Be an Authority

What makes you so exceptional?  Why would a client buy your product or service or listen to your thoughts about anything? The best answer to this question is that you have proven yourself to be an authority and make every effort to make sure every one of your potential clients knows this. You have written articles in your field figuratively and sometimes literally. That’s the power of authoritarian marketing. 

Create Authority. Be inspired and show the confidence that is needed to drive your business. Show and tell your customers/competitors how you do it. Show them your experience! Authority in your area is how you can dominate your opponents and prove yourself. This puts you above your competitors and opens doors.  It is the biggest responsibility of every entrepreneur / CEO: attracting and retaining customers. 

To develop this authority you need a business presence: 

1. Branding.    Building a brand is about creating not only your company’s brand but also your personal brand. For your audience to remember your name, it must be clearly recognizable and associated in their minds. Turn your personal brand into something that makes you unique. There are several important factors that will help you discover your unique brand: your personal mission statement, the philosophy that drives you, how you learned and changed from the journey, and the community that you help support. Famous leaders understand very clearly who they are and portray it to everyone around them. 

2. Content marketing. Content marketing is a ubiquitous tool. You need to devote yourself to creating a significant amount of high-quality content written specifically for your audience. It can be offered in a variety of formats: white papers, articles, blog posts, webinars, podcasts, or even a book. When you create notable content, you gain a fanbase that tries to consume what you create. You become a leader in your niche.

3. Referral marketing. If done effectively, could lead to an increase in business, when you get new customers from people that referred them to you. In fact, according to the survey, 85 percent of small businesses obtain customers by word of mouth. Where you have satisfied customers refer you to others. Customer recommendations are the most common and are the result of good service. One often-overlooked opportunity is the recommendation of influencers-people who represent a group of your potential clients’  Study them, meet them. Impress them.

4. Lead generation. What does being an authority have to do with generating leads?  It’s much easier to have people or companies respond to you when you are seen as an authority. As an authority, you can tell people what they need and they will believe you. If you look at them and act like a salesman, they go the other way.  An authority gets past the gatekeepers easier and is believed.

5. PR and marketing. American humorist Will Rogers once said, ” All I know is what I read in the paper”. No matter how you feel about that statement these days, there are some truths in it. People don’t believe what you say about yourself, but in general, they believe what others and the media says about you. This is really mind-boggling, but there is nothing rational about the decision-making process of the general public. Whether it’s your local news coverage, a you-tuber, a local radio station, tik-toker, blogger, or others commenting on your blog, people will think you have credibility. And credibility is good for business.  

6. Talk and feedback. Are you currently communicating with the people in your target group? If not, then you need to start. There are no excuses for not taking a stand and speaking out. Authority is the best way to strengthen your position and generate high-quality leads. If what you say is competent and professional, you will connect with an audience, maybe not an audience that buys, but if you were the authority, they could be an audience that refers. This includes phone, direct messages, and live video chats. Talking can be as simple as making a phone call that gets you connected.

7. Events. Events are where groups of people in your niche or people that could use your service come together. Interact with them by attending the same event. You could even invite them to the event.   Hosting annual events is one of the best ways to boost sales, boost loyalty and introduce more people to your business. You don’t have to be the person who organizes the event, you just have to be the person who invites people. One of the people who impressed me said: “no one outside the advertising world knows who I am, but inside the advertising world I am a rock star. ” The lesson is, you want to be famous to the group of people who can give you money. You need to be an authority in the industry, in an area where you and your company provide services because you need people who can give you money and are willing to give you referrals based on your authority! Be a rockstar at an Event by attending, inviting, hosting, and speaking.

Actionable Tip: Be an Authority today by picking up the phone and asking a customer for feedback.  (Remember to show your gratitude for any and all feedback you get.)