How To Demonstrate Trust And Credibility RUNNING A BUSINESS And Position Yourself As An Expert

In business, I must say i believe it's the perception that counts most: it's one thing to state you are an expert in your field, an authority, an expert; however it is a lot more vital that you demonstrate and articulate this. For instance, if I was to, say, visit your website; is it very clear you know your industry, sector or niche? Perception is reality. Or to be more exact, perception in the eyes of one's prospect is reality.

You will always be judged first hand on what you present you to ultimately your audience. From your business cards, to your internet site, to the way you dress, from the language you utilize. Even down to the price you charge. Your prospect will always make assumptions, and for that reason that is why the way you are perceived is indeed critical to your success.

So let's now explore some methods to portray yourself being an expert in your industry, sector or niche.

Firstly I'd urge anyone, in any industry to get into the habit of writing. Or even more importantly to write and discuss your undertake a particular issue or challenge your prospect faces.

We all prefer to deal with experts inside our industry, and therefore when you can into the habit of authoring specific reports, guides, whitepapers etc then you will be way prior to the competition.

The emphasis here is to write in regards to a topic your prospect is interested in. Let's take a very simple example. Say you're an accountant looking to posture yourself as an expert in your field. You'll avoid dry subjects such as Corporation tax, VAT etc, however you should discuss the 10 ways that your clients could decrease their goverment tax bill. Same information, only articulated in such a way that it means something to your audience.

I'd also go one step further. Stay away from a a couple of page list of guidelines, but produce material of stand-alone value i.e. light on the sales page, but heavy on education. I'm an enormous believer in the idea of 'educating first, sell second'. Actually by educating your audience you automatically position yourself as a credible authority and thereby sell your organization. There is a computerized association with you, from the breadth and depth of knowledge provided.

So in the first place choose a topic that you know would appeal to your potential client. If you are stuck for ideas look at your industry press, look at what the commentators are saying; visit their blogs, or websites. What themes keep coming up? Or what currently in your sector may be the hot topic for debate?

Or idea might be to re-purpose or re-fashion some material you have already out together. For instance, would you fashion together a written report or guide from some articles you had written during the past. Or if you give a newsletter would you collate these as a series and create a short guide or report.

The key here's to provide some form of education to your audience.

If you're still struggling for ideas, then do that. Take a subject material that you know will resonate with your audience. Then give this topic a number i.e. "The 5 Ways To Overcome..." or "The 7 Challenges Faced By Every..." or "The 5 Secrets That Every XXX OUGHT TO KNOW...". You not only have a compelling title, you also have (in this example) five sub topics to build up and discuss.

Writing shouldn't be viewed as a thing that you almost need to force you to ultimately d, but viewed as something that can be an important part of your positioning arsenal.

Okay, now for the ultimate positioning tool. Write a book. Yes, to be able to be seen as an ultimate expert in your field, then write that book! Now this won't mean you should take six months out to create a 300 page tome. But a good 50-100 page, bound, guide offer a mountain of credibility. When you say you're an author, you'll always assume a computerized authority.

Now let me be clear, you won't get rich writing a book. Well, it could be great in the event that you did - however this is not the purpose. It's the perception being an author of a book gives you. You can find hundreds upon a huge selection of business books published each year, and I guarantee this; whilst they won't all become big sellers, the authors will all be regarded as experts in their field.

Similarly, you don't need to find a publisher. Once you have written your manuscript obtain it self-published, or find a company that may print on demand. Again, I don't anticipate that you will make a fortune out of this, but you will from the credibility you get. It did wonders for my client, and if you put in enough time, effort and energy as she did, then it will do wonders for you personally.

I touched upon this briefly earlier, but additionally look for ways that it is possible to demonstrate your expertise through different mediums. This is also important, as different mediums might appeal more to different sectors of the market. For example, would you record a brief audio on a topic that would interest your industry. Or, perhaps you could record yourself being interviewed. Then you might use this interview as a lead-generation tool.

Similarly, perhaps you could video yourself giving a presentation, or record yourself delivering some training. Again, none of the has to be expensive. With vast advances in technology, you don't have to spend thousands doing this, and nor do you wish to.

Consider I visit your website and I can download a brief guide, or series of guides. There exists a interview you have recorded that discusses ways of overcoming some of the key challenges your prospect faces. Again, as a visitor I would not necessarily read, download or listen to everything, however it's the perception that you demonstrate. Compare this to a 'traditional' website in your field, that is simply full of copy centered on you as well as your business. Which of these two examples, clearly demonstrates expert status, and so who do you think I'm more likely to wish to accomplish business with?

Andrew Ludlam is the owner of Maverick Marketing Consultancy, and is recognised as a respected expert on advanced marketing strategy and tactics. As a marketing consultant, trainer and author, he's got advised many hundreds of business owners one-to-one, and much more have attended his private training programmes. Andrew also publishes a fortnightly newsletter which has some 2,000 subscribers.