Positioning With Advice
In the knowledge economy, your advice is what determines your value. Being in the advice business ourselves, we understand this value and we want to share with you how to use your value through a specific process.
Written Vs. Spoken
If you spent 30 minutes writing rather than talking to someone, here are the advantages you have:
- Your content can be used 1,000 more times.
- You appear much more credible. We trust writing more.
- You are able to be Googled.
- You are forced to think.
- You are better positioned for a next step.
- You differentiate yourself from your competitor.
Very few people will write. Thus, it is an opportunity for you to distinguish yourself. Having a content management site which brands you is a strategic enabler to look credible rather than be merely charismatic in speaking.
However, it is a hard habit to develop. Too often, we like to chit-chat and blow a half hour talking about things that will fade with memory quickly.
Examine this process map. It shows you how you must be vigilant and learn to be a different business person. It shows you how to bring much higher value and position yourself. Remember, if you are positioned well, selling becomes less necessary.
Next time you can bring value to someone because of your knowledge, stop your typical process of freely giving away your knowledge. Instead, leverage it and build your business and brand. Otherwise, you are just a person out there doing a lot of one-time talking.
Writing Ezine Articles
You have already made the important decision to grow your business by growing your network and influence. A regular ezine is an excellent tool to stay connected to your current and potential customers. You will find that through this method of branding and writing, you will increase your credibility and trust with both clients and strangers.
Getting Started
You are committed and ready, so what is next on this journey to becoming a writer? These 6 important habits will send you on your way:
- Continually brainstorm and record topic ideas. These will be
generated from your observations about life, people, and your business; relevant issues
that pertain to your specific clients; your reading and your experiences; as well as your
unique passions and hobbies. - Start writing. Use the writeboard area to even log the topic, quote, or first paragraph idea
and build from there. Write a first draft as soon as you think about it, not concerned with
format or punctuation, but with clarity of thought and opinion. - Write as if you were speaking. You will want to maintain
your own “voice” as much as possible. People are attracted
to you because of your unique style and convictions. “Keep
it real” in your ezines, but stay professional. - Keep your paragraphs short, 3-6 sentences long. Keep entire
article between 3-5 paragraphs long. - Read, read, read a variety of books. Be observant to unique styles and articulation of
thoughts. Subscribe to other quality ezines. - Write each article as if a potential client were meeting you for the first time. Make it
personal, relevant, and fresh.
Note
• Invest as much time in reading as in writing
• Respond to natural moments of inspiration to write