> ROI: A listing of results achieved for clients shows that what you preach brings measurable results for real people. You can feature work with one of your clients in a case study with before and after results. By showing that you have made a $10,000 difference to their bottom line, helped them realize a 25% increase in sales, or tripled their web site traffic, anyone can see that you deliver proven results.

=> TESTIMONIALS. While people may doubt when we toot our own horn, they will readily believe a heartfelt recommendation. Collect and showcase testimonials from customers you have worked with, people who have read your book, and audience members who have seen you speak.

Letters from radio show hosts will position you as a good guest in the eyes of producers. Glowing words of praise from people who hired you to speak can go a long way to show potential decision makers that deliver one heck of a presentation. Post book reviews from the media on your web site. Or why not use your customer's own spoken word as a recording on your web site?

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Can You Make Money Without Money?

When I ask why you don't start your own business, I always hear, "I don't have money to start a business."

This is a common excuse people give for not starting their own business.

There is truth in the statement. You actually need money to make money or to start a business. But the question is "Do you need a lot of money or little to start a business?" and "Whose money do you use?"

Yes, I admit that it does take money to make money but it doesn't need to be your money!

Recently, one of my friends closed his restaurant business due to staff problems. But he quickly jumped to another business opportunity.

The business idea is so good that I want to share with you.

He is now running a training company. He focuses on corporate training. Basically, what he needs to do is to bring in famous trainers to his workshops. Market and promote the workshops and get people sign up for the workshops.

How much money do you think he needs to invest to organize one workshop? From getting the speaker to marketing, from selling tickets to renting a venue?

It will definitely cost a lot of money! Even if you only talk about marketing.

You know how much money my friend put in to organize a workshop? Close to zero!

How could that happen? How on earth that he doesn't use his own money to organize a workshop but all the profits go into his pocket...

Here is how.

He got the idea to look for sponsors for his workshop. After a few rounds of searching and corresponding, he managed to get big companies to be the sponsors for his workshop.

For companies to become my friend's sponsors, they need to contribute money to promote the workshop. This single idea helps my friend to save hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing.

Not only that, his sponsors also help him to market and sell tickets for his workshops. He also can leverage on the sponsors' client databases.

Of course, my friend doesn't mind to give some commissions to the sponsors from the sales of tickets. It's only a small fraction of the whole profit.

By making such an arrangement, a lot of work is off-loaded from my friend. It's like having a well-oiled machine working for you without much of your involvement.

My friend doesn't need to invest a big sum of money for his workshops. Someone else will pay for his workshop expenses.

Does this sound like an excellent business idea? Of course, it does.

This is what I call ideas at work. Making money does not necessarily require huge capital, it's all about coming up with ideas that other people are willing to invest in.

As Napoleon Hill once said, "One sound idea is all that you need to achieve success." And also stressed by Robert Kiyosaki "Money is an idea."