Snake Oil ♦ New Transmission
I don’t know what upsets me more: the jerks who are presenting as experts and ripping people off, or the fact that these jerks are making it difficult for my business. Every time someone rips off a client, it creates a justified wariness in the marketplace. How do you show your clients that you’re the real deal?
Anyone can roll out of bed and decide they’re a Social Media expert. Frankly, if they know how to set up a social business profile they know more than most and can easily impress people who find Social Media a morass.
Anyone can roll out of bed and decide they’re a Life Coach. When people are stressed and looking for direction, it’s easy to be impressed by an objective third party who can see the forest beyond their trees.
Anyone who has set up a few web pages can call themselves a web designer/developer. Anyone who has searched a Google keyword can claim they’re an SEO expert.
How would the public know the difference?
It’s exactly like taking your car to the mechanic. 
A mechanic can diagnose that you need a new transmission – and they can even put one in your car. It won’t fix the rattle in the engine that brought you to the mechanic in the first place. Were you ripped off? Was the money for the transmission wasted, or necessary?
I find it totally maddening when I see clients with the Social Media equivalent of a new transmission. Sometimes it’s a new business profile that ignores their longstanding branding, or a platform choice that ignores their target audience.
It’s harsh to call a client’s choices wrong, but now you’ve got to figure out how to tell them what they really need and redirect without confusing them. They’re smart people dealing with stuff that’s outside their expertise, just like transmissions.
Here’s my tip: never call your client wrong. Their decision was right based on the information they were given. Focus on building their certainty so they can feel confident about their choices with you.
What is the equivalent of a new transmission in your expertise?
Do you have any good tricks for redirecting without confusing?