This document provides tips for building credibility as an expert in one's field. It recommends putting past experience in perspective, obtaining relevant credentials, studying competitors, using storytelling to relate to clients, truly understanding one's audience, gaining practical experience, promoting expertise authentically, reassuring clients through delivery and service, and following up on relationships. The key is demonstrating knowledge, value and trustworthiness to clients over time.

1. CREDIBILITY:
HOW TO
SHOWCASE
YOUR
EXPERTISE

2. WHAT IS CREDIBILITY?
• Believable
• You deliver believable goods
• You connect & communicate with your ideal clients
• Customers KNOW you are the go-to person in your field

3. STEP 1:
PUT THE PAST INTO
PERSPECTIVE
• It takes time to build up credibility
• Think about others who gained your trust
• What caught your attention?
• What did you feel?
• What did that person offer?
• What did you buy & why?
• How well did the product deliver?
• How hard did you have to work to maintain the
relationship?
• Was the connection instant?

4. STEP 2: WHAT CREDENTIALS
DO YOU NEED TO
SUCCEED?
• This will depend on your niche
• Degrees
• Certifications
• Accreditations
• Personal experience
• Practical, working experience
• Are credentials necessary?
• Again, it depends on your niche

5. ARE CREDENTIALS
NECESSARY?
• Do your successful competitors have certificates or
accreditations?
• Do they display their degrees after their names?
• Do they show accreditation stamps or professional
organization logos on their website?
• If yes, then accreditation is important so join the same
professional organizations
• Check your local laws!

6. DISPLAYING YOUR
CREDENTIALS
• Show your potential clients that your professional
membership is beneficial to them
• Always pay attention to new laws regarding
certification
• Show what is legally required for your field
• Show what your client or customer most urgently needs
• Focus on proven results

7. STEP 3:
MINING YOUR
COMPETITION
• How do your competitors position their own credibility?
– What do they sell?
– What do they present that you don’t have?
– What advantages do you have that they don’t?
– What are their clients praising or complaining about?

8. STEP 4: STORYTELLING
• Think of your website as your ‘story’
• Live your story in social networks, guest blog posts,
YouTube videos, media & live venues
• Your story should mirror your ideal clients
• Show that you understand their challenges & can
provide solutions

9. HOW TO TELL A GREAT
STORY
• The best way to build credibility is to be real
• Tell it ‘like it is’ then edit out anything that doesn’t relate
to your ideal client
• Tip 1: find out their biggest problem, desire or need
– Tap into that hidden fear, desire or frustration & build
loyalty & credibility

10. HOW TO TELL A GREAT
STORY
• Tip 2: be yourself
– Speak with your own voice
– Avoid pretend images
– When reading your blog posts or articles, people should
hear the same voice as if they were speaking to you on
the phone

11. HOW TO TELL A GREAT
STORY
• Tip 3: be ruthless with your storytelling
– Cut out adjectives & adverbs
– Keep sentences short
– Avoid self-indulgence
– Avoid venting or sharing anecdotes; then it becomes
about YOU instead of your audience
– Reveal just enough to connect emotionally
– Focus on your client or customer
– Stay focused!

12. HOW TO TELL A GREAT
STORY
• Tip 4: be repetitive
– Communicate in the manner your audience has come
to expect
– Use templates to achieve repetitive consistency
– Create regular, recurring features people will recognize
& remember
– Repetition equals structure; structure equals safety
– Safety equals credibility

13. HOW TO TELL A GREAT
STORY
• Tip 5: be real
– If you appear to live a perfect life, your customers won’t
relate to you
– If your audience knows you’ve had the same struggles &
frustrations, they will admire your ability to overcome
– It’s not about YOU
– It’s about your customers & their particular journeys

14. STEP 5:
YOUR AUDIENCE
• Totally understand your particular, unique audience &
those who search for you
• Consumers will require more proof of your credibility &
talents
• The more thoroughly you can understand & anticipate
problems, the better you can prevent
misunderstandings & dissatisfaction
• Happy clients = better recommendations = stronger
credibility

