The biggest reason so many people fail to make the most of their expertise is that they don’t recognize the value of their own skills and knowledge.

Because nobody is responsible for appointing people as ‘experts’, most people don’t value their own expertise highly enough and fail to make the most of their potential.

It’s Not Just About Ability
Becoming recognized as an expert is not just a question of knowledge. There are five elements needed:

• Behavior: Do you act like an expert?
• Capabilities: Do you have the necessary skills?
• Beliefs: Do you believe in your own expertise?
• Values: Is this important to you?
• Identity: Do you see yourself as an expert?

The problem is that many people who actually possess the necessary expertise do not take full advantage of it – perhaps because they don’t have the self-belief or they’re not doing something that’s important to them.

The Leapfrog Theory
In the book Winning through Intimidation, Robert Ringer describes the ‘Leap Frog Theory’.

The idea is that if you have the knowledge, and you’re willing to go out and tell people you’ve got that knowledge, you could easily ‘leap over’ the people in the middle who are hesitant to talk about their expertise.

By taking the initiative, you can position yourself as one of the experts.

What this also means is that there are other people, who probably know less than you about your subject, who are making more money than you – just because they have set themselves up as experts.

The Law of Authority
In his best-selling book Influence, psychologist Robert Cialdini describes the ‘Law of Authority’: ‘People invariably act more positively if they have respect for the authority of the person who is giving them information.’

To take advantage of this law, you need to demonstrate your authority as effectively as possible – either by becoming seen as an expert yourself or by associating yourself with someone who gives you that perceived authority.

Find Your Niche
The secret of choosing the right field to specialize in is that it should be narrow enough to make your expertise credible and broad enough to sustain a good business.

For example, if you are a life coach, people will find it hard to accept that your expertise can adapt to any situation.

However, if you position yourself as a life coach for women returning to work after their families have grown, you have identified a clear marketplace and, provided you can demonstrate your skill in this area, you can easily be positioned as an expert.

Look Outside Your Work
It’s usually best to find an area of expertise that you have already mastered or which you can learn quickly. But that doesn’t mean it has to be the field in which you currently work. Perhaps you have hobbies, interests and passions that can be turned into an income.

Think about things you really enjoy or which people have said you are particularly good at.

You Already Know Enough
The key point is that you probably don’t need to learn more in order to position yourself as an expert.

Clearly in scientific, academic and professional fields, there are recognized standards and processes for identifying experts and you should not claim qualifications that you don’t have. But there are many fields where this is not required.

Of course, you should continue to learn new material.

But most people are still waiting for ‘just one more thing’ they feel they need to know before they can claim to be an expert.

The most important issue is whether you have the knowledge and skills on a subject that will help people get better results and which they will therefore be willing to pay for.

The trouble is that most business owners are so close to what they do on a daily basis that they don’t realize how much they already know. As soon as you recognize your own expertise, you might be surprised to discover that others see you in that way too.

Act Like an Expert
People like to be led by an expert and told what to do next. They expect an expert to be confident in their subject so it’s important to give very specific, confident suggestions and recommendations.

You should also consider issues like your body language and how you dress.

You have to appreciate the value you’re delivering to your clients. You’ll probably find that they rate your expertise more highly than you do yourself.

That means you must charge rates that are high enough to encourage people to see the value of what you can do for them.

Even if you have doubts, perception is everything and the secret is to behave with confidence – can you at least pretend you think you’re an expert?

Others will be convinced and you might just start to believe it too.

You have to recognize yourself as an expert, and be willing to go out and confidently position yourself as one.

To get a clearer picture of your own areas of expertise, try the following action step.

ACTION STEP 1

Brainstorm a list of 5 – 10 areas where you could consider yourself to have expertise that is useful to others. Some points to consider:

• Don’t worry at this stage about whether people will pay for it.
• Be specific – concentrate on a focused area of expertise that meets a specific need.
• Think about hobbies and interests as well as work.
• What do people frequently ask for your advice about?
• What gives you energy and keeps you motivated?
• What would you be happy to learn more about?
• What do you feel really comfortable talking about?
• How would you be spending your time if money was not a consideration?

This is the first of seven tips on how to make more money from your expertise. In the next one, we look at how to define your expertise more precisely so that you can position it for maximum profit.

YOUR FEEDBACK

What other factors do you think stop most people from making more money from their skills and expertise?

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