Declare Yourself the Expert
February 11th, 2010
Are you waiting for permission to be considered the expert in your field? Are you lingering at one level, waiting for someone’s approval to move on to that expert status?
Good things do not always come to those who wait. You need to stop waiting for permission and approval. No one is going to come along and deem you the expert or hand you an award. This is something that you must step up and claim.
Only when you have the guts to step up and claim it, will you be thinking and acting like a winner.
When I began my first business, at 26 years old, I had no track record. I had no past clients and no success stories to talk about. I had no marketing experience, and no budget.
I basically had every possible disadvantage.
The one thing I did have was alot of enthusiasm and a very positive mindset about what I was doing. I started positioning myself and calling myself an expert – long before anybody else came along and awarded me that title.
To think and act like a winner, you need to keep your focus on where you’re heading, not where you’re starting from.
Many people get crippled by this. Don’t be one of them. Don’t get caught up in this cycle of looking for some type of approval or permission that will suddenly make you step up and be the expert.
Once I chose to define myself as a cold-calling expert, I started acting like one and before too long, I did indeed become one. I was honest about it; not arrogant and thinking I knew it all. I brushed up my skills and learned the things I needed to in order to claim my expertise.
The same holds true for my friend, Carrie Wilkerson, who has an absolutely huge following on Twitter. A big part of how she gathered that following was that she just acted like the expert. Before long, people started treating her like the expert and inviting her to speak at events.
A lot of people call her “the overnight expert” because she went from zero to a million dollars in less than 12 months.
You have that ability too. The thing that you need, first and foremost, is a positive mindset. You need to be confident enough in your skills and your knowledge to step out in front and make yourself known.
You also need to be astute enough to research and master all of the things that your area of expertise requires. Make a list of exactly what an expert in your field needs to know in order to be considered “the expert.” You probably have all of those qualities and requirements already. If you don’t, you will at least know what you need to do or improve upon to claim the role.
Once you know that you have what you need, you can begin to act the part of expert. Then you can pass on all of that expertise to your clients.
Bernadette Doyle is a small business marketing expert. Get more tips and advice at http://www.clientmagnets.com
Posted in Business Plans, Business Success, Internet Business, Marketing, Motivation, Niche Marketing, Online Marketing, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets, Words Of Inspiration | 
Tags: Magnetism, Marketing, Motivation, Networking, niche, Personal Productivity, Success Secrets, targeted marketing, Words Of Inspiration
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by GinaAtPPG: RT @bernadettedoyle: Newest blog article – Declare Yourself the Expert http://bit.ly/9smiIR…
This is a great post, and speaks to a realization that I myself had only recently: that an expert doesn’t have to know everything, just more than whomever they’re advising. The “E”- word still carries a lot of weight these days, but I absolutely agree that you have to have the confidence to claim it.
Hi Bernadette, Interesting post as I was just going through this exercise. With 18 years experience and two publicity businesses, I know I’m a PR expert
but I’ve noticed on social networks for example that everyone is calling themselves an expert or a guru and so the community seems to be veering away from this term. It seems okay if other people call you an expert, but we can’t give ourselves permission to call ourselves experts or people just roll their eyes…
There have been too many “experts” who can’t seem to deliver on their promise and therefore the term doesn’t carry as much weight. Some other terms I’ve come across are “strategist”, “enthusiast” or “professional” – they each carry a different connotation. What do you think of those?
Thanks for the permission and encouragement
Elena
Such a great post here. I’m 26 now and just started a new job that involves marketing. With no history in marketing, I pretty much had to force myself to learn all the tricks of the trade and mingle with new people I never would have greeted before. Though I’m a newbie by all means, I’ve taken to this process like a natural as have gotten our site reviewed on several major sites already.
Hi Elena:
Yes, the terms you listed are certainly great alternatives. In coaching my clients, I aspire to give them confidence. Only when they believe in their expertise and experience will they step up and reach expert status. Of course, this would include elevating their selves to expert status through training and a lot of work and effort. Thank you for your input.
Bernadette
Hi Bernadette,
Brilliant post, one to read again and again. Since joining your ‘Stepping Up’ program, I’ve been fundamentally rethinking my offer – effectively starting over. At 60+ it’s so easy to be aware of all the ‘expertise’ around one and to overlook ones own. I so love your phrase “to think and act like an expert you need to keep your focus on where you are heading, not on where you’re starting from.”
I take extra inspiration that there’s a lot of expert in EXPERience.
Thanks for the inspiration
Tony