Expert Marketing: The Single-Most Paralyzing Barrier to Becoming an Expert

"An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be made in their subject, and how to avoid them."
--Werner Heisenberg, 1901-76 in Physics and Beyond

In last weeks issue, we spoke about the benefits of marketing ourselves as Experts. We also reviewed this important concept:

The Second Law of Magnetic Business Communication...
People hire experts, not _______s (insert your profession).

It's a fact.

If your clients are looking for assistance with an issue and they call you,
it's because they perceive you as an expert.

They aren't interested in hiring you per se.
They're interested in renting your expertise.

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Barry's Hierarchy of Expertise
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In last week's issue I introduced the concept of the Expertise Hierarchy.
Here it is the discussion I presented:

"Do you recall Abraham Maslow's 'Hierarchy of Needs' from Psych 101? Maslow postulated that in order for humans to reach our fullest potential, we must satisfy increasingly complex levels of needs.

His diagram to represent these needs resembled a pyramid with Physiological Needs as the foundation.

Imagine a similar equilateral triangle with the base on the bottom. This triangle has five layers. From top-to-bottom, they are:

Expertise, Correction, Organization, Knowledge, Passion.

I call this Barry's Hierarchy of Expertise and, similar to Maslow's, you must satisfy the most basic levels before progressing towards the next. The result culminates with the attainment of expertise in your chosen field.

Before we are able to call ourselves an expert, we must satisfy the requirements in each level:

Level1: PASSION Passion is the foundation for all expertise; without it you will find difficulty at each succeeding level. It's the common denominator is all successful ventures. Discover what it is you're passionate about and latch on to it.

Level 2: KNOWLEDGE When you're passionate about something, you read as much you can about it; you become an evangelist for your topic; it consumes you; perhaps you bore even your family because every conversation comes back to that one central topic. The pursuit and acquisition of knowledge about that which you are passionate is critical.

Level 3: ORGANIZATION As you acquire more knowledge, you begin to formulate a system, a set of techniques or principles. The passion that led to your knowledge bank is organized into relatable packages of information. Crucial to this level is the actual structure of your information. As we stated at the top of this edition, the manner in which organize your information will define you as an expert.

Level 4: CORRECTION As you organize your information packages and put them in operation, eventually problem occur; unknown variables appear that must be identified and resolved. This stage can be lengthy but once all the issues are resolved and your organized knowledge base is error free, you enter...

Level 5: EXPERTISE Your knowledge is tested; you've worked through each exception and overcome every barrier. You are now ready to take this knowledge to the world; you own it. Those to whom you pass it will reasonable expect that they will achieve similar results."

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Why Review This?
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Because this week I want to talk about the single most most paralyzing barrier to becoming an expert. It builds on the understanding of this hierarchy.

This barrier will crumble when we look at the hierarchy.

Before progressing to a blueprint for achieving "Expert" status, this one barrier must be overcome.

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The Single Most Paralyzing Barrier to Becoming an Expert
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What is it?

"Giving yourself permission."

You may be thinking, "That's it?"

Believe me, that's enough.

The most paralyzing barrier we will ever face is giving ourselves permission to do, to act, to say, to be anything other than what our internal critic holds as truth.

It is a much tougher opponent than a resistant sales prospect or mapping out a strategy for marketing to a new market segment. Without the internal permission to go forward on any task, we stagnate and accomplish nothing.

Think about something that you've been meaning to accomplish and then honestly and privately answer these questions:

• Why haven't I done it?

• What does my ego say to me when I think about getting started?

• What is really holding me back from doing this task?

The truth undoubtedly lies in the realm of self-permission.

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Why is that?
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For some, the reason involves waiting.

Waiting to earn a degree; waiting for approval from others, waiting for someone to walk up to us and say, "Hey, you're an expert!"

That won't ever happen.

For others, the problem may be a lack of confidence.

Telling yourself that you're not qualified to wear the Expert badge is self sabotage. It will keep you mired in the muck of self-pity.

So how do we overcome this paralyzing barrier?

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Hierarchy v. Barrier
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As I mentioned before, when we look at the Expertise Hierarchy the barriers that seem insurmountable will crumble.

Here's how and why.

Barrier: Waiting

Consider the person above who is waiting for the degree, a certification, or approval from others before adopting the title of Expert.

When we check the Hierarchy, we see that the foundation for expertise is PASSION.

Solution: Check Your PASSION

If you feel you need to wait for something before calling yourself an expert then perhaps you should check your level of PASSION regarding your topic. You must to absolutely passionate about something before you can acquire knowledge about it. If the passion is missing, then there is no fuel for the knowledge-seeking engine.

Taking the time identify your passion, will naturally eliminate the need to wait for anything. When you touch passion, you literally burst out of the gate with enthusiasm.

Barrier: Confidence

How about the person who possesses a definite passion for their subject but doesn't feel she's confident enough to call herself an expert?

Solution: Check Your KNOWLEDGE

If you're passionate about your subject, you're going to acquire KNOWLEDGE about it. In order to feel confident, you must delve deeply into your subject. You must seek out the existing experts in the field and read what they've said. A deep and thorough KNOWLEDGE base is the key to instilling confidence in your quest for expertise.

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What Do I Do Now?
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Here's my suggestions for going forward:

1. Accept that you are already an Expert. If you've been hired by even one
   client; if you've been quoted by the media; if you know more about your topic than your target-market; if you've done what you're teaching others to do...Guess what? You're already being perceived as an expert.

2. Check your position in the Expertise Hierarchy. Where are you? Is there more KNOWLEDGE you need to acquire? Have you spent enough time developing your ORGANIZATION? Have you tested your principles and entered the CORRECTION phase? Identifying your position on the Hierarchy will dissolve the barriers that the ego insists are impregnable.

3. Locate and subscribe to three ezines or newsletters from "Experts" in your field.
   A colleague of mine says that he only subscribes to these publications that resonate with him. I think with is wise advice, but I'd also encourage you to subscribe to those in your field for whom your respect may not be fully developed. Their information may help to hone your own ORGANIZATION of
   the KNOWLEDGE about which you are PASSIONate!

Thanks for reading,

Barry

(c) 2005 Barry W. Morris & Magnetic Communications