15. STEP 6:
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
• Thoroughly understand what you are sharing, selling &
teaching
• Understand that what you share is valuable & valid
• Provide well-researched information that your clients
can use successfully
• Genuinely focus on serving your clients
• Care about their problems
• Find real solutions

16. PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
• When you value yourself & value your customer, it’s
easier to find the perfect solutions
• The more practical experience you have, the more
confident you’ll feel
• The more practical experience you have, the more
people will recommend you to others
• Promote yourself in the right places

17. PROMOTE YOURSELF
• Show, don’t tell
• Create a video series to showcase your talents
• Let each video build upon the previous information
• Work up to showcasing your product
• Publicize each video episode
• Ask other people to share your links
• Make sure each episode demonstrates the most
common people have
• Make sure each episode offers a simple & logical solution

18. PROMOTE YOURSELF
• Show, don’t tell
• Don’t overwhelm with industry jargon
• Focus on your customer & helping them master this
particular need
• Write teaser blog posts about your videos & embed the
video on the same page
• Include screenshots from your video
• When people see your face & hear your tone of voice, it
builds instant credibility & relationship

19. PROMOTE YOURSELF
• Ask & share
• Always include a call to action on all your blog posts,
podcasts, social posts, webinars & videos
• You’re not limited to only 1 call to action
• There 4 listed on the next slide
• 1 link to the product the author wants you to buy
• 1 link to share the knowledge on social media
• 1 incentive in the optin form
• 1 personalized optin button

20. PROMOTE YOURSELF
• Stay up to date on changes in your field
• New developments/changes
• News
• New products
• New ways of doing things
• Deliver this news before others

21. STEP 7: AUTHENTICITY
1. Be transparent
• Admit when you don’t know the answer to something
• Find a suitable answer
1. Build your reputation
• People should know what you stand for; what you can
provide; what you can help them with; what you won’t
do

22. AUTHENTICITY
3. Learn to listen
• Your clients want to know you care about them
• Don’t worry about saying the perfect thing
• Even if YOU have heard this question before, it’s new to
your client or customer
• Real listening involves:
• Acknowledging
• Mirroring back
• Re-stating the main point
• Wait until your questioner has finished before
offering solutions

23. AUTHENTICITY
4. Use current & professional photographs on your site
5. Know your mission
6. Know your values
7. Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know but let me find
out.”

24. STEP 8: REASSURANCE
1. Delivery
• Deliver what you promised
• Does it do what you said it would?
• Upsells should be presented for people who want
more, NOT as a missing piece of the solution
• Providing more than the customer asked for is optional
• Avoid offering extra bonuses if they are not
• Related to the product they bought
• Do not add or enhance your product
• Require sign ups for each one

25. REASSURANCE
2. Testimonials, Referrals, Recommendations
• Make it easy for customers to recommend you
• Use calls to action
• Ask for referrals
• Make it a habit
• Make it part of your contract or sales agreement
• Make it easy to do with sharing social media buttons
• Make it part of your printed materials
• Make it part of your website

26. TESTIMONIAL EXAMPLES

27. TESTIMONIAL EXAMPLES

28. REASSURANCE
3. Customer Service
• After the sale, focus on follow up & customer service
• Provide customers with easy customer service options
• Easy access to your site
• Find information quickly
• Multiple ways to contact you
• Understand how you will respond & in what time frame
• Consider outsourcing customer service tasks

29. STEP 9: FOLLOW UP
• Nurture, nourish & continue to build your relationships
with your fans & followers; visitors & subscribers;
customers & clients
• Maintain multiple platforms: social media, forums, guest
speaking & events
• Plan well so there are no gaps in your web visibility
• Treat these as REAL relationships
• Be there & care about these relationships

30. FOLLOW UP TIPS
• Don’t bombard people with constant new offers
• Give them time to check out, use & think about your last
offer
• Don’t disappear for weeks or months at a time &
expect them to remember you
• Provide tips, FAQs & answers to questions
• Keep them up to date on changes or products new to
your field

31. NEED MORE HELP?
CONTACT US
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