How to Rock Your Expertise!
March 4, 2010 by Sophfronia Scott · Leave a Comment
By Sophfronia Scott
Are you an expert? Yes! In what? You tell me. We’re all experts at something. You gain your expertise in one of two ways: doing a thing or studying it. I’m an expert in writing and publishing books because I’ve done it. My clients are experts in marketing, motivation, cooking, feng shui, and dealing with credit because this is what they do in their businesses every day. I can also say I’m something of an expert in the Beatles, cooking, potty training, gardening, yoga and road cycling because I’ve done or studied all of these things.
Having the expertise is important–you have to be able to walk your talk and pony up the goods when the opportunity presents itself. But here’s the rub: the opportunity comes from how you make your expertise known.
Wielding Your Expertise
You see, having authority is kind of a double-edged sword. People like to defer to people who have it, but if you’re perceived as a know-it-all who can’t or isn’t willing to share or teach for the benefit of others, then people (and by that I mean customers or clients) aren’t interested in being around you.
Former Vice President Al Gore is a perfect example. During his ill-fated run for the White House in 2000, he took a lot of flak in the debates for coming off as smug and condescending. Fast forward to 2006-2007, when Mr. Gore began putting his brains to use for the good of our environment. He filmed An Inconvenient Truth and suddenly people started seeing him as the kindly yet kingly professor who was compassionately letting us know we were headed for a world of trouble with the global warming stuff. They were even begging him to run for president again!
How can you demonstrate that you are willing to teach and share your expertise? With a book! When you craft a book, you seek to solve a big problem for the reader. You instantly start from a position of wanting to help, and that’s the first place where the reader will connect with you.
You start out by clearly outlining the problem and how it may be negatively affecting the reader. You let him or her know you have experience with the problem either from your own life or working with your clients. Then lay out your solution in whatever way you see as the best.
Don’t worry if it seems like you’re giving it all away. When people have a good experience they usually want more. In your case, they may want to hire you or come to a workshop so they can meet you in person. In fact some authors, like Dan Kennedy, encourage this by giving away free seminar tickets in their books.
What to Do With That Power
© 2010 Sophfronia Scott
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"Sophfronia, you were instrumental in bringing my book from my head onto actual paper. I will never forget that. I couldn't have written the book without you! Thanks for hanging in there when the ideas were stuck in mud and I was resistant. You rock!"--Pamela Slim, author, 
"Sophfronia Scott was a lifesaver. Without her guidance my book would never have been published. She edited my book with the expert eye of a real pro who knew how important my book was for building my business. The media is excited about my book and Don't Ever Call Me Ma'am is helping me get speaking engagements, and is building a buzz around my workshops and seminars. These days having a book is a business essential."--Linda Franklin, author, 
"I was ecstatic when I found out I could hire Sophfronia to help me write my first book. Knowing her hard work ethic, creative thought process and structured approach, I knew this was the company I should partner with in this effort. I am very pleased with the results!"--Steve Gavatorta, author, 
