How to become a recognised expert — known for your ideas, talents and whom clients proactively seek out
@eliotkellyofficial
The only answer in an increasingly competitive marketplace is to become a recognised expert.
But how?
I began researching, more than a decade ago, why some aspiring entrepreneurs were successful and why some are not. As it turns out, successful entrepreneurs focus on four key areas which help them to gain what author, Jeff Olson, calls the slight edge. In this article I will examine those four key areas with a view to teaching you how to become someone who is known for your ideas and talent and someone clients proactively seek out.
One thing I have learned is that you must avoid, at all costs, becoming a commodity. To help you avoid this, I created the CANS framework for becoming an authority in your field. Here are the four key areas successful entrepreneurs are intentional about and don’t leave to chance: Content Creation, Attitude, Networking and Social Proof.
Content Creation
In 1995, Robert Cringley interviewed Steve Jobs for the PBS documentary The Triumph of The Nerds. Jobs reflected on the difference between generating big ideas and bringing them to life in a valuable way.
“There’s just a tremendous amount of craftmanship in between a great idea and a great product.” - Steve Jobs
To establish and activate your content creation capabilities, ask, and answer these three questions:
1. Who will create/contribute to the content?
2. How will your creative efforts align with strategic business and marketing goals?
3. How will you craft compelling stories that your audience will love?
What works for one person or organisation, may create varied results for another person or organisation. For best results, consider the nature of your business. Will your content require specialised knowledge or subject matter expertise? Identify and study your competition. How will you create content that is different from what your competitors publish? Create an adjust budgets and resources as you grow. Which resources make the most of the budget and people you work with?
Find your unique approach to content creation and distribution. Differentiate the content you create. Find a niche you can cover better than anyone else. By focusing your creative resources around one speciality, you eliminate the paralysis that comes from trying to be all things to all people. Learning to create better content simply requires showing up every day and practicing your craft.
Attitude
Your attitude will determine your altitude. The latest research indicates that attitude is a better predictor of success that IQ, grade point average, or almost any other factor you can think of.
The ABCs of Attitude
Every attitude has three components that are represented in what is called the ABC model of attitudes: A for Affective, B for Behavioural and C for Cognitive. Although every attitude has three components, any attitude can be based on one component more than another. (Augoustinos, M., Walker, I., & Donaghue, N. 2014)
In his book, Learned Optimism, Dr. Martin Seligman proved that negative people get sick more often, are divorced more frequently, and raise kids who get in more trouble.
Dr. Seligman even found that negative people make less money. One long-term study of 1500 people, Group A of 83% of the people took their jobs because they believed they could make lots of money. Only 17% of them — or Group B — took their jobs because they happened to love their jobs.
Twenty years later, the two groups had produced 101 millionaires. The amazing thing is, only one of those millionaires came from Group A, but 100 of them came from Group B. That is significant.
Even more amazing, over 70% of those millionaires never went to college, and over 70% of those who became CEOs graduated in the bottom half of their class. Seligman concluded that it was their attitude, more than their aptitude, which determined their altitude, that is why my keynote and seminar on The Cost Of Success is so popular and powerful. People not only learn the importance of the ABCs of attitude, but also the little attitude steps they can take to get the results they want.
Networking
Networking helps you to open doors and keep them open. Individuals that seek publicity or to be recognised as an expert in their field, for business or for politics or even fame, leverage more by networking.
Oxford dictionary defines networking as the “action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.” People quickly notice others that have strong capability to make them relevant. Creating room for partnership builds careers and businesses.
Networking builds self-confidence. Networking is a growth tool. The more effectively you network, the more self-confidence you will grow over time. One of the pivotal moments during my personal development journey as it relates to networking, took place after reading and applying what I learned in the book, The Greatest Networker In The World. Author John Milton Fogg helped me to understand that networking is not just about what you can get from people, but places emphasis on what value you can provide and add to others. Fogg suggests that we “give people what they want; provide them the level of support and give them the time and attention that is appropriate for where they are and what they want to accomplish.
Networking is a two-way process of giving and taking that will open the door for firmer relationships.
Social Proof
In my Cost Of Success keynote and seminars, you can learn: how to prepare your brand for press and marketing opportunities, gain strategy by learning how to play the media success game (even if you are not a celebrity or public figure with tons of social clout) and the exact blueprint for raising the profile of your publicity efforts so that you get the media attention you need to expand.
What is social proof, and why is it important to become a recognised expert in your field?
Social proof is based on the idea of normative social influence, which states that people will conform to be liked by, similar to, or accepted by the influencer (or society). Essentially, it is borrowing third-party influence to sway potential customers. In a recent interview I had with American author, Seth Godin, he shared the importance of establishing connections with like-minded individuals (You can watch the full interview on my YouTube channel — Eliot Kelly TV). In one of Godin’s best-selling books, This Is Marketing, Godin suggests that we can’t be seen until we learn to see. By associating with the leaders in our field, we can observe best practices, be inspired, raise our profiles and benefit from the influence of the new reference group.
Now that you know what social proof is, why do you need to incorporate it into your marketing?
The Digital Marketing Institute provides two good reasons why:
· 40% of consumers find new brands to follow online based on recommendations from friends and family
· 91% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase
In a few words: Social proof gets your business more sales. Examples of strategies you can incorporate into your marketing may include case studies, testimonials and reviews, word of mouth, awards and accolades and user-generated content.
Use social proof strategically. General praise for your product or service will not help you convert as well as targeted messaging will. Use social proof to humanise your marketing. There are no absolutes in marketing. Learn which type of social proof aligns with your product or service offering.
Continuous personal and professional development can ensure that you accelerate your journey as an expert or leading authority in your field. Those who achieve this status, maintain this status because they are outstanding at selling and marketing.
The upsides of establishing yourself as the leading authority in your field far outweigh the negative. Once you gain expert status, you will never have to ask people to buy from you again. Use your newfound recognition to build your business and increase your personal wealth. Like Jim Rohn said, “Success is not something you pursue. What you pursue eludes you. Success is something you attract by the person you become.” If we want to have more, we must become more.
What kind of person will you have to become to get all you want?
Eliot Kelly is recognised as a serial Entrepreneur, Business Coach and Mentor and has been featured on CNN, BBC Three’s Be Your Own Boss and an extensive list of magazines and articles. His four books have been translated in over 7 languages and are sold in 29 countries, recently being shortlisted for Best Self-Help and Best Advice Books 2019 by The Author Academy.
info@eliotkelly.co.uk
