Top 3 ways to determine whether or not a so-called expert is worth listening to

Most people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
On social media you’ll find a lot of people posting and making comments on posts. At conferences you’ll hear speakers babble on about stuff. And, in publications, you’ll read articles that no one questions prior to publication.
Plenty of these authors and speakers know what they are talking about. Too many don’t.

For better or worse, the world today allows anyone to have a voice whether their comments and ideas work or not.
Unfortunately, I’ve found that speakerships get filled because those seeking speakers rush the process. Too often they fail to properly vet a speaker. Instead, they opt for the easiest path to fill a slot.

Here’s the result: I remember hearing a speaker at a roundtable talk about how she got the open rates for her mass emails (spam) to increase. After the ‘oohs and ahs’ at the table subsided, I asked her why she cared about open rates so much. After all, email effectiveness should be judged by results at the back end of the process— outcomes such as how many people converted (gave money, watched the video, or downloaded the information, etc.) not how many supposedly opened an email. And besides, many browsers and smartphones automatically open emails anyway. So why even consider open rates at all?

When she had no answers to my questions, I got up and walked away. Rude? Perhaps. But I just couldn’t waste another minute listening and I didn’t want anyone to think my attendance gave credence to her misdirections. And besides, I felt it was rude for her to spew misinformation. I wasn’t going to stand for it!

Another example.
Last week, I heard an interview on a podcast aimed at entrepreneurs like me. The person being interviewed (a supposedly super-successful business consultant) talked and talked about a lot of things I found interesting. So I figured I’d reach out to him so I could possibly hire him to help me and MarketSmart. First I emailed him using the email mentioned on the podcast. When that didn’t work, I called, sent a LinkedIn message and sent a direct Tweet. But he never responded. Hmmmm? I guess he was good at preaching but not so good at practicing what he preached.

I’m fed up.
Sometimes I see comments on my posts (usually disagreements) that make no sense. They aren’t backed by evidence, science or experience. They are guesses and I don’t want my followers falling into the trap of thinking they know what they’re talking about when they don’t.
So, rather than calling them out, I figured I’d simply write this post today to (1) warn you that the comments on my posts are sometimes misleading or downright incorrect and (2) to help you determine whether or not someone is worth listening to.

Consider doing the following before taking advice from charlatans spewing misinformation and falsehoods in the echo-chambers of fundraising ignorance:

1. Look at their background and experience. Have they actually done anything worthwhile?
2. Examine their tenure at each job. Someone with 8 months here, 14 months there and another 6 months now consulting is probably not really an expert.
3. Test them out. See if they can do the basics. Send an email. How long until they respond? Are they accessible? I love it when people email me or especially when they direct message me on LinkedIn (InMail). I respond. Do they? If they can’t do the basics, they’ll surely fail at the rest.

Related Post:

>>Some people find me abrasive. Here’s why.

LIKE THIS BLOG POST? LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW AND/OR SHARE IT WITH YOUR PEERS!