Author: Douglas Kruger
‘Quick! The business is dying! Find me the humblest possible consultant to solve the problem!’ as Experts don’t disqualify themselves. Author Allen Weiss makes this tongue-in-cheek point in his book, ‘Million Dollar Maverick.’ And it’s a good one. As we strive to position ourselves as top-level experts in our industry, a demure and deferring persona […]
‘Quick! The business is dying! Find me the humblest possible consultant to solve the problem!’ as Experts don’t disqualify themselves.
Author Allen Weiss makes this tongue-in-cheek point in his book, ‘Million Dollar Maverick.’ And it’s a good one. As we strive to position ourselves as top-level experts in our industry, a demure and deferring persona does not serve us well. The opposite actually applies: Certainty and clarity win the day.
Clients want to know that you know your stuff, and that you know it better than anyone else. Is that what you currently portray? If not, you may be disqualifying yourself as an expert.
‘But my Momma raised me right’
This isn’t a clarion call to arrogance, and manners will always matter. Even more so at the highest levels of industry, I would content.
Instead, this is merely about the ability to state your value openly and confidently. Imagine yourself in the client’s shoes. There is little upside for them to a best-kept-secret or a reticent rescuer. Rescue boldly, if you want to lead an industry. The energy and conviction of a confident problem solver is attractive, and it’s not akin to rudeness.
Taking Charge:
My local barber is staffed by a friendly group of Moroccan men. They’re conveniently located and very good at what they do, even if I struggle to understand them. We get by on short sentences and a lot of pointing.
One day, I got the new guy. And it occurred to me as I took my seat and he started going about his business that there is such a thing as ‘too polite.’ He was tentative and cautious to the point of it becoming wearisome for me.
While his experienced seniors would simply take my head into their hands, move it assertively into position as they needed, and confidently run the show, all the while chatting up a perfectly unintelligible storm, the newcomer was timid. He was scared to move his customers around, or to take charge in any way. It was incredibly taxing. It flipped the dynamic and actually forced me to be in charge, which I didn’t want.
When you engage the services of an expert, you want them to own their role and lead the way. Yes, of course they should listen effectively and properly diagnose. But after that, it’s their show and they should run it.
Taking charge is one way to avoid the humility trap.
Showing before and after
Another way to avoid the humility trap is to clearly depict results. What desirable outcomes can you achieve for your clients? What impressive results have you had in the past? Are you shy to share them? Are you burying them in a blanket of silent humility?
Don’t. That’s the same thing as being completely unknown. That’s the opposite of an industry expert.
Those results, and their strong promise, are precisely what your buyer wants and needs. He or she is in the market looking for clear, positive outcomes. If you are too sensitive to announce the great results that you can achieve for them, you’re out! Someone with bolder assurances will win that business.
We never seek out the humblest solution. We seek out the best one. And if you’re not clearly showing that you fit the bill, you may be disqualifying yourself for earnings. You may be quietly and cautiously striking out as an industry expert.
Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Facebook
Author Profile
No results available
Read further articles in similar categories
Video
The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.
These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.
What are the warning signs of an empty resilience tank? HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO PAUSE In my experience, there are four primary indicators that tend to show up each time my resilience tank is running low. They don’t always show up in the same order but, without fail, they will show […]
At 26 years old, Tramayne Monaghan was the youngest divisional CFO for Tencent and a Top-35-under-35. He has spoken at global conferences and is a mentor to three digital businesses: Broadley Speaking, African Secret and TurnUp Music. He has launched and run various consumer mobile products such as WeChat, WeChat Wallet, VOOV, JOOX and PUBG […]
As I pulled into the gas station in a remote part of southeastern Utah, I was thankful to finally find cell reception to prepare for Watching Yourself. Tethering my phone’s hotspot to my laptop, I hurriedly logged onto the webinar where I was my pre-recorded presentation for a client in Texas, engaging in realtime on […]
When I was in high school i realized Leaders You Dont Need To Have All The Answers, there was a teacher that had a brilliant line when he was asked a question that he didn’t know the answer to in the moment. He would state: “That is beyond the scope of this course,” with a […]
28 DECEMBER 2021 ~ ST ANDREWS BAY, STROMNESS AND LEITH STATIONS by Rob Caskie “South Georgia is for those who grew up dreaming of a Garden of Eden, where you walk unharmed among abundant and fearless wildlife in a beautiful wilderness – an oasis of serenity in a world increasingly out of step with Nature.” […]
I mean, isn’t that the nature of goals to begin with? What’s missing between you and your goals might be walking the walk of your goals — not just talking the talk. Or rather, running the run of your goals. I’ll tell you what I mean. Goals are easy to think of but harder to achieve, aren’t […]
Let’s imagine for a moment that you are a gardener. Do any of the actions below seem like a good idea and Why Being Too Helpful Is A Bad Habit For Leaders? Planting a seed and then digging it back up from time to time to check its progress Forcing open a flower bud […]
Know What You Want and Success is actually fairly simple. Firstly, set a goal. Then break it down into actionable activities. Do the activities. Add in some patience, resilience, hard work and discipline, and voila…..Success! Easy, right? Well, if it were that simple, we wouldn’t need an entire industry dedicated to motivation, training and coaching. […]
No results available
Our Mission
© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME