What is an industry expert or authority?

A recognised expert and authority in an industry is someone who is prominent and
respected in their niche.

They are known for their capabilities or ideas.

Their message cuts through in a noisy environment.

They are the people that we turn to first.

They create a high degree of trust with their audience.

People listen closely to experts and authorities.

Why would you want to position yourself as an expert and authority in your
industry?

Being the recognised expert or authority can lead to many benefits, including that a
recognised expert and authority can more easily:

Be the first, “go-to” choice for prospects thinking about who they might hire or
work with
Generate inbound leads – people reaching out to you to ask if they can work with
you
Make more sales
Make more premium or “high ticket” sales – higher priced coaching, event,
program, or service sales
Get better “gigs,” from speaking gigs to writing opportunities for magazines such
as Forbes or Entrepreneur
Generate new and better opportunities to partner with strategic partners (“JV
partners”)

How do you position as an expert or authority in your niche?

There are many ways to position as an expert or authority – there are lots of different
strategies you can employ.

Usually you would have to hang out in lots of different places to learn these
strategies – like participate in expensive high level mastermind groups, hire an expert
coach, or read obscure books. You’d have to gather them, one by one, from different
sources and places and people.

That can take a lot of time – in many cases, years – to learn the strategies.
This guide though brings together and gives you an overview of 21 of the most
powerful expert and authority positioning strategies that you can use.

Here is the first one: The Beacon Strategy

I accidentally stumbled upon a pattern some time back. It really surprised me at first.

But it makes so much sense!

Love is at the centre of leadership.

I saw this idea expressed time and time again, from top leadership authorities.

Here are a few examples:

“… you can love people without leading them, but you cannot lead people without loving them.” – John Maxwell, Developing The Leader Within You.

There are many approaches to leadership, such as:

Authentic Leadership
Servant Leadership
Transformational Leadership
Path-Goal Leadership

… and many more.

Each of these approaches goes into detail to describe what leadership is, and how to be a leader.

But amongst all this complexity, is there is a common set of leadership activities at the centre of all these leadership models? Is there a simple set of tasks that demarcate what it is that leaders do, and how to be a leader?

It turns out that there are 8 core leadership activities.

if you are a solo or small business owner like a coach, consultant, or service provider, is leadership something you should be focusing on?

Or should you be spending time on more important things – like say marketing, sales, and delivery?

Leadership isn’t important for you … UNLESS you want to make a difference and impact, or you want to grow your business.

If you do, then leadership matters.

There are six reasons why you should care about leadership:

1. Leaders change the world
2. Leadership connects your head to your heart
3. If you have a purpose – you are a leader
4. Leaders attract followers
5. Leadership is the critical core of your business
6. Leadership is the highest ROI activity