Category: 1-Monday – Subject Matter Expert

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Blog content, Content, marketing, Social proof, subject matter expert, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 774 – You’re Only Three and a Half Miles Away from Social Proof

Quote: “Playing it safe is one of the riskiest things you can do.”

Monday:  Credibility

 

Today – are you going to risk it… or be safe?   You have thousands of decisions to make today, most will be made without much thought.

Think about it – already today you’ve made decisions on what to wear and eat… but were they safe or risky decisions.

What to eat?  Honestly, is this risky?  YES… sometimes there is drama involved in it.  A decision so seemingly easy can be filled with mystery.  You decide to grab a meal, but you don’t like it, but you’re out of money… how will you know if you like it?

It’s probably impossible to know if you will enjoy eating something, after all, you need to consume the product to determine if you like it… so if you don’t like it, it’s too late!

So what the heck do you do?

You rely on Social Proof.  If someone else out there has eaten at the restaurant you want to try… or even the actual dish that you’re debating ordering… someone else that has had the experience can really help determine if it’s for you, too!

Here’s a fun rendition of my husband’s restaurant selection on a recent layover in North Carolina… and yes, he always puts this much effort into restaurants.  Yeah, give me a PB&J and I’m set… for him… this decision is a big BIG deal.

What is the value of social proof? With only 15 hours to spend in Charlotte NC, the decision had to be just right… after all it was one meal.  So here goes…

A simple web search turned up Pinky’s Westside Diner. There were many restaurants on the search, but Pinky’s stood out, why? Well Pinky’s had been featured on the food network TV show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

Pinky’s was 3 1/2 miles from the intrepid traveler’s hotel, and he walked there and back. No one ever said my husband is intelligent. He reports that the Asian pork burger and the black eyed pea salad were well worth the effort.

Pinky’s was indeed a “dive” and a foodie paradise. To enhance their social proof and live up to all they hype, the servers could recount hte exact foods featured on the show and had an in depth knowledge of the menu.

Remember, you can “make up” social proof, but if someone is relying on it… then arrives at your business and encounter a different experience, OH BOY – that’s wrong on many levels.  Don’t “make up” proof — instead, celebrate it by advertising it, prominently displaying on your website, mentioning it on your staff T-shirts, and just like Pinky’s did… get your staff to KNOW the knowledge… like the menu items featured on the show!

Not everyone has social proof as terrific as Pinky’s, but we can all emphasize our social proof and make sure the staff can promote it, just like Pinky’s.

His last piece of advice, “Try the Asian pork burger, it’s delicious!”

Social Proof is one of those things that makes a difference.  It’s a tribe builder.

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

 

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Business owner motivation, Content, marketing, Real world, subject matter expert, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 768 – The Simple Success of Talking to THEM

Quote: “Complexity is your enemy”

Monday: Credibility (Subject Matter Expert)

 

Last Saturday I shared a simple “Try This”.  It was a soda machine that had a sign on it that said “new flavors” that the vendor just wrote in a marker the new options.

Simple, right?

Well… it’s so obvious that it’s often overlooked.

It’s important to keep the simplicity of this story in mind as you set out on building your subject matter expert status!

How is that possible?

The simplest things are often the best understood.  And as a subject matter expert you want to lead your tribe.  They need you!

BUT

They’ll never follow you if they have no idea what the heck you’re talking about.  Remember this.

It’s super easy to get too complicated.  Especially when it comes to your messaging.  Remember to focus on speaking the words your customers understand.  If it helps, talk about the emotion of your product, not the tech specs!

I often catch myself doing this when I talk about our Dry Stack Service.  See… I just did it!  What the heck is Dry Stack?

We’re a marina and instead of keeping your boat in the water at a dock, we store it in a warehouse, on a custom built rack.  We can stack them three high using a really big forklift.  It’s very cool.  But that’s where “Dry Stack” comes from…

Well, knowing the product as well as I do, I realized I was talking about launch times, hours, cleanliness of boat — and no one cared!  Sure, visitors were polite… but what really resonated was what THEY understood.

Family time, memories, and easy.  They call.  They pack their cooler. They get in the boat.  That’s it.

We do the heavy lifting (all puns intended)

When I started talking about all the summer photos that could be hanging on THEIR living room wall.  That’s when I got my message simple, understandable, and relatable.  That’s when THEY started to listen to all of my “complicated” jargon about how the dry stack service works.  That’s when it was important to be a subject matter expert.

But first I had to learn to get simple.

 

 

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, marketing, Social proof, subject matter expert, Success tips, Tribe Building

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 762 – Give Something Away for Free Because Your Time is Valuable

Quote: “If you’re good at something, never do it for free”

Monday:  Credibility – Subject Matter Expert

 

Here’s a funny scenario and you might be guilty of both sides of it.

