I’m going to tell you how to get ahead (and stay ahead) of your competition.
But first, I need to tell you a story…. One of the turning points in my career was when I decided I was going to immerse myself in web marketing and really become an expert in my area. I’m talking about learning the ins and outs of SEO, PPC, email marketing, conversion optimisation, you name it. Instead of watching TV, I’d read books. I enrolled in courses, invested in membership sites, registered for webinars and learned as much as I could. I still do on a daily basis. I guess you could say I put myself through a self-directed university course in web awesome… back when there wasn’t a course in this stuff. Actually there STILL isn’t one!
Why keeping yourself self-educated will increase YOUR profits…
What was fascinating was that before too long, I found myself selling on my knowledge. Soon enough, with all the web knowledge I was absorbing, I found I could look at a client’s business and straight away have a ton of ideas on how they could really profit from the web. Thanks to my expanded knowledge, I was able to confidently talk to clients about things like:
- Lead capture,
- What keywords to target,
- How to market online effectively,
- How to structure their website,
- Logo & branding ideas, and
- How to implement social media.
I found just ‘knowing my stuff’ was a winning formula.
If my soon-to-be clients had any doubts about my work I’d win them over so easily just on my knowledge, on my confidence and on just how quickly I could understand their business. And once I delivered the project, their online results were pretty good, even all those years ago. Soon enough the word went around that I was THE go-to girl in Wagga for web. It’s a no-brainer really, isn’t it? Who would YOU rather work with? A web designer who throws you a basic site and then leaves you to it? Or a web designer who really cares about your business, who has the passion AND the tools to make your website work hard for your money? This is what helped me develop a portfolio of happy clients. And of course, the more happy clients (and awesome websites) I got under my belt, the easier it became for new clients to choose me over other local designers. So my advice to you is: learn all you can! Be the best at whatever you do. Be THE go-to gal in your area… just like I was.
If you become a thought leader, or even if you become a highly respected expert in your local area/niche, it’ll open a LOT of doors for you. It’s an amazing competitive advantage. After all, if you seem to know what you’re talking about, a client is going to choose you over a competitor who “umms” and “ahhhhs” his way through his presentation.
My superior web knowledge gave me the confidence to expand my business offering to include web services. And now, considering I now run a booming web development business, I guess I made the right choice! Seriously, presenting myself as an expert was a huge shift for me, my career AND my bottom line. And it can be for you too… if you want it. Until next time ABN’ers! Cheers, Bianca
