How Consultants Promote Expertise

Issue #910 April 25, 2015
Publisher: Joan Stewart

“Tips, Tricks and Tools for Free Publicity”

In This Issue

1. How Consultants Promote Expertise
2. Pitch Your Struggles, Failures
3. Claim Your Spot on Google Maps
4. Hound Video of the Week

This Weekend in the Hound House:

I’ve applied Messina Wildlife’s Animal Stopper too late. All the tulips in the back yard are gone, gobbled by the deer. But they haven’t discovered the ones along the side of the house and in the front. Don’t even get me started on the army of rabbits.

1. How Consultants Promote Expertise

One of the most difficult businesses to promote is a consulting practice.

Too many consultants make the mistake of promoting the tasks that people pay them to do. They should concentrate instead on promoting their expertise and how they help people solve problems.

The best way to start doing that is to refer to yourself as an expert (assuming you are) everywhere. That includes your LinkedIn headline, profile, discussions you begin or participate in within LinkedIn group, and in invitations to connect that you send to others.

Is the word “expert” on the homepage of your website? In your bio?

What about your 15-second elevator pitch? When I attend an event as a speaker or audience member, I listen carefully as we go from table to table and people introduce themselves. Almost no one uses the word “expert.” Instead, they concentrate on tasks they do. (This includes authors, too.)  

In a new post at my blog, I’ve listed 11 ways consultants can promote their expertise.

LinkedIn is the best place to start. During the webinar I hosted with Wayne Breitbarth a few weeks ago, he demonstrated how LinkedIn’s most popular feature just got better and why most people are squandering this opportunity to get more quality connections. He also explained the many benefits of publishing content on LinkedIn and how to best use Groups to create the largest rate of return on your time.

The video replay comes with a big package of cheat sheets and checklists that will turn you into a power LinkedIn user. Read about it at my shop.

 

2. Pitch Your Struggles, Failures

Want to stand out in the crowd and make your pitch resonate with journalists?

Most people pitch success stories. You should pitch a struggle or failure, explain how you rebounded and what you’ve learned from it. As former editor of The business Journal in Milwaukee, I know that business publications and blogs love those kinds of stories. Don’t be afraid to show your vulnerabilities and resiliency.

That might mean talking about a failed business and how you pivoted, started a new venture and now you’re on the path of profitability.

That’s one of seven tips you’ll learn in Brian Pittman’s article on “4 Journalists Dish 7 PR Pitching Tips: How to Score More Business Press.”

Every pitch needs a juicy headline or subject line. But if you aren’t creative, that’s a tough job. I’ve made it easy for you. The webinar replay “Headline Tips, Tricks, Tools and Templates That Make Readers Click” gives you shortcuts, ideas, free resources and websites you can use to write creative killer headlines and subject lines.

Read about the helpful bonuses that accompany the video replay which you can buy in my shop. They’ll cut your time in half.

 

3. Claim Your Spot on Google Maps

If you have a bricks-and-mortar business, or it’s important for people to know where you’re located, you’ll want to know about Let’s Put Our Cities on the Map, a new program launched by Google My business.

Tim Sweeney, a digital media marketing expert, explains why it’s advantageous for a local small business to make sure they claim, verify, optimize and properly manage their Google My business Listing:

• 80 percent of people use search engines to find local information, like business hours and addresses.
• Those businesses with “complete listings are twice as likely to be considered reputable by customers.” In other words, this is killer publicity.

He details the program on Google+.

 

4. Hound Video of the Week

This brilliant vending machine in Istanbul takes in bottles and feeds stray dogs in exchange. I’d love one of these in my kitchen.

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