You bring your car into get fixed and complain about the cost of a repair exclaiming that $150 an hour is outrageous.   Or maybe the same situation but you’re bewildered at an attorney charging $400 an hour.

Remember. You’re not paying for this hour… you’re paying for the 20,000 hours of study, training, tradeoff’s, and EXPERIENCE that the mechanic or attorney have accumulated to that moment.

You might have this internal struggle as you create your own pricing, especially if you creating a handmade product or offering a service.  The struggle comes from when someone complains about your pricing. 🙂

But you need to get paid what you are worth… and that doesn’t mean what you’re worth today – but what your experience is from over the years.

NOW… this is the tricky part because when we do email marketing we say create a freemium!  Do work and put it together in a PDF or video and give it for free!

Here’s the deal, it’s not exactly free. You are getting compensated, and I don’t mean with future sales, although that is the goal.  You are getting compensated, it’s just not a currency exchange it’s an email exchange.

The reason I wanted to spend time on this issue is to show it’s value.  You want to create the “freemium” but you haven’t because you’re worried about putting your expertise “out there” for free… don’t get caught up in the “free” part –  yes you are sharing some pretty amazing information – but you are doing this to acquire and grow your tribe.

Remember building credibility among your customers is a great way to improve loyalty and transform them into a strong tribe.

That means… today you should create your freemium and get it out there for your future tribe members to learn from your expertise!

 

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

 

 

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Blog content, marketing, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 756 – Pay for Expertise.

Quote: “When you can’t find a bridge. Make you’re own”

Monday: Credibility

 

So you’ve got an idea… now what?  It’s an amazing idea that will increase your sales.  But, what do you do?

You figure it out.

If it’s a technical issue… guess what, visit Fiverr.  It’s an amazing place to find someone to make a brochure, create a spreadsheet, or write a novel.

You don’t have to learn photoshop you can hire someone to edit your photos.

It doesn’t make your project any less “you” – and this is a very important point — because often an entrepreneur has difficulty understanding they don’t have to do it all.

But if you spend all your time learning a program you’ll have less time to spend on bringing your business forward.  BUT… if you seek out expertise to support your expertise this is how to gain traction quickly.

I thought this was a great topic for today because often we forget to hire someone else to do a task you’re just not good at.  I think the reason we look past this option is because of the expense, but if you visit a site like Fiverr you’ll discover that it’s quite affordable.

I’ve had T shirt designs created, trello boards up, and several ebooks “fancied” up… These three tasks I could have done if I spent a heck of a lot of time, but quite frankly if I did create these items I never would have had a quality output.  I know what I like, but I can’t get the computer to do print out on paper the design in my head…

And that’s the expertise in your head that you need help to get on paper.

Pay for expertise!

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Content, marketing, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 750 – Ask Questions

Quote:  “Even the Genius asks Questions”

Monday: Credibility

 

Do you know everything?  It’s a safe bet that the answer to that question is, “nope.”

So what does today’s quote mean?

It means ask questions… just because you are positioning yourself as the expert in your field does not mean that you will be “all knowing” and in fact you should continue to learn and explore on a daily basis.

Look no further than the evolution of home video.  Let’s say you were an expert at creating home movies in the 1970’s… is your knowledge applicable today?  yes and no.  You may be able to tell a story using a video/movie format.

However, the actual “thing” you use to create the end product is much different.

It’s no longer film, it’s no longer video, but it’s digital.  This is important because if you had a business in the 1970s for selling movie film along with your knowledge of how to use it to create memories… you’d find yourself out of business.

BUT

That essential knowledge of creating the memory is still marketable.

It’s not unlike the knowledge you have for selling your products. You know how to sell in terms of the features and benefits of the product… that has not changed.  Assessing what people need and how your product fulfills that need is the cornerstone of selling.

What has changed is the “how” to sell it.  However, the good news is that there’s an “old school” counterpart to the new school selling.  Radio is now Podcasts, Direct Mail is now email, Newspapers are now Facebook, and it goes on and on.

Your message stays the same (just like the old home movie films) but the “HOW” has been updated to digital.

The expertise and knowledge you have for selling is still relevant – you just need to ask questions and gain a new set of tools to deliver the message.

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

 

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Business owner motivation, DoingInfinity, marketing, Real world, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com. – Episode 744 – Read to Be a Better Leader

Quote: “Sticking to your comfort zone can rob you of valuable opportunities for growth”

Monday: Credibility

 

I’ve heard a statistic that, one third of high school graduates never read another book after high school graduation…  ever.

If you live to age 50 that’s roughly 30 years without reading a book… if you live to 80… that’s 60 years of never ever reading another book again.

