When it comes to marketing your expertise, it’s not what you know – it’s what you show.
Show, Don’t Tell
When you apply for a job, you need to list all your qualifications on a CV. But when you’re in business as a subject matter expert, your resume isn’t going to close the sale for you.
Here’s what a lot of highly qualified experts need to understand: Marketing a professional service firm is more like online dating than applying for a job.
If your dating profile says: “I have a great sense of humour,” “I’m really adventurous,” or “I’m a foodie,” you won’t be as successful at attracting your ideal partner as the person who says something like, “My ideal Saturday involves a passionate debate over where to get the best taco in the city, followed by an unplanned road trip to find the perfect stargazing spot.”
In the second example, our romantic hopeful has used a playful tone to showcase their sense of humour, and given real examples of their adventurous spirit and love of food. They’ve shown all three attributes in a way that’s way more relatable and compelling than simply listing them.
“Show, don’t tell” is excellent advice for a dating profile… and excellent marketing advice for selling a service as well.
If you want your prospects to know that you:
- Have real expertise,
- Provide great customer service, and
- Truly care about your clients’ results,
Simply listing those attributes on your website isn’t going to convince anyone. It sounds generic and vague. Plus, if everyone else is saying the same thing, why should they believe you?
3 Ways to Show That You’re the Expert
Here are three ways you can apply “Show, Don’t Tell” to market your business.
- Create valuable content. Use video and articles to share your personality, fun company culture, or key insights on your website, YouTube, and other searchable platforms.
- Tell stories. As humans, we are wired to remember stories, not facts. Sharing client success stories and real examples of problems you’ve helped solve will have a way bigger impact than showing a checklist of what you offer.
- Understand what they’re looking for. Your prospects are looking for answers to a few important questions, like:
a) Do I like you?
b) Are you good at what you do?
c) Do you understand me/my needs?
d) Can you help me?
Put yourself in their shoes and take another look at your marketing. Are you answering all 4 questions, in enough detail, with examples, testimonials, and proof?
Until a prospect is convinced that you understand their pain, that you’ve helped others like them, and that they’re going to like working with you, they aren’t interested in your list of certifications, professional achievements, or how many years you’ve been in business.
That’s why your resume won’t sell your expertise.
This Week’s Takeaway
Selling your expertise requires prospects to take a leap of faith and trust that you’ll deliver the results they need. It’s one of the biggest challenges in moving from word of mouth and referral marketing to a scalable marketing system.
This week’s question: How will you apply the “show, don’t tell” principle to become the obvious choice for your ideal clients?
For more, please join us at the next ActionCLUB in Mississauga on July 17. We’ll be talking about how to do exactly that, with coaching from me and a smart group of business owners to work alongside.
Last Call to Join James Vincent!
“How to Make 61% More Profit in 2026”
June 12 – Register for a free event
Join one of the world’s top coaches, James Vincent, for his frameworks that will leave you with a clear picture of where your business is strong, where it’s leaking, and what to do about it first.
Having coached Team GB athletes to Olympic success and led ActionCOACH UK to the top of the global leaderboard for eight consecutive years, James applies elite performance principles that help leaders build winning systems.
There’s also a complimentary Business Health Check included (valued at $499) – a personalized assessment of your biggest profit opportunities.
Seats are limited and I’d love to see you there.
The Details:
Seats are Limited: Save Your Spot Here
Infinite Edge: by James Vincent
There’s a challenge many entrepreneurs know well: having access to more tools, information, and opportunities than ever before, yet still feeling held back by stress, distraction, or self-doubt. Drawing on his work with Olympic athletes, CEOs, and other high performers, James Vincent shares a framework for building greater alignment between your mindset, emotions, habits, and actions so that performance becomes more consistent and sustainable.
Thanks for reading The Extra Mile! Subscribe below to receive new posts and support my work. If you enjoyed what you read, share or leave a comment!
