Are “Experts” killing your business?

Here’s the thing about expertise, when we believe we are Experts- we stop learning, seeking new information, and above all else we stop listening to others.

We’ve all worked with a person who believes they are an expert in many, if not most areas related to their profession.  (Perhaps you’ve been this person at one time) This person usually has stats to prove they are the “best” in their department; but being the top dog amongst your peers is hardly a reflection of expertise. How do we recognize these folks as people who believe they are an expert?  These people rarely listen to the ideas or opinions of others and most often tune others out.

As a result, they get stuck in the same department holding virtually the same position that they’ve held for many years.

We apply this with our clients and in our workshops by reminding people that length of time or “years of experience” has little (and sometimes nothing) to do with expertise.  That an “Expert” readily admits that they need time to conduct more research, gain more knowledge, ask more questions and dig for more information.

In fact, in an Admissions Workshop that I recently conducted, we walked through what I describe as the “Sales Learning Curve”.  It’s the phenomenon when new salespeople achieve stellar results lasting several months followed by a severe dip in production.  Is this because they get lazy or do they forget what they once did that made them successful in the first place?

To find out how to avoid the inevitable dip in production and what it takes to become or stay relevant in the market, contact me for our latest workshop – “Communication for Experts”!