Jim Connolly Marketing

Marketing tips and ideas to help you grow your business

  • Articles
  • About
    • FREE: My very best marketing tips
    • About Jim Connolly
    • Contact
    • Great blogs
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • How I use cookies
  • Marketing Tips
  • Let’s Work Together
    • Let’s Grow Your Business!
    • Pick my brain
    • Copywriting that attracts clients and customers

What self proclaimed gurus are REALLY telling us

By Jim Connolly - Published September 30, 2011

Do you ever find yourself cringing when you see the titles some business people give to themselves?

Social networks are packed with self-proclaimed gurus, thought leaders and mavens.  The challenge here is NOT with the title, but the fact that it’s self-proclaimed.  In reality, we don’t self proclaim a title, we earn it.  If people in your marketplace refer to you as a thought leader, you have no control over that.  They decided, based on their experience of you, that you lead them with your thinking.

What you DO have control over, is how you choose to refer to yourself.  This is why the titles people proclaim for themselves, tell us so much about them; usually the polar opposite of what they intended!

The smartest person in the room?

Whenever people self-proclaim a lofty title, it immediately puts us on guard.  For example, if you are at a networking event and someone tells you they are the smartest person in the room, you know that they are not.  Their decision to proclaim that to you, is something that even a moderately bright person wouldn’t do.  It’s plainly ridiculous, shows a lack of self-confidence and makes them look like a fool.

The reason we see so many self proclaimed gurus, is that they fail to see the disconnect, between the message they THINK they are giving us, and the message we actually receive.  They genuinely think it looks impressive to call themselves gurus, oblivious of the fact that it makes most people instantly suspicious and others (like me) cringe.

The bottom line:  Think extremely carefully before you hire a self-proclaimed guru, maven or thought leader.  Their need to self-proclaim that title, tells you massively more about them than the title itself.

Grow your business with my Marketing Mentor Program! I can help you build a more successful business, increase your sales and boost your profits. Here's how it works.

If you found this useful, share it ❤️

  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Updated August 27, 2021

Recent Posts

  • Here’s 1 word that can destroy your results. And 12 better alternatives May 17, 2022
  • 13 Important things to ponder as you start your week May 16, 2022
  • Discover how the top companies keep getting the best referrals May 12, 2022
  • Boost your sales. With Time Wasters! May 10, 2022
  • Marketing money versus Marketing creativity May 9, 2022
  • Contacts for vanity. Relationships for sanity May 7, 2022
  • 10 Proven ways to get free publicity May 5, 2022
  • Articles
  • About
  • Marketing Tips
  • Let’s Work Together

Copyright © 2022 Jim's Marketing Blog

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.