You Should Be Giving Away Your Expertise

No matter your industry, niche, or business, you have expertise that perhaps no one else has. You may refer to this as trade secrets or, “things you learn from experience.”

Either way, you’re an expert.

If you’re a plumber, for example, you know significantly more about pipes, drains, and water than I’ve ever dreamt. Though, in comparison with me, even someone new to the field of plumbing would be an expert.

This is why, no matter who you are or what you do, you should be giving away your expertise.

But, Why Give Away Trade Secrets?

Hair: the bathtub’s arch nemesis.

You would probably agree that your trade secrets are what set you apart, right?

They’re the reason you are different from your competitors.

But rather than worrying if your competitors would find out about what you do, you should be focused on educating your audience of how you do what you do.

I had a bathtub that, once clogged, was the most stubborn thing I had ever seen. At first, I thought I would ignore it. After all, who would ever know that I was bathing in ankle deep dirty water?

It wasn’t until weeks went by that one of my friends called to say she was coming to town. I instinctually mentioned my extra bedroom and before I knew it, it was two days before she was coming to stay, and I was still bathing in floodwaters.

I thought about calling the plumber. But at this rate, it would cost an arm and a leg for “emergency service calls.”

And this was an emergency.

I tried the unclogging gel (and plastic snake) that you can get at the store. I even threw a half ton of Borax and even more boiling water down the drain (literally) to boil it out.

Still. Nothing.

My last hope was to google how to unclog a drain. I ended up on a plumber’s website who demonstrated unclogging your bathtub using a hand towel and plunger.

I plunged for thirty minutes with my foot holding the towel in place until my arms were sore.

But after all was said and done–it worked.

Now, someone reading that story could see it two ways.

First way–the plumber lost a sale. And that’s true. Or is it?

Or the plumber benefitted greatly.

How can the plumber benefit by giving away his expertise?

Two ways, actually.

Coming to my house to personally unclog a drain will give him about $75-100, which isn’t too bad for a single drain.

Unless you consider how he will probably send an employee out here who will take 30 minutes to get to my house, spend another 15 or 30 after finishing to check on the next location and have a smoke break, and then perhaps go to the next job–which, if it’s another drain to clog, may be wasting half of the time driving from location to location and taking breaks.

I don’t want to see this. So we’re going to plunge, plunge, plunge it right on down until the clog is free, right? Right.

That means that in 8 hours, only 4 hours of that time is actually billable.

Half.

That’s not the best odds.

From a different perspective, the plumber is benefitting by showcasing his knowledge and trustworthiness.

From the outside, he’s giving away billable information–after all, he could be making money off of it. But from the consumer’s point of view, he’s giving away less valuable information in exchange for name recognition that could later produce an even better, higher-paying job.

Since plumbing work isn’t a frequent affair, if I ever need a plumber in the future for re-piping my house, I will go with the one who is the most trustworthy, who I feel isn’t going to overcharge me, and who knows what they’re doing.

I’m going to hire the video plumber.

When this happens, imagine the ROI of that one video. Rather than spending his days chasing down clogs, he’s now re-piping an entire house. That would be over 8 hours of work (rather than 4) AND less smoke breaks and travel time.

He’s now saving time and earning more money.

And all the while, he’s allowing the competition to chase the clogs down.

The Take Away

Always be willing to give away your expertise. Those who find it and use it will remember you and trust you. And you’re building your branding and customer base at the same time.

Rather than worrying about your competition stealing your knowledge, focus instead on the benefit your audience will have.

And in turn, they will come to you when they need something done right that they not comfortable doing themselves.

Now It’s Your Turn

What do you think about giving away expertise on your website for your audience? Did it work well for you? If you have been holding back, do you believe you may give it a try?

Let us know in the comments below!

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As always, thanks for reading!