Experts are paid more and get clients easier.
I’m pretty comfortable making that statement, but there is one catch…
People have to see you as an expert. You can be the absolute best at what you do, be the most educated or deliver the best results but if no one knows about it or percieves you as an expert then it’s not going to help you grow your business.
What is Expert Status?
You know the Instagram fitness celeb that can persuade your clients to do ridiculous exercises and try stupid diets? They have expert status.
Expert is defined as a person who has a comprehensive and authorative knowledge of a skill in a particluar area.
Being an expert is one thing, have that status and perception is another. There’s good news though! It’s easier than ever to establish yourself as an expert, as proven by the Instagram fitness celebrity.
How to build Your Expert Status
There are a few key ways to build your expert status, but before we dig into the how I think it’s important to recognize that you don’t need to be seen as an expert by the entire world. As a fitness business owner your focus should be on your community. Be the most well known personal trainer in your area and business will be good!
Even more important than being an expert is being an influential expert. You want to be able to persuade people to take action and follow your advice.
This all starts with know what sets you apart!
Digging in and establishing your Local Marketing Positioning™ is going to be critical for your success, especially at first. While everyone else is chasing every type of client and branding themselves as a personal trainer you can focus on branding yourself as a stand out fitness professional.
You need to determine what makes you different, why that matters to your prospective clients and how you will convey that message to them.
Once you have a clear picture of your position in the market it’s time to secure it and be the GO-TO fitness pro for it.
Sharing Your Message
Workshops, seminars, blog posts, videos, media appearances and social media can all be used to build up your local expert status. If you’re just getting started I recommend that you focus on one key area, especially if time is limited.
Blog posts, videos and social media require you to market those items to ensure people see them. If no one is reading or watching your message it’s going to be tough to be thought of as the expert.
Launching workshops or networking your way to media appearances can be a quick jump start to gaining expert status. And because you have a clear list of differnetiators and a positioning statement it’s going to be easy to show people why you are the one they should listen to or highlight.
To run workshops it’s usually best to partner up with other local businesses or organizations at first. Perfect your presentation, perfect your pitch at the end and do it for free to get some experience. By partning with these other organizations you can put the burden of filling the workshops on them.
As you gain experience it will be easier to figure out how to run your own workshops at your studio or at other locations in your community. You’ll figure out the marketing and be able to fill them up and get lots of new leads that see you as THE EXPERT.
Don’t get to caught up if only a few people show up for your events in the first few months. Be consistent and treat every workshop you run like there are 100 people in the audience.
Creating content and sharing it online is another great way to build up your expert status. It can take more time to build an audience but it’s still possible. If you’re going to use online channels like Youtube, your blog, and social media to create content and build up an audience that sees you as an expert also take the time to build up an email list so that you can communicate with them and share your content with them as you create it.
Tips For Success
Be consistent, keep your Ideal Client in mind, and go to work. It’s not difficult to outperform your local competition and be seen as an expert. However, it will take discipline to get it done. You’ve got to be willing to put yourself out there at workshops when no one may show up, write blogs every week when no one is reading them or get on camera and feel like a fool for a while.
It’s all part of the process. You’ll get better at delivering workshops, writing and video overtime. Consistently putting out the content (and some of it will suck) is going to be the key to your success.
Your ability to reach a lot of people in your local community has never been better. It’s time you start sharing your expertise with them!
And, if you need some help, we’d love to chat with you in a 1:1 Strategy Session to see if we can help you grow your business. Go ahead and schedule that free session when you’re ready!
