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Seven Steps to Becoming a Guru
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By: Kelly Robbins
Positioning yourself as an expert or a “guru” in your field is a planned and deliberate process. We all know who the experts are in our respective industries. They are the ones we turn to in order to learn about a specific topic. We check their Web site or the book they wrote to find answers to our problems. These experts travel the country and give outrageously priced seminars, and are always quoted in the media. But what do these people do that makes them experts? They may be saying the same things we do, just in a different way. Here are some things you can do to help you become known as a guru:
1. Write articles and publish them in trade journals, industry-specific newspapers, or e-zines in your field. Writing articles for trade journals or groups in your industry (like BWA) does several things. It makes you think through and research your industry thoroughly, and puts your name in front of people who are your target market. Although it’s unlikely you will be paid for writing the article, the exposure you receive from others is incalculable. Yes, you are writing the article to promote yourself and your company, but it’s important you don’t write an article that looks like a sales piece. It needs to be educational and informative to the reader.
2. Write a book…easier said than done for many of us. Besides requiring a lot of time, research and energy, writing a book requires a specific skill. You may not be a writer, but you can hire one to help you. Nowadays you can write a book and publish it online, have a small publishing company publish it and try to sell it, or try to get a major publishing company to print it for you.
3. Give speeches. Being introduced as the keynote speaker at meetings and conventions quickly puts you in the expert chair. A speech is more memorable than an article and doing one immediately enhances your reputation as an expert. Giving a speech is personal, immediate, and puts you in face-to-face contact with your target market. Association meetings are ideal for this.
4. Conduct seminars. Seminars are longer than speeches, usually a half-day to three days, and are given by almost all gurus. These presentations are more in-depth than speeches and can be used as both an informative training tool and as an effective marketing tool for specific markets.
5. Polish your Web site. Your Web site should provide information about yourself, similar to a resume, as well as be a resource for people gathering information within your niche. Your Web site should be the place people go to when looking for an answer to a question or when researching material for themselves. You should also sell your products online, as well as have ways for customers to contact you and know what services you provide.
6. Hone your public relations skills. Be the one the media turns to when there’s a question they need answered or they need a quote for a story. I’m not talking about simply producing press release after press release about your next speech at the Chamber of Commerce meeting. You need to find a “hook” to grab people’s attention.
7. Sell smaller versions of the big piece. Now you have all of this information put together. You’ve developed articles, a book, speeches and seminars. Now break this knowledge into smaller parts and sell the pieces. This may include audio and video tapes, booklets and pamphlets, newsletters, software, and resource guides, to name a few items.
Achieving and keeping your status as an expert means providing a constant flow of new information to your target market. If you do all of the steps above, are you destined to be a guru in your field? No, you need to have something valuable to say, too. It doesn’t necessarily need to be earth-shattering, but something interesting. You need to have a little different twist. If nothing else, following these steps are sure-fire ways to get you noticed in your industry and lend credibility to yourself when talking with prospective clients.
As seen in the Denver Business Journal, syndicated columnist Kelly Robbins is a copywriter and marketing consultant. Sign up for her e-zine The Small Business Buzz at http://www.kellyrobbinsllc.com/bizbuzz.htm and learn essential marketing strategies to skyrocket your sales. Free to BWA members. Kelly can be reached at 303-460-0285 or at Kelly@KellyRobbinsLLC.com.
©2003, Kelly Robbins LLC
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