How to successfully sell your expertise?

How to sell your expertise? We all reach a point in our career where we start to question our experience or expertise. You may have been asked if you could do someone a favor and "watch something." Or maybe someone even asked if they could pay you for a counseling session.

Regardless of your expertise, chances are you've felt compelled at one time or another to provide consulting services.

Selling one's expertise is a process that begins with the intention, the decision to focus on a specific niche or market by offering one's talents, skills and knowledge there. It's not just about picking a specific market and saying " I will be an expert on this ».

It's really about finding your “why” – that axis between what you're really good at and your passion. We've often heard people say, "I can only sell what I believe in." So what do you believe in yourself?

But first, I would like to introduce you to this premium training that gives you skills.tips for business success.

Let's go

Because the process of establishing yourself as an expert begins with believing that you are so good at something that others will want the expertise you have to improve themselves or their organization.

Here are the steps to define, establish and sell your expertise

1. Identify your expertise, geographic market

If you went to school to study a specific area of ​​interest like finance, then you could say you're an expert in that area. You could also say you're an expert if you've worked in a specific profession for a certain amount of time.

However, in most professions, there are more defining aspects of expertise. In the world finances, for example, you may be good at many things, but you might be exceptional at personal finance.

So start here:

• What are the three to five specialties of your profession in which you excel? Finance de Demain for example excels in Finance and E-business. And you ?
• Of these, do you know a specific area or practice better than your peers? This is about identifying a competitive and distinctive skill that you have and that your competitors do not.

After identifying your expertise, you need to identify your geographic market. Expertise can transcend geographic markets. For example, if you are a corporate financier who is an expert in online businesses, that is expertise that can be sought just about anywhere in the world.

However, you can choose to be an expert serving a specific area. Furthermore, identify your experiential expertise. Not all skills are acquired by following the traditional script of going to college.

Others, on the other hand, are acquired over time and the nature of the problems you encounter in your career. It is therefore an asset for you.

2. Share your expertise first

Anyone who wants to sell their expertise must first share it. In fact, another aspect of being respected as an expert is your openness to sharing your knowledge and wisdom. There are many people who we would consider experts, but who are not. Why? Quite simply because they hold back their knowledge and/or refuse to collaborate with others.

The whole point of seeking to position yourself as an expert is your desire to be a leader in your field. It means leading by bringing others together to continue advancing the pool of knowledge in the field. In other words, the experts give.

They create value in their area of ​​expertise by seeking out others (not just new clients) to share their wisdom and ideas. They don't just think about today, but about the legacy they want to leave for the next generation.

Finance de Demain shares his experiences and knowledge, as you see from his blog posts. All this for free.

3. Build social credibility

The third thing to do if you want to sell your expertise is to build a good reputation. To be recognized as an expert, you must have social credibility (or social proof). This credibility is authoritative to your personal brand that is recognized by your peers, customers and other influencers.

This may vary depending on your profession or area of ​​expertise. For a corporate lawyer, social credit can be earned by representing blue chip clients or by having litigated a high profile case. In other professions, it may be to obtain an MBA or a doctorate.

For advertising professionals, it could mean winning a major advertising award for an advertising campaign. If you're a political adviser, that often requires working on a major political campaign.

With the same idea, Finance de Demain is a team of teachers and professionals who have proven themselves.

Look carefully how other experts in your field gained the credibility they needed to speak as an authority figure.

4. Identify other experts in your field or market

On the spectrum of experts are those who are well known, those who are not. There are also many intermediaries. So, identify your position among the existing experts and start nurturing relationships with them.

While you may compete with some of these people for clients or in thought leadership, the reality is that you and other experts in your field all have something in common.

It's about desire advance your profession or your industry. And that means collaborating, sharing information and setting new standards.

5. Build a trading platform

To better sell your expertise, standing out is a decisive turning point. With so many experts, you have to stand out from the pack. How? By developing a unique point of view, or a platform from which you express your expertise.

You can create a website for your business or have a well referenced local. The first option is the best because it opens you up to the whole world. You can also use social networks to build your business because these networks significantly improve the visibility of your business. Think about it.

You also need to take a close look at your industry or profession. To do this, you must provide answers to the following questions:

• What do you see that no one else sees?
• Do you notice patterns?
• What would you change if you had the power, influence and resources?
• Where is the danger lurking?
• Should the alarms be sounded?

