6 Steps to Becoming an Expert and Authority in Your Niche

The other day, I was watching one of the industry leaders do his annual launch for his program where he teaches people how to build an online business with their expertise.

He has thousands of hopeful newbies attend and he paints the picture of what is possible, and provides some tactics to get there.

Overall, it is very well done and each time he launches, he gets hundreds who join his programs. This is amazing from a marketer's perspective. 

However, I want to break down his launch from a customer's perspective to share some of the realities.

I call this launch a 'cooking show' launch. The expert is stirring ingredients into a pan and then after a commercial break, out comes the finished dish from the oven.

They have skipped big parts of the process to make it look simple (and fit within the time window).

You don't see any of the prep, challenges or obstacles that went into that perfect dish. 

First up - the goal of any 'sales pitch' is to paint the picture of what is possible, give examples and then help the potential customer believe that it is possible for them too.

There isn't anything wrong with this - it is exactly the strategy that gets attention. The goal is to give a quick win so they can get a test for what the future could be for them. 

In this particular launch, the quick win was to help the participants get their first paying customers. Excellent goal. This is a great strategy and one that is essential to testing your idea in the market.  This is magical and something that everyone loves. It does give a person a sense of momentum.

And the reality is that most people won't get this far because they get in their own head about all the reasons why they aren't ready. 

But the dark side of this is that what he isn't telling you is that getting a customer is only a small part of the whole picture. Once someone is paying you, you must fulfill on your promise. 

Telling customers that are paying you that you are going to co-create something together is a load of crap. They are not hiring you so you can show up and ask them what they want. 

They are paying you to [teach, coach, implement, guide] them down the fastest path from their problem to a tangible result. 

And let's be honest - if you have any sort of authority in your space, it is pretty easy to get people who already know, like and trust you to buy an initial offer from you. 

Note: Most of the highly successful testimonials had something before and just needed help putting it into a new container (or like the cooking show, it is after going through all the things).

The real work begins once you need to actually give them something of value. Most people drop out of the game here, or spend all of their time trying to figure out how to put 'stuff' into the delivery so it seems like they are helping. 

I propose another solution - one that gives you the confidence, provides you with a proven solution and allows you to get in the game and start strong. 

Is it waiting to create everything and then launching? 

Is it a complicated tech and automation background? 

Is it having hundreds and hundreds on your email list waiting for you to put out an offer? 

No - it is more simple than that. It becomes your North Star and the place where you lead from in your marketing, sales and fulfillment. It is the exact thing that will elevate your authority and help others quickly see what you do and how you help. 

It isn't about the delivery, the deliverables or anything in between. 

Before you start creating your business, you need to define your signature methodology.

Define the exact path that you use to take people from their problem to a result.