Photo Courtesy of puliarf (flickr)
(If you haven’t already, read Part 1 Here)
7. Join National Organizations
If nothing else, joining trade organizations will boost your perception, kind of like using fancy resume paper, people love it, even through it doesn’t make you any more qualified for the job. Check out the about us page to see how I’ve incorporated this idea. Don’t forget there are many organizations that you can use for networking, finding insider information, obtaining discounts on products, and many other perks you wouldn’t find otherwise.
8. Highlight Your Real and Ridiculous Experiences
To promote his best-selling book, The 4-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss highlighted how he was a Chinese kickboxing champion, MTV break dancer, and a professional tango dancer. His book is about starting your own business, and yet his seemingly unrelated adventures in other areas of his life helped to promote his business expertise. Likewise, you should highlight your achievements, even if they seem outside of your industry, because it shows the kind of person you are. Hopefully, that means insanely successful. J
9. Start a Business
I’ve discussed this one before, but entrepreneurship is one of the best credentials you can flaunt, especially if your business becomes popular. To get a business started quickly and cheaply all you need is a $20 business license as a sole proprietor and a business card or two. Title yourself a consultant, advisor, or even expert and go from there. People will assume you’re knowledgeable and trust you more, simply because you own a business. Start there and you may find yourself on a whole new adventure, kind of like this website. I started Graduated And Clueless as way to gain some notoriety in the business world, which has lead me to write my own book (currently in production and due out in the spring!). I started with nothing to brag about, just some ideas and my own experiences.
10. Make Big Name Connections
To be viewed as an expert, sometimes all you need to do is hang out with experts. If you’ve ever known a celebrity in your industry, been to a seminar, worked at a Fortune 500 company, or have a successful friend or relative, you may be lot closer to big name connections than you think. Also, consider the most obvious solution to make new connections, contact someone directly. For my book, I have made it a habit to email or call people viewed as Big Name Goal-Setters. My success rate is about 20%, meaning only 1 out of every 5 people I contact respond back. But that means I have actually spoken to people most would never imagine you could do with a simple email. Try it and see what happens.
11. Read the top 5 Books in Your Industry
I love to read. This is actually a new love in my life. Before I graduated college, reading was a chore, a nasty annoyance that never seemed to go away. Now it’s what I do. I have a stack of books I’ve bought recently that I’m going through as fast as I can. Reading is one of those things that actually makes you smarter, more confident, and gives you a leg up on your competition. Though I’m not sure how accurate this is, I read that you will know more than 99% of all people in your industry by simply reading the top 5 books in that same industry. Meaning, if you read just 5 books about gardening, whether you like gardening or not, you will actually be in the top 1% of all gardeners out there. Sound too easy? Try it and let me know what happened.
12. Host a Free Seminar
This is probably one of the most effective ways to actually promote how much you now know. Imagine if you actually read those 5 books, wrote a few articles, started a small blog, got that cheap business license, chatted with a celebrity, joined a National Organization, and then decided to approach a local University or business that you wanted to host a FREE seminar to discuss your new passion? All of a sudden it doesn’t sound so far fetched? Now throw in the fact that you’ve published your own book and you won’t be turned down by anyone! Hosting a seminar is a sure-fire way to establish your credibility and new-found expertise.
The process to become an expert might seem intimidating, difficult, and lengthy; but as you can see it doesn’t have to be. There are many ways to establish credibility, highlight your skills and knowledge, and present yourself as a reliable source of information in your industry. In the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki discusses how one of his goals was to become a best-selling author, not a best-writing author. Notice the difference. He focused on selling his books more than becoming the world’s greatest writer, which allowed him to sell more books and establish himself as a dominant force in the personal finance world. So get out there and make it happen! Good luck on your journey to become an expert and stay positive!
The Clueless Graduate,
Jeff Sanders
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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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