Successful Experts have a masterful Expert Platform generating them a steady flow of high quality leads, powerfully positioning them as the go-to Expert in their niche, selling their Expertise for a premium price, and building their Expert Tribe.
This Platform includes:
- Website
- Blog
- Email Marketing
- Newsletters
- Social Media
- CRM
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- Videos
- SEO and PPC
How many items on that list are you successfully implementing in your Expert Practice right now? How many have been on your ‘to do’ list for over 6 months? How many of those items make you want to turn the lights off and curl up into the fetal position?
An effective Expert Platform makes running a successful Practice easy and lucrative – but building that Platform in the first place can be a huge headache – as can managing and keeping it updated long-term.
There are some excellent courses and seminars available if you want to learn how to create your Platform independently (Dale Beaumont’s New Rules of Business, Copyblogger and EGurus are standouts).
However, before embarking on the design or build of any of the items on the above list, ask yourself one crucial question:
Is this the best use of my time?
For most Experts (Coaches, Trainers, Speakers, Authors, Mentors, Information Marketers, Thought Leaders) the answer has to be no.
Your time is best used thinking, creating, delivering and in some cases, selling.
As Experts we can also be control freaks: we have very high standards and it’s hard to find service providers that live up to these. We try to do everything ourselves – and this has a negative impact on our energy and creative flow, and ultimately the profitability of our Practice.
In his New Rules of Business event, Dale Beaumont identifies 5 key questions to ask yourself when considering whether to outsource:
- is this the most productive use of my time now?
- is this important and a priority
- can this be systemised?
- can this be delegated?
- is there a better way to do this?
Whatever stage you are at in your Expert Practice, whether you’re in start up phase or have hit the magic 7-figure turnover, the earlier you ask yourself those questions and make the right decisions about what to retain and what to outsource, the faster you’ll be able to take your Practice to the next level.
Does this mean handing over control of your business? Absolutely not. You should never outsource certain business-critical areas of your Practice, including:
- content/IP creation
- product/service development
- strategic decisions
- relationship building (JV partners, sales, customer service)
- financials
But to be able to focus your time and energy on these critical areas, you simply can’t expect to do everything else yourself.
Integrate delegation, out-tasking and out-sourcing into your Expert Practice Model, or you risk getting trapped in the lower levels of ‘doing’ in your business, and limiting your ability to think, create, deliver and sell.
Move on from what’s not working.