How To Be An "Instant" Expert! (Hint: Stop Waiting ForThe Expert Fairy Because She Ain't Comin'!)

When my kids were little, whenever they lost a tooth, they'd put the tooth under their pillow, knowing full well the tooth fairy would pay them a visit overnight, taking their tooth, and leaving some money in its place.

Interestingly enough, I find many clients of mine and other independent business-owners I speak to, are also waiting for a fairy to come and rescue them.

A very unusual... and very imaginary... fairy.

Today's tip is going to stray off the beaten path a bit -- I want you to know a little about human psychology, because if you're writing sales copy you're going to need it.

Plus, opening your mind about new ways to look at your marketing will increase your sales.

Here's what I mean: There's a fundamental rule of human relationships, that says...

People will treat you the way you ask them to be treated.

For example, if you're passive and meek, and you're the kind of person who's basically a bleeding heart and takes on everyone's chaos, then guess what?

You're going to consistently get dumped on and everyone's going to make their problems...your problems.

May not be fair, but that's the way it works.

On the other hand, if you're a kind and compassion person, but it's clear you don't tolerate any nonsense, then for the most part... people will respect your generosity and not take advantage of what you have to offer.

These are simple facts, yet not many people leverage this dynamic to their best interests, when it comes to their marketing.

For instance, guess what happens, if... in your marketing, you position yourself as an "expert" in your industry?

What happens is, exactly what you'd expect under the "People will treat you the way you ask to be treated", theory: Your credibility goes w-a-a-y up, and your prospects believe in you -- you're perceived as having more knowledge and more insight than your competitors.

Instead of looking like a sales person, you come off like a highly valued asset with a wealth of information to offer.

Your prospects will look to you for answers, and they'll listen very... very closely whenever you speak.

And most important...

They'll Pay You A Bundle For Those Answers As Well!

You see, NOT positioning yourself as an expert, is one of the biggest shortcomings people have in their marketing.

Look, if you start off your sales pitch saying something like (and you see things like this all the time): "Here at Lawyers-R-Us, we're friendly and courteous, and... we put your needs first."

Guess what's going to happen?

Absolutely Nothing!

Your prospects are going to shut down, turn "off" and stop reading before they even get through that very first sentence.

True?

You're not positioning yourself as an expert, and... you're certainly not inspiring any confidence with that statement.

As opposed to: "When you work with the attorneys here at Lawyers-R-Us, you get an army of powerful legal experts on your side. Last year alone, we represented over 217 clients across 37 different industries.

And the good news is, only 20 of these clients (that's less than 10%) were forced to go to trial. And, in those situations, our firm won 8 of the cases.

That's an 80% win ratio, which has been consistent for us, over our 17-year history..." blah, blah, blah...

Big difference, hey?

So what inspires your prospects to feel safe and confident working with you, in your marketing?

Remember, you can be the nicest person in the world... but when it comes to money...

Your prospects are dead serious about where they spend it!

How nice you are (or aren't)... doesn't even enter into the equation until AFTER your prospects become your customers and clients.

But what do you do, if... you're either not that confident, or you're too shy... or, you're just not comfortable holding yourself out as an expert?

The answer is simple: In the long run...

You Starve!

See, you must position yourself as an expert, regardless of what you're selling.

If you feel "awkward" about positioning yourself like this, yet you're willing to try and get out of your comfort zone and change, here are a few things you can do.

First, you've got to uncover where your source of discomfort comes from.

Sometimes it comes from childhood messages you heard over-and-over again, like:

"Don't brag -- be humble."... or...

"Why can't you just be thankful for what you have?"... or, at the very extreme end...

"Shut up you moron - what makes you think you're so special!"

But regardless of which of these messages you heard, each of them... especially when heard repeatedly, "programs" you into feeling uncomfortable with self-promotion.

And overcoming this programming so you can start touting yourself as an expert, well... frankly, it's just not that easy.

In a minute I'll tell you a few of the things I've done, that have worked for me... and maybe some of them will work for you too.

But first, let's talk about "positioning" a little more.

"When" should you start positioning yourself as the expert?

You should start...

Immediately!

After all, what are you waiting for?

If you don't anoint yourself as an expert today, who else is going to do it for you?

Do you think, once you really are an "expert", the "Expert Fairy" is going to come flying in through your front door, with her wand in her hand and her crown on her head...

Appointing You As An "Expert"?

Because if that is what you're waiting for, I've got some very very disappointing news for you:

She Ain't Comin'!

And here's another way you don't become an expert: You don't fill out the "Expert Application Form" and submit it to your industry's regulatory body... or to your competitors, asking them for permission to call yourself a pro.

Some people actually feel, "But if I go around saying I'm the best CPA in town... all the other CPA's are going to get really really pissed off, especially since they have bigger offices than me... more clients... more hair... " blah, blah, blah.

Listen, unless your competition is paying your mortgage and feeding your family, as long as you're not disparaging anyone...

How you market yourself is your business!

There's only one person responsible for your marketing and how it's done -- YOU!

So start positioning yourself as an expert right now, and you'll see a noticeable shift in how you're perceived (and how you're treated) by your prospects and clients.

O.K.?

Oh, before I go... let me get back to what I was telling you a few minutes ago. Here are a few of the things I've used over the years, to overcome being uncomfortable with positioning myself as an expert:

There were more than a few times in the past, when I was really really broke.

And that... totally... sucked!

So trust me on this one -- when it comes down to it, the pain of positioning yourself as an expert, is a lot less than the pain of being broke!

In fact, it beats being broke by a long-shot.

I've also used the visualization principles of psycho-cybernetics. I've found them to be very helpful as far as addressing the "re-programming" you may need.

Sometimes it's hard to keep that old negative tape loop ("the critic within") that's stuck in your head, from automatically re-playing itself when you can least afford to hear it.

The New Psycho-Cybernetics book by Dr. Leonard Maltz, and updated by Dan Kennedy, does a good job of addressing how to reverse these messages.

The thing is, and you've GOT to understand this... your past really has very little to do with your future -- unless you let it.

Another resource I found very helpful, was Dr. Robert Anthony's CD's on success.

These CD's offer scientific proof that being "negative" really is bad for you, along with a "formula" for eliminating negative thoughts.

Also, the 1911 classic book "The Science Of Getting Rich" really opened my eyes, and my mind, to a very exciting (and deserving) new way of looking at accumulating wealth.

It's a very easy and practical book to read -- you can probably knock it off in less than an hour -- and, you can download the whole book, FREE of charge, from my website, right here:

http://www.kingofcopy.com/products/science.html

At a minimum, you must read this book -- it'll change the way you look at wealth accumulation, dramatically.

Finally, the thing that really helps me "shed" any fears I have, is simply living in the moment: Thinking about what I have instead of what I don't have... enjoying my family... and taking care of myself, outside of business.

Doing things like exercising, getting out of the house, taking a break to laugh with my wife, and playing with my kids. Heck, even enjoying my dog when I walk her, lets me live in the moment.

Remember, if you position yourself as an expert, you'll be treated like one.

And if you position yourself like a hungry salesperson who needs your prospect's business...

You'll always be hungry!

Now go sell something,

Craig Garber

P.S. Check out all the prior archives you've been missing, right here at: http://www.kingofcopy.com/tips/tiparchives.html

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