How to Become an Expert and Dominate Your Market

Oct 5, 2010 by

How to Become an Expert and Dominate Your Market

You know you’re one smart cookie. You know how awesome your business is and how valuable your services or products are to your customers. The question is, do the customers agree with you?

Establishing yourself as an expert takes time and strategy. Waltzing out into your field, proclaiming your awesomeness to the world is simply not going to make you successful, even if you are everything that you’re claiming to you. If only it was that easy!

The key to establishing yourself as an expert is going to come from something that we should ALL be doing – helping people. When you take the time to help people with something that’s important to them, they appreciate your time and abilities, and many times will label you as the “expert” if what you’ve helped them succeed with was of great value to them.

For me, as a social media consultant and marketing coach, my job is to help people understand social media and assist them in overcoming any fears or confusions they may have of online branding. I can present them with my experience in this area, but I don’t claim the “expert” status because I want them to see that for themselves. And the great thing is, my clients (and even those who aren’t clients) give me that label without any request for it on my part.

Truly the trick is to focus on giving, not getting! What’s great is that when you start giving, it always comes back to you in one form or another. (While that shouldn’t be our motive behind giving, it’s a nice perk, isn’t it? :) ) If you want to dominate your market, you need to gain the trust of the people around you. This establishes credibility, loyalty and expert status. Find a need and fill it. Be helpful. Be honest. Then before you know it, everyone’s recommending you as the expert.

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Mandee Widrick is a social media manager, marketing coach and public speaker. She is founder and CEO of ChargedUp Media, a marketing company specializing in online campaigns and training for businesses around the country. To schedule your free 15 minute consultation, please email contact[at]mandeewidrick[dot]com.

Photo by Faakhir Rizvi.

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  • http://AvramGonzales.com Avram

    Agreed! I think any way you can add value is the best way to become the expert. Helping people = the fastest way to add value and you build that personal relationship which can resemble mentorship. Also, like you mentioned – just doing your thing, and doing it well – will let your expertise speak for itself.

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  • Yusuf Chowdhury

    Great post Mandee. I totally agree with you on helping and giving values not for the sake of return.

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  • http://www.ishouldhavelistenedtomymother.com Nancy Burke Barr, JD

    Hi Mandee!

    You are so right! To be an expert, you have to prove yourself as one! When someone helps me out in a gracious manner and solves the problem, I am devoted for life! This strategy takes time but it is very long lasting.

    You are very wise!

    Mentor Mama

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  • http://www.lanikee.com Lani Kee, Mind Mapping Techniques

    Aloha Mandee, good to see strong leaders out in the network marketing industry. I know this business is exploding and more leaders are needed. Glad I came by. Thanks for sharing! Lanikee.com

    PS..come by and visit me and leave me a sweet comment. The benefits are sharing is caring! Mahalo! :)

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  • http://petechapmanblog.com peter chapman

    Hi Mandee,
    I could not agree more and coming from someone who saved a fish it has congruence!
    I was reassured about this approach when I learned about Frank Kern’s Good Karma strategy. It was uplifting when I heard one of the internets top marketers confirm to me that what I was endeavouring to do, to repeat my personal life approaches in an online marketing business, are correct.
    It is the law of sowing and reaping. What we sow we reap. Jim Rohn put it really well. Sometimes the birds get the seed, but we need to keep sowing good seed and eventually the crops will come good.

    Thank you and best wishes

    Peter

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  • http://www.yorindawanner.com Yorinda

    Hi Mandee,

    ‘focusing on giving and not getting’ is a great way of putting it. Yes, I agree.

    Helping people and being of service is really what business is all about.

    Thank you so much for your post.

    To Your Success!
    Yorinda

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  • http://www.forevercourageouswoman.com Denise

    Hi Mandee,

    I for one am so glad that the way to do business correctly is by giving and not getting; it sits much more comfortably with me. Thanks for this great reminder of what we need to do to be seen as an expert.

    Denise

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  • http://youcanbuild.it Chuck Bartok

    Your success is evident in your understanding of the Market Arena and what it tkes to be truly Successful….

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  • http://businessnetworkinglife.com Joe Malinowski

    Well said. Give before expecting to receive anything.

    I always like to ask people how are you promoting and thanking your customers and referral partners? You you publicly endorsing and thanking them. Are you running contests and giving them a social media shout out? There are just so many tools and strategies out there we can use to better highlight our gratitude for those we work with, but so few are doing it.

    Thanks for the great post Mandee!

    Joe

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  • http://www.bizplanit.com/blog Scott Pollov

    Hi Mandee – Giving or sharing is something we all learn as kids (at least most of us), and as we get older and more competitive, we can tend to lose this attitude. However, in order to succeed in business and in life, we need to consistently remind ourselves that it is not always about Me or I. By sharing your knowledge, experience, etc. we are demonstrating to others that we have their interests in mind, not just our own. Thanks, Scott Pollov

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  • http://WhosTedHunsaker.com Ted Hunsaker

    Hi Mandee,

    Great Post on how you can dominate your market. Helping people have success is the number one key to becoming an expert in your market.

    [Reply]