10 TOP TIPS TO TURN YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE INTO A 6 FIGURE INCOME

10 TOP TIPS TO TURN YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE INTO A 6 FIGURE INCOME
So you want to be a freelance consultant, trainer or coach? Do you have special knowledge about something which you have either learned through education, training, or experience? Have you been tempted by the questions ... how can sell my knowledge? How can I run my own business? Do you have a passion and a drive to be financially independent? Or just to be free of being reliant on employers? Even if you already sell your knowledge to an employer in exchange for a wage, you must have wondered if there were other ways you could do this, and for more money and by being your own boss? Well, there are, and that is what we are all about. I help people to start and develop a freelance consultancy or knowledge selling business.
If you really want to explore the possibility of starting your own freelance knowledge business, then you have started in the right way by downloading 10 Ten Top Tips to Turn Your Knowledge and Expertise into a 6 Figure Income'. These are things that I have learned over the last 15 years and if I can pass on my experience and knowledge to you then I will count that a success.
You may be aware of some of these things already, but if not take note of these common themes that I see my customers and clients make all the time when starting or developing their consultancy or specialist knowledge business. So, here are the 10 things. They are not necessarily in order of priority as each will apply to different people in different ways and at different times. They are:

1. Find out the need for what you are offering
2. Learn how to market your offering
3.Learn as much as you can about your niche
4. Developing a 'micro-niche'
5. Don't undervalue what you know
6. Keep it simple
7. Don't be a perfectionist
8. Be aware of how others see you
9.Be aware of procrastination
10. Sell products as well as time

Here they are in more detail:
1. Find out what the need is for what you are offering
If you work with local companies ask them what they need. If you have clients already ask them what they need. Ideally, and especially if you're marketing on the internet (which consultants, trainers and coaches are beginning to do more of), you should know what the need is around the areas that you are offering then seek to fill that need. Most people come up with an idea, a concept or a product first and then they try to find people to buy it. Avoid this! Don't make the mistake of just thinking you can take your knowledge directly to the public and that they will buy it. Find a niche that you can respond to. A niche is a group of people looking for the solution to a problem but not finding many satisfactory results. Locate such a group, find out what they need, respond to their problem and you'll have a business. Learn some key techniques about how people search to solve their problems then set yourself up to respond to this need.

2. Learn How to Market your offering
You may have an ad in your local phone directory or have some business cards that you give out. But there is so much more that you need. As I said finding out what people wantis the most important marketing activity you can do. But also, tell people what you do, set up appointments with prospective clients and customers. Don't be afraid to ask for business, put other ads out, join forums, and speak to your local Chamber of Commerce. But avoid national newspapers and magazines unless you want to throw a lot of money away very quickly. If you are selling to businesses and companies make appointments with them. Even if you just get the contact details of 5 or 10 and have their permission to send your sales letter to them this will be more effective than an expensive ad that no one will read.
You really need to be thinking about online activity too. Lots of people with a website think they are doing Internet marketing. They aren't! They have a website. That's it! Knowing about keywords, site engine optimisation, pay-per-click, article submission, directory submission, social networking sites, and many other things, then taking action on these things is what marketing on the internet is about. In order to raise your profile, and certainly if you want to make sales online, you need to learn about these and many other techniques before you can say that you are optimizing your marketing strategy.

3. Learn as much as you can about your niche
A key component to the previous point is your niche. Understanding this is critical. This is so especially if you are relying on the internet to get known and to sell your knowledge. It is also important even if you are only selling to local businesses in your area through traditional methods. The reason most businesses and sole-trader consultancies fail is because they don't have a clear niche, a specific problem that the set out to solve. Don't try to be all things to all people. Many start with an idea or product then try to sell it without finding out if anyone actually wants it! A niche is a group of people with a problem and not being able to find a solution to it. This problem will be specific hence the term 'niche'. You will need to find what this problem is. Yes, it involves effort and a bit of detective work to find what this might be in the context of your interest but it's worth it. The niche needs to be in your area of interest (as you are most likely to stay with and remain excited with a business designed around that than if it was something you didn't really care much about). If you are selling to businesses in your area, do a quick survey of 10 or 20 companies and find out what they want. If you are working online then go to Google Keywords and learn how it works this will help you a lot in defining a niche for your knowledge. Experiment by typing in terms that you think people will use when looking for your kind of solution.

4. Developing a micro-niche
A micro-niche is a niche within a niche which lies within a particular industry. There may be enough business for you within a micro-niche. Sometimes the more specific your market - the better.. Here's how it goes:
Industry Niche Micro-niche
Sport Golf Golf swing
Investment Trading Options Trading
Marketing Online Marketing SiteEngine Optimisation


Get it?
Having a micro-niche is critical if you are relying on the internet to get known, or even if you are marketing offline. The more specialist you are the more your customers can identify exactly what it is you offer. Another reason many businesses and sole-trader consultancies fail is because they don't have a niche or micro-niche. They start with a general idea or product then try to sell it without knowing exactly who wants it! A micro-niche is an even more specific group or problem that you target. It is of course possible to combine a number of micro-niches. A vibrant micro-niche can be all you need to make a lot of money.

