Employees are investing precious time when they elect to learn a new skill. Many of them are professionals in their area of expertise. They want to learn from the best ... people who are experienced, accomplished, and have earned the right to help others improve their performance. Be sure you are investing in the very best experts you can afford. Here are 9 marketing ideas that will help you leverage the knowledge of your experts:

1. Publish the bios and photos of all instructors/consultants/speakers, both in-house and outside experts
2. Tailor the bio expertise to the specific course content/intervention. Give specific examples of how they have been successful, to inspire your employees to want to attend and invest their time learning from them
3. Encourage employees to email instructors/consultants with their questions. Let your experts market for you!
4. Link to instructor/consultant websites to provide a deeper level of marketing information and understanding of how employees will benefit from their help
5. Circulate articles written by your experts, to potential and existing clients, with a hand written note. Showcase solution focused talent. Set yourself up as a valuable resource
6. Have your experts set up exclusive web pages for your employees on their sites. Help employees become immersed in learning
7. Host topical breakfast/lunch sessions with your experts when they are on site at your facilities. Broaden your network. Be helpful for your clients
8. Get into the excellent habit of conducting a debrief at the end of a class or session with your experts, to find out about new marketing opportunities. What problems are they able to uncover that you can help your clients resolve? What do they notice? What feedback do they have for you? Be proactive
9. Publish articles written by your experts in your employee newsletters and websites. Include your marketing plug at the end

If you are not marketing the expertise of your experts you are missing a key marketing strategy.

©2002 The Opportunity Thinker.

Lynda Curtin is an expert ideation facilitator, professional speaker, trainer and author in the fields of business creativity, marketing and speaking. To book Lynda for your event call 818-507-6055 or email info@LyndaCurtin.com For more information on her programs go to www.LyndaCurtin.com

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