How to be seen as the expert

End of the rainbow. Bristol 28th Feb 2020. Sharon Tanton.

How do you shine brightly in a crowded landscape?

If you’re in the knowledge business - selling your ideas and experience rather than products - then you’ll understand how important is is to develop a strong reputation.

Being the go-to expert in your particular field makes for smoother sales conversations, it means you can charge what you’re worth, and it makes you much easier to refer.

He’s your man if you need help with overcoming stage fright so you can step into your leadership role at the conference.

They’re the team to speak to if you want help with people-centred change in large organisations.

She’ll help you lose weight and keep it off without missing out on life.

They’re the ones who’ll help you sort your SEO and keep your sanity.

Specialise to stand out

If you want to speak out clearly to a big handful of perfect clients, then you’ll be relying on your unique blend of experiences and expertise to create the story that will lead them towards you.

But one thing’s for sure. You can’t be the expert in everything. Being an expert means specialising in one area, developing knowledge and experience ‘an inch wide and a mile deep’.

Being seen as the expert is a two part process. The first part is defining your niche. In content marketing terms, your sweet spot is the exact area of your business’s expertise. It’s the thing that you are uniquely positioned to talk about. The thing that you know better than anyone else. 

It can be tricky to define this sweet spot, and scary too. It means saying no to work and clients that aren’t exactly right. But those ‘no’s free up time for opportunities that will strengthen your business. 

Uncover your sweet spot

If you’re really stuck, then start with ‘what’s the work that makes me happiest and pays the best?’ What work makes you feel most fulfilled? Think of the kind of work you do when you’re really in your zone, when time flies and you’re fully engaged. Your sweet spot is sure to be close by.

Or flip it, and look at it from your customer’s perspective. What’s the biggest and most meaningful challenge that you help your customers overcome? Is there a problem that you can help your clients overcome better than anyone else? What answers and solutions do you hold that can transform something for your ideal clients? That’s your sweet spot.

Get found, liked and trusted

So defining your area of expertise is the first stage to being recognised as the expert. The second part is the being seen bit. How do you get the right clients to find you? And then how do you get people to know, like and trust your expertise? 

Clear positioning and a good story is the basis for getting seen. Create content that explores your expert niche and share it generously. Provide the answers to the questions your ideal clients are searching for.  Consistency matters here, because it’s the accumulation of useful, client centred, valuable content that will live online and secure your reputation as an expert. (There’s more on the importance of consistency here)

Own the conversation

A couple of questions to help you think about your expert content.  Once you’ve nailed your sweet spot it’s helpful to think about the main topics of conversations that you’d like to have over the coming six months or so. These topics can guide the content you’ll create. 

1. If you gave a TED Talk, what would its title be?
2. If you wrote a book, what sections or chapters would you include?
3. If you divided your blog into categories, which 5 or 6 would you choose? 
4. If you were asked to deliver a presentation about your business, what would be on the first three slides?

And if you haven’t done so already, invest in some client research. An in depth understanding of your ideal clients’ challenge will give you a rich supply of content ideas, perfect for positioning you as the go-to expert. There's a quick recap of the value of listening for business development here.

Cheesy final paragraph that makes sense of the image

So if you want to shine in a crowded landscape, define your sweet spot. Know what’s in your pot of gold.

Then paint your story in rainbow technicolour, so that everything points your way and illuminates the one thing that you do best. Let the right people see you.

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