If there’s anything my past experiences in Corporate Land and making money online has taught me, it’s that appearances are often far more seductive that actual verifiable quality.
Sad to say, but actually, quite true! Think about it – the corporate politics that allow executives with the managerial ability of toe-nail fungus often provide them undeserved promotions because…
They know how to play the politics game.
And when you’re talking about making money online…heck, the fraud that surrounds that is more densely impermeable than a tubful of set concrete (notice how that last link is 10 years old…but still relevant today?).
The fact is, far too many people WANT to believe. They WANT to worship others in their niche or industry, they WANT to look towards leaders, they WANT to be told what to do and what to buy.
And there’s a good chance that at least 90% of your audience consists of people with that mentality.
Having been considered a subject matter expert in any niche I’ve chosen to master (recruiting, real estate, teaching kids, blogging, etc.), I’ve learned the above sad truth…and often have been tempted to take such shortcuts myself (it really is painfully easy to become known as THE expert in your field beyond any shadow of a doubt). Such activities, however, just wouldn’t allow myself to sleep at night….and as sleep is something of the Impossible Dream for me 
, I certainly can’t risk even less of that activity.
So! Here are 3 easy "look smarter than everyone else" techniques I’ve come across over the past decade of moving and shaking the Internet that are extremely effective both in the short run and over the long haul.
1.) Always have an answer. Note! It doesn’t have to be THE answer, it just has to be AN answer of which others are not aware. Answers are always easy to find by searching at Google.
Need tips for Google searching? Check out:
- Google Search Tips
- Google Tutor
- Google Guide
- 12 Quick Tips To Search Google Like An Expert
- 20 Tips for More Efficient Google Searches
You’ll see from the above that you can search on far more than simply keywords – you can search via the title of a document, the types of documents (ie, limit your searches to only PDF files online), the age of the documents…you can utilize Archive.org to bring back to life long-dead documents and the like.
2.) Always know where to go when you DON’T have an answer. I have developed a huuuuge network of friends/colleagues from whom I can ask assistance whenever I get stumped. Thus, if a non-savvy Internet colleague asks you for help regarding an industry question, you can ferret out the answer from your own network and deliver it to said colleague, who will be impressed you knew how to find it.
Social networks CAN be used for this purpose, but you never know if the question-asker is part of the same network to which you belong. I generally stick to straight email requests for help in this case.
3.) Always ensure you make the person asking the question feel smart for, well, asking the question. This is such a simple technique that I’m astounded that it’s not used very often. People hate feeling dumb. I always begin my seminars by emphasizing:
Nobody (except my mom) knows everything, but everyone knows something…put all those somethings together and you develop a formidable power indeed!
Going out of your way to make someone feel comfortable in admitting their lack of knowledge compels that person to look at you extremely favorably…and quite often, tell their friends about how smart and helpful you’ve been as well.
Remember, once you become a subject matter expert in your niche, field or industry, the cold hard truth is…you ARE more resourceful and educated than the majority of your peers out there regarding the same information. Don’t be shy about helping out your network – it’s a superb way to help your business grow.
Enjoy,
Barbara Ling
#BEGIN highlights of this blog writing post:
Beginners business tips: Google is your friend. Use it.
Intermediate and/or Advanced business tips: Always be humble when providing answers. Even if you’re brilliant, there are people smarter than you. But…there’s nobody alive who can duplicate just what you deliver to your audience….because that quality resides in your utter unique ability.
#END highlights of this blog writing post
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