Don’t call yourself an expert, even though I know you want to be seen as one. Saying I’m an Expert doesn’t always feel right – whether you have impostor syndrome and don’t think you are worthy of that title [even though you most probably do deserve to be called an Expert], or you fear being seen as being boastful.
The real reason calling yourself an expert doesn’t work, is because we live in a review or reputation economy. People don’t trust what you say about you. Sorry, that is the truth.
Here is what they do trust, according to Neilsen’s Trust in Advertising survey:
Recommendations from friends and family
Online reviews, recommendations and social proof [high number of likes, huge twitter following…]
The media
Not mentioned in the survey, but they also trust: Authors
Don’t Try this Trick at Home
Muhammad Ali called himself The Greatest, before he even believed he was.
It worked for him, but for 99.999999% of us, we would raise some eyebrows and be thought of as many things BUT the greatest.
To communicate that you are an expert to your network – prospects, partners, social media, clients, and even your mom….
Don’t Call Yourself An Expert – Do this:
Display reviews, recommendations, media mentions and testimonials prominently on your website, in your social profiles, in your bio… [More about how to do this effectively in an upcoming post]
Let others do the talking for you. It’s much more effective and believable. And it doesn’t feel braggy or insincere as it does when you call yourself an expert.
Here is what this could look like in person. When asked, “What do you do?” You could respond with something a client has said about you. I might respond as follows:
“My clients call me the ‘Make it Happen Maven’ – I help them get more visibility and authority positioning, and help them become bestselling published authors.”
Not only is it a lot more authentic and in tune with our review economy, it’s a lot more intriguing than saying, “I am an authority marketing and book publishing expert.”
Now, what do you do? Please comment below and let me know!
I’m still inspired a week later……..and can’t wait to share with you some truly great things… A week ago I was attending the Entrepreneur Magazine 360 Conference here in New York City, getting inspiration from successful entrepreneurs.
It was a very energizing day hearing from a variety of entrepreneurs ranging from:
Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas to Daniel Lubetsky founder of Kind Bars, Olympic Skier/NFL player/Philanthropist/Entrepreneur Jeremy Bloom, to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanion.
I was inspired, impressed, validated and educated- I still am, here are some of the highlights and takeaways from the event:
Are you a Visionary or an Operator?
Les McKeon gave a great presentation on the journey a business goes through. He demonstrated why:
“You are either a Visionary or an Operator – you can’t be both.”
Will.i.am was intelligent, innovative, inspired, visionary, awesome…. He hardly spoke about music, and spoke more about his company i.am+ which is going to compete directly with Apple with its wearable tech.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Entrepreneurial ideas come frm fusion = Mixing + inspiration + needs + community.@iamwill ” quote=”Entrepreneurial ideas come from fusion = Mixing + melding inspiration + needs + community.”]
In 2015, everything is going to be wearable and functional. Maybe a jacket instead of a phone.
<<< >>>>
Sometimes you miss major success by 1 Inch
Jeremy Bloom- Olympic skier, NFL football player, philanthropist and entrepreneurs founder of a 100 million dollar company, had a 22 second shot at making Olympic Gold… yet missed by 1 inch. It’s what he did after missing that was so inspiring!
You may have heard the expression Fail Fast. Jeremy gave himself 48 hours to have a pity party. To replay in his mind all the things he could have/should have done differently and then he moved on with his life.
<<< >>>>
Daniel Lubetsky, founder of Kind bars, proves you can be successful and be kind [pun intended]
When you move from a skeptic to an evangelist, nobody can stop you.
There were so many wonderful ideas, inspirations and insights! I hope these examples have inspired you as well.
One more thing… all these entrepreneurs have one major accomplishment in common. Can you guess what it is? Please place your guess in the comments below. The first person to post the answer wins a special prize!
Whenever you have the opportunity to be around and get inspiration from successful entrepreneurs, grab it. As Daniel Lubetsky said, “Entrepreneurs are probably the most fun at a party.”
What all the entrepreneurs who spoke at the Entrepreneur 360 Conference have in common is that they are all authors.
I know I do. I tend to lean towards being polite and professional – call it a bit old fashioned, but that is how I was raised. I have a humorous side that I am trying to let you see more of….. and in real life, I curse sometimes. But you haven’t seen cursing in my marketing.
How would you think of me if I cursed in my marketing? Would it offend you? Would you quickly unsubscribe?
Allow me to digress for a moment. Last week I attended the Entrepreneur Conference – Winning Strategies for Business with a keynote by branding expert Erika Napolitano.
A few of the things Erika said, which I loved, were “Never Apologize for Who You Are” and “I refuse to turn down my ambition because someone else is uncomfortable with the volume.”
Erika elaborated on how being yourself, even it if offends someone, brings you closer to your ideal customers; those who ‘get’ you and love you for exactly who you are.