This is bewildering to me.

I never was a reader growing up.  I grew up under the traditional school system of reading meant actually sitting down and cover to cover, no exceptions, read.  Hated it.

If I read now, it’s a rapid consumption.  Normally a paper book and it involves a plane or stationary bike.

Then I found audio books and my world changed.  I would rather listen to a book while driving… working out… anything.  This allows me to transform “unused” time into productive time.

I’m not a fuzzy blanket, curl up in my window sill seat, rain tapping on the panes, warm glass of cocoa, cat purring next to me, kind of reader.

Me?

I’m the listen in 10 minute increments on the way to work, the store, the bank….

The result is similar.  I think more. I learn more.  And this helps me do more.  I’m able to get thoughts, tactics, and knowledge that helps me help customers.  It builds the credibility needed to stay at the top of my game.

The credibility component of the Infinity Marketing Machine is just as important as the content component.

Here’s why.

I can go through the internet and find articles on topics… whether it’s fighting a fire, performing brain surgery, or creating a fresh fish recipe.  I could share these articles, paraphrase and create posts, too.

But I’d have zero credibility.

In your area, your zone, your business you are doing.  You are actively learning and growing.  The daily “grind” is giving you knowledge to help customers in the here and now.

When you add some external knowledge such as a book or trade journal you are pushing forward to new customers.  You are getting out of your comfort zone and investing in yourself and gain new tools to be a better leader for your tribe.

 

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

 

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review

Posted on in 1-Monday - Subject Matter Expert, Blog content, marketing, Social proof, subject matter expert, Success tips

TribeologyBlog.com – Episode 738 – Why All Things Fake Will Be Punished…

Quote: “Success in any relationship or endeavor begins with trust” Truett Cathy

Monday: Credibility

 

“Fake it till you make it.” we’ve all heard this catch phrase.  But here’s the scoop…  I predict something interesting is going to happen, and I think it will happen soon.

I believe all things fake will be punished.

There are four solid components of creating credibility for your business reputation.  They are to be trustworthy, consistent, competent, and genuine.

Do you trust a doctor that comes into your pre-op room and says, “OH we’ll get rid of that tonsil problem in no time” but you’re actually there for knee replacement?  Nope.  This would inspire absolutely no confidence.

These four components work in harmony.

However, we often operate (no pun intended) from the stand point of “fake it till I make it” – and most of the time it’s OK to fake the process.

For example, you’re not a consistent on your social media, it doesn’t feel natural.

Well… pretend you are! You’ve got to get into the habit and start.  Previously, you may never have been consistent, now you trying – however, until you are solid with the habit you’re “faking it”

But you can never “fake” the credibility stuff like your education, credentials, expertise, or social proof.

It’s the last one that I’m referring to in the “I believe all things fake will be punished” very soon.

Mark my words.  Coming soon the backlash against all things that have “tricked” us will be enormous.

The concept of “reality TV” is a great example.   This is not reality.  It’s scripted actors.  We are drawn into the “lives” but it’s not real.

It’s like “faking” positive reviews.

OR it’s like selling a car but instead of taking a photo of your current 2013 car you use the manufacturer’s stock photo from when it’s new.

I predict we are going to have a very big swing back to all things simple, trustworthy, and verifiable.

It just feels like we’re going to hit an era when scandals start to emerge.  We’ve seen it in the past in isolated cases when trusted leaders, officials, volunteer organizations, corporations, foundations, political leaders fall, but imagine when you get several of those tied together… it’s going to be a very loud thud.

How can you weather this?  Build genuine credibility now.  You may already be honest and genuine.  But really push this as your main talking points.

Look to where your traffic is coming from and build your own data base.

All things “fake” will be off limits that means traffic from paid sponsors, such as influencers.  As I’m observing trends, I think this backlash against fake will be huge.  When we start to doubt the main leaders like political and religious leaders or we start to doubt trusted charities and corporations the next to fall will be anything that doesn’t “feel” real like celebrities, reality TV, and that leads to micro-celebrities (influencers).  Many are real, but getting paid to pitch a product might turn off an important revenue stream for your business.

You need to prepare for this now.

Build your own audience and do nothing but build trust.

Start today.

 

#doinginfinity

Tomorrow… come back for my episode “Content & Consistency”!

PS:  Like my vibe? I want you to join my tribe!
FREE GIFT! Grab my guide: 6 Steps to Subject Matter Expert.

Infinitypreneur.com

Infinity Marketing Machine Daily Topics:
Monday – Character (Subject Matter Expert)
Tuesday – Content & Consistency
Wednesday – Midweek Motivation
Thursday – Infinity Customers
Friday – Big Money
Saturday – Try This!
Sunday – Week in Review