5 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert
Everyone’s an expert in something - and accountants, by rote, are experts in a number of areas depending on your focus and services you offer.
Clients ask me how they can become more well known for what they do or what they offer. It’s not for vanity sake - it’s to develop this notoriety to retain clients and turn prospects into clients.
Try these five tactics:
- Blog. If you haven’t started one, now is a great time to begin. Tools are free and pages function much like MS Word docs. You probably have a great deal to say, but may not know how to say it. I tell bloggers to make believe they are having a conversation with a friend or someone they just met. In a conversational tone, how would you convey your expertise?
- Tweet. Whether you appreciate or abhor Twitter, it’s here to say, at least for the foreseeable future. Tweeting is easy; all it takes is a one-line statement to convey your thoughts. Try it! Follow me.
- Speak publicly. There’s no better way to position yourself as an expert than to speak in public about something related to accounting. It could be technical or operations-related; regardless what you talk about, you’re heightening your profile by showing your worth on a particular subject.
- Be proactive. Don’t want for the phone to ring; reach out to prospects and clients to share information. You’ll be seen as a true provider of information.
- Read, Read, Read. I subscribe to various news services and information feeds that add to my knowledge of accounting, communications and marketing - topics I consult on and speak about. You can do the same. Reading substantially increases our brain power!
Share with our readers your own tips on positioning yourself as an expert. What are you doing that’s unique or somewhat different?
An additional tip, don’t just follow these great suggestions with position, “Look at me, I’m an expert.” You need to contribute to the conversations as a participant not an expert.
Being a participant in online blogs, forums, twitter and the such… gives people value that will help them with decisions. Don’t be salesy, if so you will lose your audience. By giving good information and earning trust the business will come. Give valuable feedback and good observations and you will build trust and followers.
One last warning, a blog that I used to follow regularly has recently turned into that persons platform for ranting about personal challenges with school systems etc… save it for your neighbors, my time is too limited to spend time reading your blog about these things.
Byron - good points, and I totally agree with the personal platform issue. It’s like hearing other people in public on their cell phones. I just don’t want to hear about their personal lives.