Take the time to literally write down your views and compare them to what other experts are saying. If you need to, do your own research to validate your thinking and unique approach to your field.

6. Speak your mind

Being able to sell your expertise easily means first being able to express your thoughts. After building a platform and defining your working method, express yourself. Use your platform to interact with your existing and potential customers and your peers.

One of the easiest places to start doing this is through LinkedIn, which allows users to post articles through LinkedIn Pulse.

Also think about publishing articles on your company's blog, or on your social networks. Use for example the facebook shop to present and sell your products or services.

Please note: Don't confuse being recognized as an expert with the modern definition to be an influencer (someone with a large social media following). You can be a highly sought-after expert without a huge number of social media followers.

7. Write and publish a book or article: a very powerful way to sell your expertise

Many experts write and publish books to solidify their expertise while building their marketing platform. Being an author and having a book to your credit is still seen as a strong sign of social credibility.

Article to read: How to become an excellent business consultant?

A book allows you to assert your expertise while creating a content base that can be broken down into other types of content (videos, articles, white papers), which can be used to attract new fans.

Additionally, a book provides the opportunity to generate editorial coverage, speaking engagements, and social media posts.

8. Build a community

As you become known, loved and trusted for your expertise, you will create your own community of followers, with whom you can communicate directly via “owned” media.

To speed up this process, focus your efforts on building an email distribution list of people who want to receive news and information directly from you (as opposed to a third party).

Start by creating a short list of people with whom you have business relationships. Share articles or videos created by yourself that you think can bring value to your prospects.

Eventually, this list can become an official email list that you can use for an email newsletter. Building a blog is also an effective way to keep in touch with your fans. Share with them free content on important issues and topics.

9. Develop Service Offerings and Payment Plan

Once you've built a community, craft service offerings that make sense. Set a reasonable price for your services based on what you intend to do. If you help businesses reach six figures in their first six months, it's reasonable to charge a higher price than if you're "just helping businesses quickly become profitable ».

Telling potential customers the exact sales growth percentages helps them understand the full picture of their investment in you and what it will reward them with.

Next, determine whether you will offer advice on a Mandate or just on one-off sessions. Both serve different purposes. If you have a brand strategy for startups, maybe it will just be an immersive 2 hour meeting at a fixed price.

But, if you're helping with a longer-term strategy and going into the trenches with them, a warrant would be more appropriate. Consulting services are generally paid on retainer.

10. Create materials promoting your consulting business

To sell your expertise well, the emphasis must be on promotion. Create documents that clearly explain what you intend to do. In short, clearly present what your consulting mission consists of.

This includes hours spent in meetings, materials included, and what the potential client can expect to learn and get from you. The more specific you can be, the better. Be sure to write about their weak points and lean heavily on past experiences for credibility.

Then, Finance de Demain recommends marketing through a blog, newsletter and small website. Create more succinct versions of your sales script, like short paragraphs that can be used as a bio on blogs or in the section " about " of a newsletter.

You can also run sales catalogs to promote your services.

11. Engage in content marketing.

The final step to selling your expertise is to engage in content marketing. The content of your posts should be related to what you are viewing.

This type of content is often referred to as " premium content and give potential clients a taste of your style and ideas, building trust. They need to be able to see your obvious expertise in order to want to hire you. Ok, you understood correctly, publish only what you master.

Article to read: Advice to improve the conversion rate on my e-shop?

Do you offer advice on social media? Post a few social media tips a week. Over time, it will start to match your brand and appeal to your audience.

If you feel like you're running out of content, Finance de Demain recommends asking your audience what they're struggling with. The more you can begin to solve their problems, the more they will see you as their leader or their " Saviour ".

Over time, as you continue to attract clients and help them, you will have enough case studies and digital evidence to grow your consulting business beyond a side business.

In summary…

Building your expertise is the first step on a long journey involving building your personal brand. It is the very foundation of your personal brand. It is the building blocks, so to speak – that will help you attract and retain more people.

Thereafter these people will trust you for your reflection and your wisdom. They will also be ready to share this reflection with their network.

Do you have something to share and a way to help entrepreneurs or businesses? Come out and show them!

However, here is a training that allows you to have an explosive conversion rate on your online store. This is an affiliate link. Do you have a concern about this content? Leave us a comment and we will be happy to answer.