I'm no expert in website design. But I know enough to know that certain templates don’t help you to get the sort of rankings you need on Google, while others can make you much easier to find. So whose job is it to know that? Realistically, it lies outside the scope of a web designer’s job. They are only really obliged to understand good design. Right? 

My website designer is in the process of upgrading certain parts of my site. Based on her ‘above-and-beyond’ knowledge, she pointed out to me that we could do better, and, as always in my professional relationship with her, I was glad for the advice. 

In this weekly column, our entire focus is to find and highlight differences between amateurs and experts. I believe that this is the primary one. Amateurs merely focus on the thing that they do. Experts understand why their market needs that thing, and they help their clients to reach their actual goals. They have a greater total understanding of the scenario, and it makes the world of difference. 

An amateur is adequate. An expert greases the wheels of world progress and genuinely makes things happen. 

This week, what if you challenged yourself to find five more ways to genuinely help your clients to meet their actual goals, rather than just ‘doing the thing you do’? Five is a large number, and it may take some thought to generate enough ideas. But one or two of these ideas could be game-changers for you, truly taking you from amateur to expert. 

Make the switch from ‘doing a thing,’ to ‘meeting their goals,’ and you could become the greatest in your game. 

Douglas Kruger, CSP, is a global professional speaker, who focuses on brand, culture and innovation. He is the author of six business books with Penguin and has won the national championships for Public Speaking, through Toastmasters, a record 5 times.

In 2016, in honour of excellence in his craft, Douglas was inducted into the Speakers Hall of Fame by the Professional Speakers Association of Southern Africa. In 2018, the National Speakers Association granted him the accreditation of Certified Speaking Professional, a designation held by only 12 per cent of motivational speakers globally.

See him in action, or sign up for his free newsletter, ‘From Amateur to Expert’ at www.douglaskruger.co.za. Email info@douglaskrugerspeaker.com