Who doesn’t want to work with raving fans? Who needs customers who have you walking on egg shells? This really resonates with me, as it’s something I have been conscious of and striving for myself.
During the panel discussion Erika Napolitano, Chris Penn and Laura Fitton offered a lot of smart business insights and tips. There was also some cursing. Did I mind it? No.
It did get me wondering though. Was it necessary? We spent the drive home from the event talking about authenticity in marketing, how much of yourself you should reveal, and whether cursing is professional or even necessary.
I did get the sense that I was seeing Erika, Chris and Laura themselves – not a ‘manufactured for public’ version of themselves. I felt their authenticity, and that they were there with no holds barred and no information held back. It endeared me to them and also added a trust factor.
So cursing may not be for you. I don’t plan to start cursing in my marketing any time soon, however, I am striving to be more fully ME in my communication with you, as if you were sitting in front of me and we are having a conversation.
It’s not that I haven’t been authentic with you, I have. I think my own position about whether to curse in your marketing comes from having a notion that marketing is marketing, and my life is my life, and n’er the twain shall meet.
But life, and marketing aren’t like that. Have you noticed? There are lessons that each can learn from the other… and all business and none of me, doesn’t make it relatable. We want to work with people, and we want to have that “know, like and trust” feeling before deciding to do business with them.
So, feeling empowered about being myself, I was surprised to get a long email from someone who attended my webinar on Wednesday, telling me how I offended her.
I have to say, my initial response was good! I am being more of the Me I want to be in business.
Don’t get me wrong – my goal is not to make people feel uncomfortable or to be offensive just for the sake of being offensive. That would be professional suicide right?
What I had done was to be authentically me on the webinar. I had provoked such a strong reaction that this attendee felt compelled to let me know. This is why it’s a great thing on a few levels:
~ that they shared their feedback – I am sure they feel better, and I value the time they took as well as the information they shared
~ we both now know that we aren’t a fit to work together – that frees us both up to move onto prospects or service providers who are a better fit for each of us
By sorting out those who don’t get you, or are offended, you make room for those who do ‘get you’ and like your style. If you are busy worrying, there won’t be enough business left – you are going down the wrong rabbit hole. There is plenty of business around, made up solely of your raving fans.
To be authentic, I know I don’t need to curse, and neither do you. What you do need to do, for more engagement and deeper client relationships, is be yourself.
As Oscar Wilde said, Be Yourself – Everyone Else is taken.
It’s the best positioning you can have in your business and in your publicity!
How can you be more authentic in your own business and create more know, like and trust with your audience? I’d love to hear your feedback on this.
The great debate amongst business friends of mine is about whether it is better to have a Linkedin network comprised of people that you actually know, or it’s better to have as many connections as possible. I don’t believe we’ll solve that debate today, as it’s a topic that people are pretty passionate about.
With the help of the tagging feature in Linkedin, you can benefit from employing both methodologies jointly. By being able to tag, or label your connections you have the ability to segment them into specific groups; one of which could be your ‘real connections’.
Tagging can be useful beyond segregating those you are personally acquainted with from those who you have not yet met or personally spoken to. It can turn your Linkedin account into a simple CRM system. Consider the following examples of potentially useful tags:
People I have spoken to: If you take the time to connect with and reach out to new people through Linkedin, it can be useful to track who you have spoken to. That way, you can build on the next interaction and deepen the relationship with this connection by referencing your prior communication, and not having to wonder if you had already spoken or risk offending a connection by not remembering your earlier conversation.
Ideal Prospects:
Business development and sales are most effective when you target ideal prospects and make them a priority. Identifying them can help you maximize your time and efforts in knowing which connections you want to spend time getting to know and cultivating relationships with.
Media:
Getting more publicity and visibility is part of your overall strategy – if its not, I probably don’t need to tell you it should be. Journalists, bloggers and folks who are active on social media, are also on Linkedin. This is another great way to not only build a list of media contacts, but to build relationships with them. That way when you have a story to pitch, you’ll have a warm network to offer first dibs on covering it. [tip – date before you propose…… build a relationship before you start to pitch them stories ]
Thought Leaders/Influencers:
You are probably already following some of your industry thought leaders and influencers. I use a tagged list of these connections to remind myself whose activity I want to check up on, so that I don’t miss any of their pearls of wisdom. I also use it when I need an interview subject, speaker, quote or tips for an article or event I am creating.
Interesting Profiles: For business or for fun, profiles that stand out can serve a few purposes; they can be examples of good LinkedIn profiles that grab your attention that you want to bookmark for future reference, or profiles of people you might like to get to know when your time permits.
Are you using tagging for another purpose? Let us know in the comments below
Here is how to get started tagging your Linkedin connections:
Related Post: 5 Ways to Promote Yourself That Don’t Feel Icky
