Every day there’s a new pile of “experts” cropping up on every subject imaginable. The key to differentiating genuine experts from frauds is to ask the right questions.

Warning: This post is a bit of a rant (but it does have a story and some practical advice). How many new experts are there today? Social media expert. Blogging expert. Communications expert. Strategy expert. Wingdings font expert. It’s enough to make me gag. Sorry, but having a bunch of social media followers or being at the top of the X elite for a podunk little town doesn’t make you a “social media expert.”

Even worse than the seemingly viral proliferation of these experts are the egregious rates they expect for their services. Just because you call yourself an expert doesn’t mean you’re entitled to the fee levels real experts charge. (Then again, if you’re the individual hiring an expert and paying them ridiculous fees, I can’t save you from yourself.)

Lastly, the worst aspect of these experts is the damage they can do to your organization. I’d love to sue some of these folks for malpractice of the trade in which they proclaim expertise.

As a leader of your organization, how can you protect yourself from the damage false experts can cause, and how can you find the real experts within that mess? How can you ensure the expert isn’t like the false tailor and you end up like an emperor with no clothes?

It all boils down to asking the right questions. First, let’s define expert: a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field. Special, meaning very few have this ability, said ability has and can generate value, and the level of expertise is well beyond the capabilities of others.

A quote that infuriates me exemplifies this point: “You only have to know 10% more than those you’re teaching before you can call yourself an expert.” 10%? Really? Are our performance expectations really that low? Hogwash!

All of you reading know what your expectations of an expert are. But too many times we let that standard slip as we’re interviewing potential “expert” service providers.

I recently heard a story about an “expert” who was pitching his services to a senior executive. After the expert’s pitch, the senior exec said, “I’m sorry, but your resume indicates nothing that makes you even remotely qualified to advise us on these topics. Beyond that, the fee structure you’re requesting is nowhere near commensurate with the value I believe you can provide, which, incidentally, given your lack of real experience in this field, is very little. I suggest you get some real-world practical experience in this field and demonstrate some tangible results before you hawk your services as an expert in this field.”

Oh. My. God. I love this guy. As my son would say, his response was an uber pwn in the world of business rejections. While the story is hilarious and you’re probably cheering for this guy, he’s also provided a valuable lesson you shouldn’t forget during your applause and cheering.

Ask for examples of relevant experience

Any expert should be able to readily and easily provide a laundry list of real-world experiences in which they’ve utilized the skills they profess to have. Make your expert cough up the stories about how they’ve used what they’re teaching during previous jobs or consulting assignments. If they can’t, your warning siren should be warming up.

Ask for evidence of their effectiveness

I’ve said this a million times: I don’t care about activities. I care about impact. An expert must be able to link the provision of their expertise to real, tangible results. Your organization must improve as a result of your investment in this person’s services. The likelihood of that happening if the expert has never before demonstrated bottom-line impact is pretty low. If the expert is unable to provide direct evidence of the results they generate (either in the form of numbers for “hard” impact services or testimonials and survey results for “softer” skill services), your warning siren should begin emitting its wail.

Ask how they’ll transfer or apply their expertise

Experts can be like a street drug. Once you get hooked on their services, you might need to keep having them back to provide those skills. That gets expensive over time. The best kinds of experts are those who put clients first and try to render their services obsolete. Yes, I know, again you think I’ve lost it. But that approach benefits both the expert and the client.

An expert who can build the skills of the people in your organization gives you leverage for your investment in their services. You now have a more capable team because the expert built their skills, and those skills can now be applied more broadly in your organization. It’s beneficial to the expert because such an approach builds their reputation as someone who puts clients first, which should result in more work coming their way.

Ask your expert how they’re going to build your team’s skills and how they feel about rendering themselves obsolete by doing so. If they hem and haw, your warning siren should be at full wail.

Compare their rate to their value

Payments you make to an expert are an investment in your organization. You should expect a healthy return on that investment. “Good” experts will be able to articulate how their fees compare to the market, as well as how their expertise will drive value to your bottom line. “Great” experts will actually shoot for a target of value to fees. A reasonable expectation is 5:1. A high expectation is 10:1. (Said differently, if an expert charges $1 for services, they should drive between $5–10 in real, tangible value.)

If your expert can’t articulate the investment return on their fees, the warning siren’s full wail should by now be prompting an evacuation of the building. And to clarify—the only person who should be “evacuated” is the so-called expert who really isn’t one.

Do you have any experts running around your organization? Are you considering hiring any? Ask them these questions and see what happens. It should make for an interesting conversation. You might just learn the “expert” is the tailor who believes you’re simply a foolish emperor to whom he can sell invisible clothes. And if you’re touting yourself as an expert and you’re not, stop, go get some experience and figure out how to deliver value, because eventually the market will decide whether you’re an expert or not. And when the market does make that judgment, it won’t be too kind if you’re not able to deliver on your so-called “expertise.”

How do you evaluate experts? What has your experience been? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories in the comments below.

Published Dec. 5, 2024, in The thoughtLEADERS Brief on LinkedIn.