{"id":5545,"date":"2011-04-11T01:16:40","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T08:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5545"},"modified":"2011-03-18T16:20:02","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T23:20:02","slug":"experts-still-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=5545","title":{"rendered":"Experts still research"},"content":{"rendered":"

My d\"\"<\/a>eck needs a good power-washing and sealant to protect it for the coming years.\u00a0 I do not know anything about these things.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t needed any repair work done on my townhome yet \u2013 so I don\u2019t have a regular handyperson in mind for this task.\u00a0 Knowing I don\u2019t know a thing about this, I started my research.\u00a0 I contacted a few handypersons for their bids.\u00a0 I actually found an on-line application that will collect bids for you as well.\u00a0 I ask found a \u201cask the handyman\u201d (askthehandyman.net) online website that gave me his estimates on the deck my size, frequently asked questions, and how long each task should take, etc.\u00a0 I also researched the best sealant in consumer reports and various other places.\u00a0 Now I know what type of questions to ask a handyperson to verify that the job will be done correctly.<\/p>\n

I still can\u2019t actually \u201cdo the job\u201d.\u00a0 I\u2019m still unskilled in this area.\u00a0 But I am better armed than I was before.<\/p>\n

The internet is a wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

Another similar incident came across my path.\u00a0 A CPA friend of mine admitted that he likes to give his client quick answers \u201cright on the spot\u201d based on his long background and experience in the job.\u00a0 His clients seem very happy with these quick responses, but sometimes he feels he answers too quickly.\u00a0 I recommended that he continues to give his clients quick access to his experience and knowledge.\u00a0 But I also recommended he includes, \u201cI\u2019m 95% (or whatever level of confidence he feels is appropriate) sure this completely covers your concerns, but I want to do some additional investigation to see if there isn\u2019t a better solution.\u00a0 I\u2019ll get back with you on Thursday with a complete answer\u201d. He was delighted with this small tweak in his MO.<\/p>\n

This incident made me realize a few things:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. People that \u201cthink\u201d they know the answer rarely look it up.<\/li>\n
  2. People that \u201cknow\u201d they don\u2019t know the answer often research.<\/li>\n
  3. Sometimes the \u201cunskilled in the area\u201d come up with a better solution because of the extra research.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    New Economy is creating more \u201cdo-it-yourselfers\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

    New advances come up all the time, even in the area of \u201cdo-it-yourself\u201d.\u00a0 The combination of the internet, wireless connections, and powerful search engines allow people access to more information with little effort or time investment.\u00a0 Armed with this information, people are more likely to \u201cdo-it-themselves\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, the consequences are as bountiful as the information.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the consequences to small businesses may be a loss of a potential client.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. The information on the internet, although abundant, is not always accurate.\u00a0 There\u2019s not much data validation or fact checking.\u00a0 Misinformation is certainly mixed in with the good information.\u00a0 This mixture gives the reader a false sense of accurate knowledge.<\/li>\n
    2. Because of this information, potential clients may try more things on their own, which sometimes results in a bigger problem later on.<\/li>\n
    3. Clients now come to you, armed with this mixture of good and bad information (and a larger problem).\u00a0 When they come to you with this mix, it may take you time to explain what is valid and what is not \u2013 for their specific case.\u00a0 You may even explain that if they had come to you before they did XYZ, it would have been an easier problem to solve.\u00a0 Client may interpret this as you just dismissing this information as false, just so you can charge more or take longer on the project.<\/li>\n
    4. Experts can also become frustrated when clients question their responses with \u201cinfo they found on the internet\u201d.\u00a0 Experts may feel that their experience and background is now being questioned. Because they feel frustrated, they may come off as arrogant (which turns off prospective clients).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A few things that can assist with this phenomenon are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Acknowledge the inevitable.\u00a0 People will go to the internet for \u201cdo-it-yourself\u201d help<\/p>\n

      Stressful economic time, people are looking for inexpensive solutions and advise.\u00a0 The internet, blogs, search engines fill this need.\u00a0 This is actually a good thing, because you can use it as well.<\/p>\n

      2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As an expert, we need to be continually learning, evolving and experimenting.<\/p>\n

      Use the internet, blogs, and search engines to your advantage.\u00a0 You can do this in at least two ways:<\/p>\n

      \n
        \n
      • Be the expert they find in their searches<\/li>\n
      • Learn more about your field<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Give your clients homework<\/p>\n

        Be well armed with internet research and blogs that you feel confident in.\u00a0 Point your clients to external sources that support your views on the matter.\u00a0 Educate your clients on what to look for and what to suspect.\u00a0 Highlight what makes your clients\u2019 case different. The more they investigate the right type of information, the more they will realize that you are the right person for them.<\/p>\n

        If there are tasks that you can off-load to your clients, then give them the opportunity to reduce their bill by doing some those tasks.<\/p>\n

        4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trust and Validate<\/p>\n

        Do your homework.\u00a0 As an expert in your field trust your experience and validate your answers.\u00a0 Use the same offending deed to your advantage.<\/p>\n

        5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Do not take it personally<\/p>\n

        Appreciate that the \u201ccommon folks\u201d are interested enough in your field to do the research and bring you back the information that they have found.\u00a0 Thank them for the time they invested in this investigation.<\/p>\n

        But also don\u2019t spend time defending your procedures or your answers.\u00a0 Just acknowledge that there\u2019s lots of information out there.\u00a0 Express your extensive background in similar cases and your best recommendations based on their individual situation.\u00a0 Stand by your procedures.\u00a0 Invite them to allow you to do your best for them, or help them find someone else.<\/p>\n

        Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

        There\u2019s an abundance of information out there, some good, some not so good.\u00a0 And it can be frustrating at times, when clients approach you with their interpretation of your profession.\u00a0 But if you take the time to objectively look at the offending object, you can often turn it around to your benefit.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Ask yourself, how can I use this to my advantage?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        New advances come up all the time, even in the area of \u201cdo-it-yourself\u201d. The combination of the internet, wireless connections, and powerful search engines allow people access to more information with little effort or time investment. Armed with this information, people are more likely to \u201cdo-it-themselves\u201d. Unfortunately, the consequences are as bountiful as the information. One of the consequences to small businesses may be a loss of a potential client.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1508,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,19,1,847],"tags":[39,33,64,167,37],"class_list":["post-5545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-goals","category-global","category-miscellaneous","category-self-leadership","tag-best-practices","tag-common-sense","tag-communication","tag-continuous-improvement","tag-real-world"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1508"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5545\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}