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How to Establish Yourself as a Sales & Marketing Expert at Work

Written by: Bill Tamminga

Article Overview: Regardless of your industry, experts make more money, have more contacts, and are sought out more than every other employee. If you want to see your earning power skyrocket you must establish yourself as an expert. It takes time, energy, and hard work but the end result is well worth it.

How to Establish Yourself as a Sales & Marketing Expert at Work

Regardless of your industry, experts make more money, have more contacts, and are sought out more than every other employee. If you want to see your earning power skyrocket you must establish yourself as an expert. It takes time, energy, and hard work but the end result is well worth it.

Learn

The first step in establishing your expertise is to master all you can about your subject matter. Everything, from business to politics to art, can be broken down into a series of activities that yield certain results. Other experts in your field have written down those activities before. The texts they have written will shed light on the systems and processes that have led other people to success. If all you have is the knowledge of those who have gone before you, you are well on your way to being an expert in your field and an asset to your company.

Communicate

The point at which you make the leap from student to teacher is the moment you begin changing perceptions, in your own mind and in others' minds, about your level of expertise. So, what are some ways to communicate your knowledge?

- First and foremost, live what you teach. If you cannot get positive results using the techniques you discuss, your audience will not listen.

- Once a month, hold a mini-seminar on your subject during lunch breaks or after work.

- Start a company newsletter and use it to share your expertise.

- Conduct research on your subject matter and publish your findings in an industry publication.

Acknowledge Your Expertise or No One Will

Finally, begin to acknowledge your expertise when you speak to others. What do you say when people ask what you do? If you say something like "I work at (insert company name)" or "I do (insert task) at (insert company)" you are not an expert. Experts do not express themselves in terms of job title. They express what they do in terms of the benefit they bring to society. Take a minute to think of a specific answer to the following questions. Who is the end-user of your product/service? What is the result of the work you do for them?

For instance, consider for a moment that you work in the sales department of a large financial services company. You don't just sell annuities, mutual funds, or stocks, you specialize in providing ways for people to invest for retirement. If you are an accountant or auditor with one of the Big 4, you are not just an accountant. You specialize in helping companies build the public's trust and keep more of the money they make. I think you get the point. The bottom line is this: the world begins to think of you as an expert when you begin acknowledging that you are an expert to the world.

Take Action

Don't wait to begin turning yourself into an expert. Whatever function you perform, read publications, articles, and books that shed light on best practices and current trends for that type of work. When you've gathered enough knowledge, start sharing your knowledge with people throughout your organization in non-offensive ways. Finally, live it. Show the world you are an expert by practicing what you preach and getting good results.

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Article Tags: audience, benefit, company newsletter, earning power, end result, industry experts, industry publication, insert company, job title, leap, lunch breaks, mini seminar, money, perceptions, subject matter, texts, time energy



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Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
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