How To Grow Your Revenue With Your Subject Matter Experts

You’re sitting on a gold mine. Your company is filled with subject matter experts. If you leverage their knowledge and experience, you could be increasing your revenue.?

I’ll say how in a minute, but first let’s look at the reality of our AI-driven world.?

We don’t need to learn anything anymore, we just have to be good at looking things up. AI is now making that lookup process even easier and the results feel more satisfying. But at the heart of every single result you get, someone somewhere (hopefully) knew what they were talking about and made that information available in text, audio, or video. That person was a subject matter expert.?

As wondrous as AI is, it is not a substitute for a subject matter expert, someone who has actually learned, through experience, whatever is being described.?

If you are relying on AI to write your copy, you’re just turning out bland, anyone-can-say-this copy that doesn’t take advantage of your in-house subject matter experts. Plus, AI is the opposite of a subject-matter expert, whose information you can trust.?

Here’s a simple example.??

I’ve been sailing for decades. I think we can safely assume that I’m one of those subject-matter experts when it comes to sailing. Ever since the new AI tools became available to anyone, I’ve been periodically asking them “How do you sail upwind.”?

And so far, while the answers have improved each time I check, there is still a glaring error that will put you on the rocks if you follow the advice given.?

I should note here that you can’t sail directly into the wind (your sails will simply flutter in the wind and you will start to slide backwards), so you have to zig-zag your way upwind (into the wind) toward your destination, sailing about 45 degrees off the wind’s direction. This means that you need to turn (tack) the boat through the wind each time you change direction.?

Here’s the glaring error (ChatGPT):?

Anyone who has sailed a boat with a wheel or a tiller knows that when you are sailing a boat with a tiller (basically a stick of wood attached down to the rudder), this advice is correct. You turn the tiller away from the wind to make it turn into the wind.?

But anyone who has sailed a boat with a wheel knows it’s just the opposite. Boat wheels steer like car wheels. To turn toward the wind, you turn into the wind.

So if you follow this advice, and are steering a boat with a wheel, you will turn away from the wind heading toward land, which is a good way to end up on the rocks.?

I should note that I have found perplexity.ai more useful than ChatGPT for business analysis, but perplexity.ai also failed this test.?

In fact, they didn’t talk about turning the boat at all. They just left that part out.?

What does this have to do with your revenue?

Your company is filled with subject matter experts. You are probably one yourself, although you might not think of yourself that way. Recognizing the people in your organization who are subject matter experts is the first step to increasing your revenue, no matter what you are selling.?

I have an antique wooden desk that my husband’s mother gave to us when we first got married. Recently I had it refinished, as the wood finish had gone fairly dry and I knew that this particular vendor would be able to bring out the best in this desk. I was right; the difference is stunning.?

As we were chatting after he delivered the desk, we started talking about the problems he has had generating new business for his company. But just a few minutes before, he was telling me all sorts of things about the desk. It’s made up of several types of wood; he knew exactly what types of wood made up the desk, including the properties of that wood, the source of that wood, and its history.?

It became pretty obvious what he needed to do to bring in new customers. He wasn’t the most camera-perfect spokesperson, but he knew his stuff.

So all he has to do is hire a decent videographer to video him talking from a position next to the videographer, basically out of sight. He could use his arm or a pointing stick, pointing out the various aspects of a piece of furniture they had just refinished.

Then, he could advertise in local papers (where I live, this actually works), showing a before and after picture of the piece, and providing a QR code that someone could scan with their phone and go directly to the video describing what he did to transform that piece.?

He could also use these videos to build up a YouTube channel with videos for all types of furniture, showing the before and after, and including his explanation of what they did and why. He would be proving in even just a few minutes that he knew what he was a subject matter expert, and that he did good work.?

Of course, he could also use localized ads via online channels, send emails to previous customers pointing to the video, and even put a sticker on an inconspicuous surface on all his pieces that said “Refinished by ______” with the QR code to the video for that piece.

(He’d have to ask for the owner’s permission, but they would probably give it because he does such good work and it would be easy for their friends to simply scan the code.) There are also neighborhood sites such as nextdoor.com where he could showcase his work.?

That’s a small business example. Larger businesses have even more subject matter experts they can rely on to explain why and how they create their products and services, and provide tips on the best ways to leverage those products and services.?

The good news for all business leaders is that the current societal emphasis on video as a way of learning has provided any business the opportunity to interact directly with customers and put their subject matter experts front and center. And, as seen with the example above, there are a number of ways to steer people to the videos. As the video channel fills up, videos can be categorized by product or advice type.?

Yes, the world is more competitive than ever now. But if you take full advantage of the resources you already have within your company, you can realize a decent return on your marketing investment and grow your revenue.