5. Don't undervalue what you know
A few weeks ago something went wrong with my computer. A friend who knew a bit about computers agreed to come round to my house and have a look at it. I'd be struggling all day to try to fix it, it took him less than five minutes. I was so relieved and grateful. I think I made him feel embarrassed because I went on about how 'genius' I thought he was. He said it was just a small thing. But to me it was the technological equivalent of the magic touch. He was so insistent that what he did was 'nothing'. In other words, in my view, he undervalued what he'd done. I'd have happily paid a lot of money to someone to fix my problem. It seems that for those to whom certain knowledge comes relatively easy and those for whom a certain kind of knowledge is taken for granted, there is a tendency to undervalue it! However mundane you think your knowledge is do not assume it is equally mundane for everyone else. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because you easily understand something and have knowledge about it that others do too. When we have specialist knowledge we assume it is known to others too or at least is easy to get. It isn't! Be utterly confident that the knowledge, information, insight, and skill you have is rare and highly valuable and that people will pay you well to disseminate it and use it to help them. You need to believe this before you start.

6. Keep it simple
The funny thing is my computer friend who fixed my computer told me what was wrong and how he fixed it but in a way that I just couldn't understand. We've all experienced the I.T. geek, the medic, the mortgage advisor, the HR manager or whoever it is, that speaks in riddles, in a way that is perfectly understandable to them and their colleagues but it is complete nonsense to the rest of us. When we become highly conversant and proficient in a professional language as most knowledge professionals do, we assume that others also know our terminology and acronyms. Don't make this mistake. Assume nothing when trying to provide help to your clients and customers. The more they understand you the better chance you have of doing business with them. The more you baffle them the more you'll turn them off! Learn to communicate very simply in laymans terms how you can solve a customer's problem.

7. Don't be too much of a perfectionist
It is uncommon to meet a knowledge specialist (an academic, teacher, writer, gardener, hairdresser, dentist) who is not also a perfectionist of some kind (in the best sense!). Given that specialist knowledge can be detailed and complex it is not surprising that an element of perfectionism is integral to it. The problem is that your attitude needs to be much more relaxed when it comes to starting your own business or consultancy. I thought I could be perfectionist when I started but found that competitors were far quicker than I was. I'd argue that their work was of inferior quality but their response was it's good enough. This was true, they sold more business than me. Remember, your prospective buyers are not looking for absolute perfection they are looking for competence and work/knowledge/information that is 'good enough' to solve their problem. And that is what you have to aim for not perfection as you might in another aspect of your work but when engaging with commercial clients offline or online it simply needs to be 'good enough'.

8. Be aware of how others 'see' you
If you have specialist knowledge of something - beware! You may be viewed with suspicion by non-specialists even those who are prepared to buy from you. Certainly as a former academic I found there were certain barriers I had to break down before I persuaded clients of the value of what I had to offer. But this is related to the point I made earlier about communication and not speaking in a way that clients and customers couldn't understand. I now know how to do this but I became very quickly aware of how others perceived me as having specialist knowledge about something they needed. So, whether it is I.T. engineering, counselling or management issues, the specialist comes as both a rescuer but also a potential threat (being too technical or ready to rip them off!). Do all you can to maximise the former and to avoid the latter. Be prepared to coax your potential buyers with free information in the beginning, and listen as much as you can to them, find out what they want, then offer a good solution in a way that they understand and appreciate the value of.

9. Beware of procrastination
Oh yes! This is rife among knowledge specialists and consultants. The temptation to say: 'I'll get around to it'. 'I'll do that next week when I have more time' is all too strong when starting or developing your business. The fact is you will probably never have 'more time'. Life is always busy and there are always a ton of things to do. Saying that 'we'll get around to it' or will 'do it another time' is a classic form of procrastination. What it really means is that we are not prepared to prioritise what needs to be done. Simple! If you aren't prepared to prioritise something then your desire remains a mere 'interest' and nothing will move forward. The best cure for procrastination is actually to do something about it NOW! Do something to move the idea forward practically rather than in your head. It doesn't matter how small it is just do something.

10. Sell 'products' as well as 'time'
Many in the specialist knowledge business sell their time rather than products. Think about changing this. Okay, let's be more accurate. Knowledge specialists tend to sell their knowledge in packages of time (hours, days, weeks, etc). They give so many hours of their week and the buyer will pay them so much in return. But what if you could convert some of that time/knowledge into single products that could be sold over and over again? The e-book on your website, the e-course, the coaching programme, the seminar or workshop, the CD or DVD, could all be things you can sell over and over as products. Years ago, I thought that there was no way my knowledge and time could be turned into 'products' which would give me repeat (often passive) business. How wrong I was! Over the last few years I have sold not just my time but workshops, CDs, audios, ebooks, and teleseminars - all products that can be sold over and over.