Power in business comes from the position you hold in the mind of your customer. The ONLY way to gain that strong position is to specialize.
The perception is that specialists provide greater value. Whether or not it's true is irrelevant.
The generic brand of soda may be just as good as the specific brand of Pepsi, but anything with a Pepsi label is perceived as being better. In reality, people drink the label. That's just the way our minds work.
And when you own "the label" in your niche, people are attracted to you. They come to you because they want your knowledge. They want to learn from the best. And they are willing to pay premium prices to learn from you.
The supply of your knowledge is limited to you, but the demand for the quality you provide as a specialist is great. Simple economics allows you to charge more when the demand exceeds the supply.
As a generalist, your supply exceeds the demand, so you have to lower your prices.
Customers aren't the only people attracted to you, though. Joint venture partners also come to you because they want to benefit from your knowledge.
By partnering with you, they bring value to their customers. That makes them more valuable by association.
They can also balance out your weaknesses, so it becomes a win-win situation for all involved.
Being an expert has other perks, too.
First of all, you get tons of FREE stuff from people who want you to endorse their products. Since you can't ethically endorse a product or service you haven't used yourself, they give it to you to try. For free!
Wouldn't it be nice to consistently grow your collection of books, cds, courses, software and the like without having to pay for them? Yeah!
Another perk having to do with endorsements is to MAKE MONEY in exchange for endorsing a product.
The product may have nothing to do with your area of expertise, but if you're an expert, advertisers want you telling people to buy their stuff. Advertisers know that if a recognized and trusted expert recommends their product, their sales will increase.
Why do you think Hanes had Michael Jordan model their t-shirts?
Because they're brilliant! They knew that if one of the greatest basketball players to ever play the game wore their product, they would sell millions.
People who had no basketball skill whatsoever could still "be like Mike." All they had to do was wear the Hanes brand. And Jordan's bank account grew significantly by appearing in those ad campaigns.
Third is name recognition. When you're an expert, people you don't know recognize you and want to be around you.
Imagine attending seminars within your niche and having person after person coming up to you and introducing themselves to you. Get used to it because that's what happens to experts.
Fourth involves the media. They love experts. Reporters and talk show hosts on the radio and television actively seek out experts to interview. Becoming an expert could be your claim to fame.
Finally, respect. People respect experts. It's as simple as that. They respect you because you're important to them. You make their lives better. And so they admire you, value you and treat you with the admiration and esteem you deserve.
That's why you must become an expert.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
I am looking for someone who can research and ...
By: jimjasper | 02-11-2007
I am looking for someone who can research and indentify some good keywords for my website? Any suggestions.
Research on industry in Internet
By: williamabraham | 02-11-2007
I am looking for someone to do research on the Internet on a industry segment for Canadian market. I don?t want to spend days collecting data. Can you recommend any person or company doing this?
Professional search engine optimization company
By: margaretstewart | 02-11-2007
I am looking for a professional search engine optimization company that is not pricy but someone who knows their stuff? Any suggestions?
Speed up the Commitment Process
By: jonelle | 01-11-2007
A lot of my clients that commit to sales, take a while to get back to me... I end up freaking out and waiting around stalking them with voicemails. Any way to speed up the process without tons of messages?
Whats mean by SEO How it be used
By: sekarc | 01-11-2007
Whats mean by SEOHow it be used
Google adwords advertising
By: wahmkim | 31-10-2007
Wouldn't paid advertising to be on the first page of google search results be sufficient? Is paying for the top 2 spots necessary?
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Online Promotion Articles
How To Generate Traffic From Article Marketing
By: Sameep Shah | 11/10/2008
Marketing is a large part of any entrepreneur's existence. Whether you want to drive your company's sales of a certain product or simply drive traffic to your website, marketing is the way you will get the results you want and need. Article marketing is just one marketing method that is popular amongst website owners and managers.
Some Of The Most Amazing Advantages Of PPC Marketing!
