You make an offer to a qualified prospect. How do you make your offer stand out from all of the competing offers? How do you make the prospect feel safe selecting your offer? The answer to both questions is, by positioning yourself as an expert (preferably the expert) on what you offer. Buyers want to buy from experts. Buyers feel safe buying from experts.
You need to present substantial proof of expertise to truly position yourself as an expert in your field. Proofs of expertise include academics degrees, testimonials, books, keynote addresses, articles, white papers, speaking gigs, etc. Experienced marketers will tell you that of all these different kinds of proofs of expertise, a book is by far the best. It is the ultimate showcase for your expertise, because it demonstrates both your comprehensive knowledge of, and your dedication to, your subject.
Bernie Borges is the founder and CEO of the internet marketing agency Find and Convert, where he helps businesses produce sales opportunities through Internet Marketing. Mr. Borges is also the author of Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing (Wheatmark, 2009). He says of his book:
“I regularly compete for new business among other Internet marketing agencies. Without question, when I hand a prospective new client my book (or mail it to them if they are not local), I am immediately set apart from all of my competitors. Nearly each time, I win the new client.”
He wins the new client because his book positions him as the expert to be trusted (rather than his bookless competitors).
Another example: Bad boy chef Anthony Bourdain, host of the Travel Channel’s long running show, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, is one of these most recognized experts in the culinary field. This didn’t happen by chance; it happened as a direct result of his publishing the book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Bloomsbery, 2000). Before the book’s publication Mr. Bourdain had a respectable career managing the kitchens of several restaurants in New York. Since the book’s publication he’s:
- had two wildly successful televisions shows
- published nine more books (including a trio of well-selling mysteries)
- had a sitcom character based on him
- launched and run an award-winning blog
- been a guest on Top Chef, and several other television shows
- had articles published in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Observer, Gourmet, Maxim, Esquire (UK), Town & Country, and many other magazines and newspapers
- made a cameo appearance in a major motion picture, and
- been hired as a writer and consultant for the HBO series Treme
The publication of Kitchen Confidential was the watershed event that set Mr. Bourdain apart from the tens of thousands of other chefs out there. It’s what allowed (and allows) him to make offers to publishers and TV producers and have these offers be taken seriously and accepted.
Positioning yourself as an expert is key to marketing your business successfully and nothing positions you as an expert better than a book.