Andrew Griffiths is the number 1 small business author in Australia. But his success doesn’t stop there! About a million of his books have been sold in around 60 countries around the world. In this interview Andrew talks about what it takes to become the most highly paid and highly sought after individual in your industry. In other words, he talks about what it takes for you to become an expert. Because becoming an expert for Andrew has given him the opportunity to work alongside people like Richard Branson and Tim Ferriss.

Who

At the tender age of 18 Andrew bought his first company. He bought a dive shop since he was a commercial diver by trade. Unfortunately, after 10 years he got decompression sickness and could never dive again. On the bright side, at the time he was working for a Japanese shipping company. Meaning that, since he couldn’t dive anymore, they retrained him in sales and marketing. Although a little hesitant at first, since he didn’t particularly like marketing that much, however, he took to it really well and in no time he was traveling the world as a sales and marketing manager for this company. After which he started his own marketing business about 15 years ago, which really took off when he wrote his first book.

Why

Becoming an expert is both an easy, and extremely hard goal to achieve. The easy part is really just ‘doing it’. The hard part, however, is realizing that you actually can do it. Everyone has it in themselves to write a book, pitch for a million dollars, joint venture with a large company, or even go on TV to share your knowledge. According to Andrew, the biggest problem for people is self-doubt. But he believes that the ‘mere’ act of pushing through is enough to get there. For this reason he has partnered up with Daniel Priestley, who thought up a five step, 40 week, entrepreneurial incubator. These five steps get entrepreneurs to be one of the highly valued, and highly paid, individuals in their industry.

How

Step one in this process is being able to properly pitch. Andrew believes that this is one of the biggest problems for entrepreneurs worldwide; they’re not able to sell themselves. The key of pitching is to be able to find your point of difference, to find that sweet spot. In other words: really narrow down what it is that you offer, then know who you’re pitching to and customize the pitch for them. The example Andrew speaks of is a guy who used to call himself a personal trainer, but now describes himself along the lines of: “I’m a body transformation specialist that runs an intensive 12 week, high level, program that takes men between the age of 25-35 with a Body Mass Index from 20 down to 16.”

Step two is about publishing. It’s not about writing an Ernest Hemingway. But, anyone can write a book. Most people just don’t know how, they don’t have a system or a process. In the end it’s about writing a short book with their specific take on a particular subject. The way to get there is rather simple: First, figure out who your niche is. Second, what are their problems? Third, what is their one burning problem? Four, solve all those problems. Do this in a way that unpacks your knowledge and you have a book. A common excuse is that you need years of experience, which is not true. It’s not about age, it’s about your take or unique perspective on a problem. The only real problem with writing a book is leveraging the book afterwards. Most people don’t do anything after they have written a book. Even with regard to publishers, the writer is a big deal for a little while, but after that it’s up to the writer to keep pushing the book. In the end it comes down to always keeping your eyes open and constantly promoting yourself, whether it’s through media or partnerships, you have to keep selling.

Step three is about productization. It’s about getting people off the idea that billing by the hour is the only way to make money. Entrepreneurs need to start productizing their knowledge. For example, if your book is the center of your marketing strategy, try and find other ways to make money of that knowledge: online course, workshop, keynote presentation, coaching, weekend retreat, media articles, and many more things. Instead of focusing on making a buck a book, make 10.000 by selling something your book will help you with. For those about to write a book, go for self publishing, mainstream publishing is simply too slow.

Step four is about profiling. Andrew breaks down profiling into mainstream media, in which he focuses on interacting with media and relations, and social, in which you leverage who you are and tie that in with your digital footprint. He really just wants you to tell the world what it is that you’re doing.

Step five is about partnerships. Andrew believes people aren’t necessarily good at partnerships. He sees this as a two step process. First, know what you want from a partner: money, access, or something else? Second, do your homework and make sure you know how to pich so the potential partner can’t say no. In other words, answer the question ‘What’s in it for them?’.

What

By focusing on these five steps you will develop skills for a lifetime. People don’t start companies anymore with the intention of running them for twenty years, ideas/companies/people change, so you should too. Focus on developing skills that will serve you through whatever industry you find yourself in.

Lesson

The biggest lesson for Andrew in partnering up with this program for the last 4 years has been the experience of a community. The community of this incubator has reached the point of about a 1000 people now. Never before has Andrew really understood just how powerful, supportive, encouraging, and intelligent a community could be. It has changed his entire life. From presenting on stage, to writing his own books, to participating in this project.

Exercise

If you were to only focus on one aspect, focus on learning how to sell yourself. Buy books, follow online courses, do whatever it takes. Don’t misunderstand, it’s not about becoming the next wolf of wall street. Just figure out what you’re good at, what your value is, how others see you, and sell yourself accordingly. Being able to create great products is important, but no one will know about them if you don’t sell yourself. Sell yourself, and with that your confidence will grow to help you achieve the rest as well.

The post Become an expert appeared first on Sjoerd Gerritsen | Author & Speaker.