How To Establish Yourself As The Obvious Choice To Do Business With

By Craig Valine

I am a huge advocate of anyone who has specialized skills or knowledge in establishing themselves as an expert or authority of their expertise.

People like us, who have skills or knowledge to share, should not be marketing ourselves like every other "Tom, Dick, & Harry". We should be sharing our expertise in ways that have people requesting our help, rather than having to chase clients to request they do business with us.

When I started out as a 'struggling consultant', it took me a long time to figure out. It's not that traditional methods of marketing don't work (like advertising, direct mail, etc.), but other methods work 5x's, 10x's, and sometimes 100x's more effectively than their counterparts.

In a study shared by the now deceased "Consultant to Consultants", Howard Shenson, it showed that the most successful and highly paid consultants in the country were those who 'shared their expertise' in the form of articles, publicity, books, audios, speaking, etc.

Look at it as a form of "sampling", if you will. When prospects get to sample your product, and they like it, they are more likely to seek you out.

On the other hand, the lower paid consultants around the country were those who depended on traditional means of marketing, such as advertising, direct mail, flyers, etc. What is perceived to be the problem here (by me) is that if you are touting yourself to be a high priced alternative to a clients problem, then why are you 'peddling' for new business?

It's just a perception. But, if you want to be perceived as an expert, you have to market yourself like an expert.

How do we 'know' someone's an expert?


* They've written articles in publications we read


* They've written one or more books on a subject we're interested in


* They speak at groups or associations we're a member of


* They're interviewed on the evening news or written up in the local newspaper


And, these are just a few things that help create 'expert' status.


With so many people doing what you do, isn't it important to set yourself apart from the rest? And, if you're going to set yourself apart from the rest, wouldn't it be good to establish yourself as "the" expert in your industry?

I think so.


How do you get started? Well, write an article. Then, write another. And, another. And, another!

Put them on your website. Share them with 'article submission sites' online. Place them in other people's newsletters. Share your expertise and have people seek you out to do business with you.

If you think you don't know how to write an article, it's really quite easy. I didn't really have any idea on how to do it until I researched it a bit, and then I figured it out.

I recommend "The 30-Minute Article Writing System' by Melanie Mendelson. It's a simple to learn 27-page course with audio to guide you. It also includes about 100 different sites online that you can submit your articles to start driving traffic to your website, or to get your phone ringing.

Remember, in any business it's important to set yourself apart from your competition. But, in selling your specialized knowledge or skills, it's even more important to let people know YOU are the expert and authority on the subject. Let them know by giving them a 'sample' of what you know.

By the way, to see how I've used this strategy, go to Google and type in quotes, "Craig Valine", and see how many sites have my articles on them around the world. You may see articles I wrote back in 2001 with my old website 'AwfulMarketing.com'. But, people I've done business with have used this credibility tool to hire me.

It works. And, I hope you'll take advantage of it.

About the Author: Craig Valine is a Marketing Performance Coach who helps Independent Consultants, Coaches, and Solo-Professionals (anyone who sells their specialized skills or knowledge) position themselves as 'the authority' in their highly targeted niche markets. To subscribe to his FREE 'Marketing YOUniquely' eNewsletter, visit http://www.craigvaline.com/?EA

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Craig_Valine

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