Packaging Your Expertise - Part 3: Show You Know

So, this is Part 3.  We covered in Part 1 what to "package" what you do or have done - and align that with what the client wants or needs. Part 2 covered how to actually understand all the things you have done and be able to articulate it clearly and succinctly.

In Part 3 we are going to cover "show what you know."  Okay, it rhymes. Pretty exciting, eh? (for my friends in Canada and Maine is the "eh"). 

Sure, but I hope the rhyme, makes you think, most of the time. (Okay, I will stop).

Getting Out of the Middle of the Pack
Here is what I want you to consider: Would you hire someone who is mediocre? The answer is, if you even have to think about it is "No."  Unless you're just not paying someone, then you're desperate, . . . and probably dumb.

But let's stick to the premise you wouldn't hire someone mediocre. You may not be able to attract the best (now the arguments will fly), but you should want to attract someone who is pretty good in their job.  And here is, what I think, is a key differentiator: Someone who gives a damn about what they do.

Giving a Damn - or Passion, Zeal, Zest
Let me explain "Gives a damn." Gives a damn is someone who cares enough to have analyzed their work. The person knows the top 5 reasons why people fail in the role, and the top 5 reason why people succeed in the role. They know the top 5 trends affecting the role, they know how technology is advancing the role and the work they do, they can tell you in clear, exact words, the meaning of what they do to bring about results.  They know their job "inside and out."

How many people do you know that can answer these questions - without stammering and hemming and hawing?  You have to admit - very few. Here's a poke in the eye: Do you?

Can you articulate the answers to these questions unerringly?

Be able to show you know - with confidence. "Here's
where I am going, here's where the industry is going,
I can help you get there."

Here's another question: How do you demonstrate this passion to become the best?  Because that's really what we are talking about here. It is the passion to become better, improve, to become one of the world's first and foremost.

Being middle of the pack sucks. You should demonstrate why you are not "middle of the pack." Your differentiator may be the fact that you are passionate, articulate and bright. You know your business cold. Whether you are an accountant, a SARBANES consultant, an IT developer, a Health and Human Services Caseworker, a Lobbyist, a sales person or wedding planner. The list could go on forever.

If you can articulate clearly, that you know what you know, and where you may be deficient, you hold a key to a lot of doors that would not necessarily be open to you and certainly differentiates you from the middle of the pack.