***IS THERE VALUE IN PUBLISHING A BOOK?

If you are a professional competing for business in a tight market, you understand that you must do something different to stand out from your competition. You may have a fancy brochure, great business cards or a beautiful website. But is that enough? What more could you do so that people think of you as THE expert in your field? The answer is simple. Write a book!

Think about the other experts in your field. Are they getting more speaking gigs than you? Are they charging more and getting paid? Do you keep seeing them on TV or hear them being interviewed on radio? What are they doing that is elevating their visibility that you have not done? Good chance if you check closer, they have published a book.

Think of this. If you wanted to hire a coach and had a choice between the following two people, which one sounds more credible?

I have the honor of introducing Mary Smith, author of the book, 5 Key Steps to Success. Her book outlines her 5 Keys to Success that every small business owner needs to know to be successful and profitable in today's world. She has worked over 15 years with small businesses teaching them ways to increase profits with her 5 Keys to Success program.

Or

I have the honor of introducing Mary Smith. She has worked over 15 years with small businesses teaching them ways to increase profits and be successful.

Which one would you choose? Most likely, Mary Smith the author would be the one that would most interest you. While just being a published author makes her more credible, people also assume she is an expert on success since she's published a book on the topic.

As a publisher, we have many authors that have experienced spikes in their businesses after they
published their book. One author said that she had been prospecting the same client for over four years. Shortly after her book was published, he made an appointment because he said that he had never met an real author. He then became a client of hers, just because her book opened the door. What was interesting was that her book was not even about her business! He ended up working with her just because she had become an author.

Writing a book should be a big part of your overall business marketing plan. A book will add value to your services and give you product to sell. But most importantly, a book will bring you opportunities that you would not get if you were not a published author. And it is those opportunities that produces the value for your business.

So, when will you start writing?