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The Myth of “The Expert”

For the most part, gurus are not helpful. Can we agree? Anyone with the audacity to call themselves a guru is either really, fantastically over-the-top awesome, or they’re stupid. It’s either one or the other, and of course…it’s usually the latter.

We don’t need gurus. What we do need however, are experts. Experts are essential.

If you’re inclined to ask “what is the difference between a guru and an expert?” then you’re following along very nicely! Read on…

The Guru vs The Expert

A guru is some type of hero with mythical powers. Even being in the same room as one of their products will cause you to levitate and begin attracting wealth and glory. All without lifting a finger of course. We’ve all seen these gurus; you know who I’m talking about. An expert on the other hand, is someone who gives a damn about you, who rolls up their sleeves and helps you make stuff happen.

Here’s the thing: YOU are an expert. There’s no getting out of it. You can’t shirk the responsibility, so don’t even try. Basically:

• If you’re in real estate (yes, even if you JUST STARTED), you’re a real estate expert.
• If you’re a personal trainer (yes, even if you’re fat and out of shape), you’re a fitness expert.
• If you’re a social media consultant, you’re a frickin “social media expert”. Yes, that dreaded phrase that draws so much criticism and disdain on the internet. That’s you.

Expert is as Expert Does

This is the big myth of “the expert”. We think experts are supposed to know everything. They don’t. That’s the guru’s job. And that’s why no one trusts them. No one knows everything. So if not…what the heck is an expert?

• An expert is someone who cares enough to make sure the job gets done right.
• An expert is someone who will admit when they don’t have the answer, but they don’t leave the client hanging. They go figure it out, and they make things work.
• An expert makes mistakes. Yep. Then they admit it, take responsibility for it, and they fix it.
• An expert is someone who looks out for their client’s best interest above anything else.
• An expert doesn’t claim to be a guru. They simply claim to be who they are. Their clients respect them for that.
• An expert may have been in business for decades, or they may have just started. The level of their experience carries weight with regards to how they market themselves, but it carries NO weight with regards to their fiduciary responsibility to their clients and customers.

Who is an expert? An expert is someone in the position of being an expert. It’s a responsibility, not a level of experience.

Who is an expert? An expert is someone in the position of being an expert. It’s a responsibility, not a level of experience. It’s not representative of any certain amount of accumulated knowledge. If it were, when exactly is it you become an expert? If you’ve been on the job 5 years and have read 75 books about your profession, are you an expert? What if you’ve only read 74 books…are you still an expert? What if you’ve only been on the job 5 months, but you’ve read 200 books on the field…are you an expert? See where I’m going?

It’s about the client, not you. If your client or customer needs an expert, and you took their call, then guess what…you just became an expert! In other words, we’re experts because we have to be; nothing less than that is acceptable, and whatever we don’t have in experience we make up in work ethic.

It’s your responsibility to do right by your clients, even if you have no experience…it’s on you to make good stuff happen.

It’s Not That Hard

This may sound intimidating at first, but once you begin you’ll see it’s really not that hard. If you don’t have the answer, get it. If you don’t know how to fix the problem, ask around. Figure it out. This is what experts do. No, you’re not a guru. And guess what…you’re not likely to ever be one. You’re an expert. Gurus hover and float amongst the clouds. Experts roll up their sleeves and work.

Get out there NOW…

I don’t want you to feel like you have to have all the answers before you put yourself out there. I see way too many awesome people sitting on the sidelines right now, not making offers, not being aggressive and getting their businesses going. They’re working toward some ethereal “expert” status. They feel in order to be “authentic” or “honest”, they need to have achieved some sort of badge of honor. What a shame. Why? Because in the meantime, their clients need their help NOW, and in the meantime these clients are being suckered in by the frickin gurus instead. Screw that. Put yourself out there…now. K?

Seriously, don’t hold back. You’re awesome now. Already. You’re already awesome. Why? Because you care about your people. I’m dead serious…that means way more than how many years you have under your belt. And the sooner you roll up your sleeves and accept the responsibilities of your expert status, the sooner you’ll feel like one…whatever that means

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Published by: Grant Griffiths

Full post as published by Blawg for Profit on September 16, 2010 (boomark / email).