To win in the marketplace as a successful speaker, coach or expert, you need a number of systems that work effectively for you. Far too often, experts rely on their expertise. They think because they know what they are talking about so well that they can rest on it. Nothing could be further from the truth. An expert business involves effective systems that help you successfully leverage your expertise to get paid.
In one of my latest free masterclasses, ‘The 8 Keys to a Highly Paid Expert Business’, I outlined them. I figured I would recap them here in a post.
Here are some of the most important systems you should consider building as an expert.
Customer Service System
This system will enable you to keep track of any issues and handle them effectively when they arise. It includes building a frequently asked questions database to respond to questions as well as ensuring that all clients are kept as happy as possible by answering their questions and dealing with their issues as smoothly as possible.
Invoicing System
The invoicing system is about setting up a template for invoices and a set procedure so that you can easily and effortlessly send invoices to your clients. This is important also from a financial perspective as you want to make it very easy to find all invoices and keep track of which ones are paid and when.
Content Creation System
A great content creation system will save you tons of time. The key here is to set up the various types of content that you need to create and organize templates for them so that you can quickly come up with ideas. For instance, you might have the 3 keys or 5 steps or the difference between one concept and another. With structures like this you can quickly generate plenty of ideas and build blog posts, podcast episodes or social media posts. You can schedule them and then batch record them in one go so you are keeping ahead of the game consistently.
Networking System
Your networking system is really crucial for building opportunities. So often we network and make the biggest mistake of all and don’t follow up. It’s so important that you have a system where every contact you make you can follow up and add value to them. This makes them a real connection and you will find as you grow that the greatest amount of business you will get will come from your network and past clients.
Social Media Marketing System
This system is about how you regularly update your social media channels. For many, this is the primary system of marketing they will do so it is really important to build a system to get it as automated and as easy as possible. You can use it to build the appropriate kind of content for the channel you choose, automate the scheduling of the content and then remind yourself to follow up and engage with the comments and posts. The more active you are in a strategic way the better, which is why the system is so critical.
Advertising System
The adverting system that you have is really about how you set up the ads and promotions of your content. This means having a system where you create the copy, choose the audience you are marketing it to and track the metrics on a continuous basis. Often this is outsourced but it is still good for you to learn the system before outsourcing it so you can grasp the basics of what is going on.
Client Relationship Management System
Similar to your networking system, the client relationship management system is about keeping track of your clients and clearly organizing exactly what your relationship is. You need to be clear about what kind of work you have done for them, what kind of response you got, who is your contact and whether you have a testimonial or not. You can also make sure that you have some things about them that are personable so you remember things that are important to them when you’re communicating with them in the future.
Being successful as an expert requires a strong business model. With systems like these you are on the right track.
