Expert or Knowledgeable? Which One Are You?

What is the difference between being knowledgeable and being an expert?

You’d think they were both the same surely? Not so.

An expert is someone who is very knowledgeable in their chosen discipline, for example, financial advice to professional golfers [could be a good niche!], and communicates this fact effectively.

You can quite easily see that others have endorsed their work and that they have the content to prove their status. If you have the knowledge but are unknown, have no endorsements or content to support your claims, you are not an expert. Some might claim to be an expert on their website, but sceptics see one-sided, what they call, ‘self-serving’ messages that lack credibility and are therefore not effective.

Typically an expert gains that status because credible sources endorse them.

Everywhere you look nowadays; people are claiming to be experts – some people, perhaps not financial advisers, but some, hire public relations firms to increase their status. Remember, marketing should accelerate the speed at which someone finds out if you are any good or not!

True experts are giving speeches, holding seminars, writing papers and articles for publications read by professionals who find their information and views relevant and up to date.

Recently a financial adviser had one of his articles published in a trade association newsletter; he received a phone call from one of their readers; his ideal client, who had read his article and wished to seek his advice. This is the ultimate marketing approach – getting an ideal client to contact you directly.

Being knowledgeable and unknown is a missed opportunity in these times. It doesn’t take much to get endorsements [client testimonials and feedback] and to plan your content marketing. Ultimately, people will pay a higher professional fee for an ‘expert opinion.’

Positioning all comes down to how you approach your marketing. Who is your ideal client? What would they value about your reputation?

Being known for all the right reasons will help you attract, influence and retain the clients and business partners you want.