We need to carve out our area of expertise for a number of reasons. Primary among them are to pitch our unique angle or take on things to media. Everyone is an expert in something, and we all have a story to tell. Becoming perceived by the industry as an expert has beautiful side effects like helping to position your company, product or service as leaders in the field. You become the go to people for that area of expertise.
How did I:
- Become a journalist for the International Coaching News?
- Get to see the Minister for Employment?
- Get appointed to the Professional Standards Committee for the International Coach Federation (ICF)?
- Get accepted by Army for trauma coaching returned soldiers?
I pushed for expert status… and I’m going to show you how to do the same by following seven simple steps.
It all started when I read “The 4 hour work week” by Tim Ferris, whose ideas have formed a framework of sorts for me to follow. In the book he wrote a section titled, “How to Become an Expert in 4 Weeks.” Well I didn’t do it in four weeks and I don’t believe in fake it till you make it. I took a slower route and made sure I could back my claim at each step. If you want to read an excellent summary of that section see: http://www.jesselogister.com/4-hww-approach/
There are seven steps to the process. They are designed to be taken in linear fashion, but you can work on several steps at one time. Some of them are going to be scary and you will take others in your stride. Here they are:
- Find your area of expertise,
- Join relevant industry groups,
- Develop your intellectual property,
- Get speaking engagements,
- Start writing for your market,
- Get more training in your specialisation, and finally
- Get media coverage!
For a detailed description of each step download a pdf of my full article or watch the 26 minute video tutorial
The truth is that it took me six months, and I still have a range of targets that I have not yet achieved:
- I want my podcast to be adopted by the industry as its voice.
- I want to be appointed to a Prime Minister’s and Cabinet committee.
- I want TV coverage.
- I want bigger corporate paid speaking gigs.
So I have work to do, but this plan has worked out well so far.
Do at least get started on the road to becoming an expert. Take as long as you need.
Get in touch with me if you have any questions, need any coaching along the road or you just want to leave a comment on our blog page about this journey. I’d love to hear from you. If you haven’t already downloaded it, get our free checklist to take you through the steps.