March, 2005
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March, 2005 |
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Early in February I had the great fortune of acting as Master of Ceremonies for the National Speakers Association convention in Burbank, CA. Despite the fact that my tuxedo got a bit “rank” after three days of wear, it was an amazing opportunity to stand before my fellow professionals and get a little “face time.” Actually it was a lot of face time. For someone who bills himself as the Visibility Coach, I couldn’t ask for better exposure. It was great fun. Up next, I am off to Singapore at the end of the month for the Global Speakers’ Summit! I will be presenting a breakout session on “Becoming more newsworthy,” and I will be doing a speaking showcase as well. It should be an amazing adventure. If you’d like more info on the conference go to www.iffps.org. I will also be presenting this July for the NSA Annual Convention in Atlanta and in Birmingham England in October for the Professional Speaker’s Association of the United Kingdom. The biggest news this month is that the manuscript for my book, When I Look Back has been sent off to the publisher. It has nothing to do with PR or visibility. It is simply a very personal book about looking back at your life to see what you’ve accomplished and looking ahead to consider what you want to do with the time you have left. I am very fortunate to have a major publisher who believed in the work enough to buy the rights and to publish it. The 288 page hardback will hit bookstores in October. What a treat it’ll be to promote my own work for a change! I can’t wait. More about that later. In this newsletter, I address the concept of “positioning.” Not really in terms of comparing yourself to your competition, but in terms of positioning yourself so that you have no real competitors. Skeptical? How many others can you think of that specialize in helping professionals develop a “newsworthy” niche? It can be done and the clue to how to do it is in the previous sentence. Read on. Have a great month! David Avrin |
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So many of my speaker clients come to me with a laundry list of subjects that they speak, write, or consult about. I ask what their expertise is in and they show me the long list. They are often taken aback when I tell them that I wouldn’t hire them for any subject on their list. I go on to explain that while they may very well be extremely insightful in every area listed, there is some professional who promotes themselves as the “guru” of each one of those subjects. Why should I trust someone who is a self-described expert on so many subjects when I can hire one who specializes in just the one I need? They must be good, I think, ‘cause that’s all they do! In his book Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith talks about the mistaken belief that people look to make the best decision possible in their purchases. The reality is that people are looking to avoid making a bad decision. They opt for "good" over the promise of “great,” if that promise carries risk. A “jack-of-all-trades” is risky. A specialist is not. So I ask the question again. What are you darned good at? So many speakers (in particular) are afraid of leaving any money on the table by narrowing their focus, that they actually make far less money because they are out of the running for most gigs before they even start. The expertise they market is too broad. I work with people who had listed their specialty: as Leadership, Change, Customer Service, Motivation, Corporate Culture, Stress, Diversity, Humor, or Time Management. Do you realize how many people list the same subjects? It’s mind-boggling. I’m not suggesting that you dump your current content, I’m merely saying that it is wise to find a slice of your expertise that you can truly excel in and then position it, brand it and promote the heck out of it. Pardon the gender specific reference, but be you need to be “the Man” – the only one that comes to mind in your unique area. A client came out to spend a day with me a couple of weeks ago who had questions about creating his niche. He had spent 30 years in customer service for a supermarket chain and had left to speak and consult. He knew that the lessons he learned would translate to multiple industries and he formed Focus Consulting. The question is: why would someone from the automotive industry, for example, hire a guy like him. There are too many others competing in that broad category. I helped him to realize that his unique expertise derived form 30 years in an industry would be incredible valuable to other chains and independents in the massive grocery industry. As opposed to throwing his hat in the ring with hundreds of other customer service experts, he could be “the man” when it came to grocery customer service. His new company and his keynote are entitled: Beyond Paper or Plastic, 8 Items (or less) To Create Remarkable Customer Service And Build Loyalty. Is it clear what he does? Is it clear what industry he serves? Can you think of anyone else with this specialty? Isn’t it memorable? If you have a grocery store or chain and are looking to improve your customer service and build customer loyalty, Rob Bell is “the Man.” Think an inch wide and a mile deep. Find a small niche, a single category or problem that you can solve and know everything about it. Then you won’t even have to wait until their convention or annual meeting, they’ll find the money to bring you in right now! The Visibility Coach says: “Find your unique area of expertise and position yourself as the guru.”
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David Avrin is known internationally as the Visibility Coach. Through entertaining Keynote Presentations, informative Breakout Sessions and one-on-one coaching, David Avrin helps professionals differentiate themselves in the competitive marketplace – becoming more newsworthy. Visit him at www.visibilitycoach.com Interested in having David Avrin, The Visibility Coach,
For more information on a full day private coaching session
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Dave, 