By: Kristi Ambrose | 10/10/2008
What people don't understand is that the PPC market can bring them more success than failure if they simply know how to execute an ad campaign the right way. And yes there are right and wrong ways. Maybe you have failed at because you did it the wrong way! Read on! There are many benefits that pay per click marketing offers that other processes of net marketing can't even begin to compete with.
Best Advertising Methods on the Internet
By: Tara Martindale | 09/10/2008
There are various advertising methods one can use to promote their business website on the internet, but it can also be tough to get your site in front of all the other sites offering similar products or services. Using the internet can get your product out to millions of people but without proper marketing there is no sense.
Banner-based Conversations
By: Jim Russell | 09/10/2008
Consider the banner. It's old. About fourteen years old - here's a link to the purported first banner ever. And thought to be rather un-sexy. When's the last time you went to a conference and saw a breakout sessioncalled 'The Art of the Banner'? It's mostly yada yada yada about search engine marketing / blog seeding / out-of-home / mobile integration / (insert buzzword here).
Article Submission Software - Do They Work?
By: Dominic Tay | 09/10/2008
As article marketers, we are always looking for ways to submit our articles faster, easier and to more article sites. The trouble is that we are trained to look at article submission software as the solution. But do they really work? Let's find out...
Hiring a Consultant for Internet Marketing
By: virgilio vallecera | 09/10/2008
The key to hiring a consultant to assist in an Internet marketing campaign is to hire the right consultant. You will find there are many different options available to you as Internet marketing has become a huge industry. However, not all consultants are created equal.
Top Two Reasons to Hire a Virtual Assistant
By: Uche Okoroha | 08/10/2008
Want to know the secret to online marketing success? As time goes by more and more entrepreneurs and online marketers are turning to the services of a virtual assistant to outsource all of their administrative and marketing tasks. Learn about the top two reasons to hire a virtual assistant.
Custom Business Card Design Ideas
By: Robert Johnston | 08/10/2008
When it comes to custom business cards, the easiest way to customize them is to use the back as well as the front.
More from Glen Hopkins
Find Your Fortune by Following Up with Your Customers
By: Glen Hopkins | 10/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
The more opportunities your customers have to buy from you, the more money you are going to make. So you must follow-up with your customers. Don't become so preoccupied with driving fresh traffic to your site that you ignore the traffic that's going to make you money: the people already in your system.
How to Create a Huge Keyword List
By: Glen Hopkins | 10/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
You may hope people are searching for a particular word but in reality no one is. So you need to find out what keywords people are actually searching for.
The One Thing You Must Develop For Your Business to Thrive
By: Glen Hopkins | 09/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
In order for your business to thrive, you must develop a backend system. In other words, you need to have more than one product or more than one version of your product to sell.
The Viral Power of the One Time Offer
By: Glen Hopkins | 09/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
Although a One Time Offer is a great sales tactic, it does not always have to be a sales message. As a matter of fact, you can use it to generate even more traffic. Instead of redirecting your subscribers to a OTO page for a product purchase, appeal to the same sense of urgency by offering additional bonuses if referring three friends.
Three Ways to Motivate Your Prospects to Buy Immediately
By: Glen Hopkins | 09/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
One Time Offers convey a sense of urgency to your prospects and motivate them to buy immediately. When done correctly, these offers have a high conversion rate.
Five Ways to Get Your Customers to Buy From You Again and Again
By: Glen Hopkins | 09/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
Selling a front-end product doesn't leave room for much profit. That's why you need your customers to buy from you again and again. And that's why you need to develop a backend system.
How to Deliver Value One High-Priced Product at a Time
By: Glen Hopkins | 09/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
Think of your backend system like a funnel: you can pour a lot in the top, but it filters down to a focused point. That focal point is you. You are your most expensive product and should charge a premium price for one-on-one time with you.
How to Motivate Your Prospects to Buy NOW
By: Glen Hopkins | 08/01/2008 | Internet Marketing
The trick with the One Time Offer is to write persuasive, effective copy. And you're appealing to different types of emotions depending on where you use your OTO. When done correctly, these offers have a high conversion rate.
Advertising 
