4 Ways To Become A Recognized Expert

by Mark Satterfield, author of “The One Week Marketing Plan: The Set It & Forget It Approach for Quickly Growing Your Business“

Being a recognized expert is one of the best ways to promote your brand or your business.  It isn’t terribly difficult, if you follow a well-tread process.

1. Have an opinion.

Most people would rather go with the flow. Not stand out. They’ll repeat what they hear or what they read. But they won’t take a stand or voice an opinion.

If you want to become one of the recognized experts in your field, you need to have a soapbox – a platform from which you speak or write. So what do you believe in? What are the beliefs that others have about your area of expertise, that are full of hooey? If you know that, then you are well on your way.

2. Write or produce materials.

If you’re going to be an expert, you need to get the message out. Which means that you need to commit to producing materials. You don’t have to send out something every single day, but you need to produce a least one or two blog posts each and every week. Experts communicate, and they love doing so. If you hate to write, you can create narrated PowerPoint or Keynote presentations. Lots of people find that format easier. We’re a society that watches a lot of stuff, but aren’t necessarily readers. Don’t let your uncomfortableness with writing hold you back from getting your message out consistently.

3. Master social media.

I resisted a lot of the tools in the social media arsenal. Part of it was my belief that none of my clients were on the platforms, but truth be told, it was more of a lack of recognition about how social media really works, and the power it has for building brands and anointing experts. If you don’t want to learn it yourself, outsource the work to others, but embrace it – it isn’t going away.

4. Stick with it.

Not surprisingly, if you ask most entrepreneurs whether they would like to be a recognized expert in their field, the overwhelming majority will say “yes”. But, there’s something that’s unsaid. The “yes” really means, “yes as long as it doesn’t take too much time or hard work.” The reality is that if something doesn’t occur quickly, most people lose interest. But while becoming a recognized expert in your field isn’t necessary difficult, it does take time, and you have to want it.

Mark Satterfield is the founder and CEO of Gentle Rain Marketing, Inc.  He specializes in working with consultants, advisers, and small businesses on how to get consistent streams of new business.  Since 1992, he has helped clients in financial services, insurance, health care, consulting, real estate, advertising, training, recruiting, and more than 75 niche industries grow their businesses without cold calling or hard selling. He is the author of “The One Week Marketing Plan“.