How To Build Yourself As The Authority Figure In Your Industry

Posted by Jason Kienbaum on Aug 4, 2010 in Small Business Marketing | 33 comments

This is a guest post by Travis Petelle.

If you are the authority in your niche, it could possibly be the best thing you could do for your business.  It brings in easier sales, more prospects, and a much simpler time getting what you want.  Don’t expect your authority status to just fall in your lap though.  You must take action to build yourself as the authority and that’s what I wanted to cover in this article.

Becoming the authority is more than just having the expertise.  There are plenty of professionals in your industry with about the same amount of knowledge and expertise in the subject.  What’s going to make you different?  What’s going to allow you to stand out from the rest of the crowd and have people begging to hear more from you.  Building you as an authority will.

There are a lots of opportunities for this to happen.  You could change your website, create products that help your audience, or get the local community on your side.  Allow me to show you some great tactics that could easily increase your credibility and authority in your industry.

Instant Authority Builder – Become An Author

Writing a book and getting it published in your industry is one of my favorite ways to build authority.  I work often consulting doctors, lawyers, and other professional services.  One of the main projects we develop is making them a published author.  When the public sees this, they instantly think of you as a higher authority.  You are instantly seen as knowing more then others in the subject. It also opens the door to media coverage which I will get into later.

Becoming a published author isn’t as difficult as you might think.  If you aren’t much of a writer, you can always hire a ghostwriter to write what you know.  Depending on your industry, you might find it difficult to get a book published by major publishers.  There’s an easy fix to this as well.  Get your own book published.  Amazon offers an easy to use service that will publish your book for a relatively cheap price.  Just having that physical product with your name on it is what builds the authority.

Don’t Be Afraid To Speak In Public

Public speaking is a great method to build your credibility and the influence you have on prospects as well.  The reason it’s such a powerful method is because you are helping the audience.  Public speaking is all about informing others.  In a consultant’s example, once you show one member of the audience how to double his business by contacting his database, he will start talking to his friends about what your speech did for him.  The power of referrals is tremendous and public speaking is a key step to fast referral building.

Make Good Friends With The Press

When you generate attention from the press, your authority will quickly build in your industry.  Even just a simple newspaper article about your business or a guest spot on a radio show can and will get customers knocking on your door.  There are always new stories developing that are related to every industry.  The key to grabbing the attention of a reporter or radio producer is creating a captivating angle on these stories.  Once you offer them something their readers will enjoy, they will keep an eye out for your name and what’s going on with your business.  Having a book and doing speaking events really helps put you in the press’s spotlight as well.

Building Authority From Your Website

You all know how important your website is in today’s market.  It’s where 9 out of 10 consumers of any service or industry research before they buy.  This is why it’s so important to begin the process of building you as an authority from your website.  It’s the first place they are going to look to learn more about you.  Here are some simple things you can do to help start building that authority:

• Add Association Logos – BBB, BNI, Local Chamber of Commerce, etc.
• Adding logos of places like FedEx, UPS, and USPS helps.  These companies spend a lot of money to market themselves and just having their logo can cause credibility to rub off on you.
• Have methods of payment accepted logos such as credit card logos.  Shows you have been approved by 3rd party vendors who have spent millions building their credibility and they have approved you. You could also add PayPal or other online checkout logos if you accept internet payments.
• Offering a powerful guarantee and make it a logo.
• List a local phone number and a toll free number if marketing out of your area.
• Post icons that show as seen on Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Bing, etc…
• Include any awards you have earned even if it’s not directly associated with your work. Charities often award these type of certificates, etc.
• Any press release or news story featuring you or your business should be on your website.
• Splashing testimonials across your website in random locations shows that what you do works.
• Celebrity endorsements will rock your credibility even if they are just industry specific celebrities.  Having pictures of you shaking hands with the celebrity etc.
• Contact page including a picture of your office or building, Google Map, Fax , etc.
• Link to Secretary of States office with YOUR business listing
• A video of you speaking about your industry will boost your authority as well.

Becoming an authority in your industry is key to creating a highly successful business.  As the authority, people come searching for you…not the other way around.  You get the opportunity to start turning down clients instead of wondering where the next one will come from.  So, get out there and start learning how to influence people.

About The Author:

This was a guest post by Travis Petelle.  He is the president of the consulting firm, Breakthrough Business Solutions, and actively helps small business owners through his blog - Not Your Everyday Small Business Advice.  You can learn more about Travis’s methods of business improvement and increasing profits through his free guide - Five Step Formula For Explosive Growth.