You have an inspiring message, a wonderful solution, or a great
product. You have something people need. Now, you have to let
them know about it. You want to teach people to think of you as
a guru in your subject of expertise. Fortunately, that's not as
hard to accomplish as you might think. The hard part is to
convince yourself.
Who me? A guru? An expert?
Yes, you. Absolutely. A guru is simply an acknowledged leader or
teacher. An expert is just anyone who has mastery of a
particular subject. Neither of these words means that you know
everything there is to know. They DO mean that a particular
subject is your specialty. If you have delved so far into a
subject that you have created new ideas or product around it,
you have already exhibited mastery in your specialty.
But you'll need more than intellectual understanding to give you
the motivation to get the word out. So take a few minutes to do
an inventory. Think back to your beginnings in your area of
expertise. Remember your first published writings in the school
newsletter. Relive your glory days as the class clown that held
your audience in the palm of your hand. In the years since then,
how many hours have you spent working, reading, talking,
writing, and thinking about your subject? Add them up as best
you can. You didn't realize it, but you were a guru in training!
Word Power
The more you give voice to your identity as an expert, the more
you'll become recognized as one, both by people you know and
people you'll never meet. Create a memorable tagline that stamps
your unique perspective on every promotional item you send out
into the world. You don't have to say, “Jane Doe…Parenting
Guru,” but you might say, “Jane Doe…Connecting Parents and Kids.”
When taking on a new identity, it's human nature to feel a bit
like an imposter at first. But when you are comfortable with
your role, other will be, too. Give yourself a job title. The
more you own the fact that you are a parenting coach, a speaker,
a writer, or an executive consultant, the more other people
think of you that way. Introduce yourself as a speaker, even if
you do it “only on the side.” Sign your email and business cards
as a consultant, and people will begin to say to their friends,
“I know of somebody who does that…”
When that happens, it creates a powerful upward spiral. You
believe in yourself, you convey that in your presence and
promotions, your prospective clients and audiences believe in
you, and you believe in yourself even more, which starts the
cycle all over again at a higher level.
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