There is probably no better way to close a sale or get hired to a job than to pull a book out of your briefcase to let the person across the table know you are the expert in the industry.

Imagine this scenario.

You’re applying for a job as a social media strategist at a big manufacturing company. You really need a job as you’ve been searching for something for months now. You keep going from interview to interview and keep getting rejection after rejection for whatever reason. Maybe they didn’t think you had enough experience? Maybe they just thought you were boring? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You can’t seem to close the deal and get the job.

Then one day you finally say to yourself, “You know, I should write a book on my niche and my industry.” So you go out and write something and put it up on Amazon and get a few print on demand copies made.

Then you go on your next job interview and you try this tactic instead.

The person across the table from you asks you a question about how you would do something and instead of just answering verbally, you reach into your bag and pull out a copy of your book and say, “Well, actually, I wrote about this in my book. Let me just answer this for you. Let me find the page.”

Briefly look up and look a the faces of the people across the table from you and you’ll see the look in their eyes of “wow, this cat wrote a book on this, she is the real deal.” Because that’s EXACTLY what’s happening.

Now you tell me, with that money move, are you getting the job or is the other guy without the book getting it? The answer is yes, you’re getting the job more often than not. Believe me, I’ve seen it done to me as an employer, and frankly, it works. It immediately elevated that person to the top of the list in my head.

Here’s the theory — you have to admit is true.

If someone has the passion, drive, skill, and knowledge to go out and write a book on a topic, then logically that person must be an expert in that topic. Therefore, that person becomes a higher level candidate for that position.

This goes the same for all service type businesses as well. I don’t care if you’re a plumber or a car salesperson or a exotic pet seller of iguanas. You need a book!

Here’s a great example.

Michelle Dunn is an expert money collector. No, not the type that shows up at your house in a leather jacket with a bat in hand. You know, the professional type of money collector. She specializes in helping businesses get paid from clients who are past-due. One of Michelle’s biggest challenges, like most people, was finding new business.

So Michelle decided to write a book. “I wrote my first book to promote my business,” said Michelle. “I owned a collection agency and my book title was Starting a Collection Agency – How to Make Money Collecting Money.

Michelle wrote the book, then sent press releases to the local papers and business magazines and online media sources. Because of the topic and title, it got a lot of media attention. “As it turns out, there was only one other book on the topic starting a collection agency anywhere. Once I did interviews with one newspaper, it snowballed to NPR and Ladies Home Journal, etc…”.

“Writing this book gave my business much more credibility, and because of the media attention, more business,” said Michelle. In fact, that book is now in its third edition. Michelle has since written 15 books and has become so successful as an author she sold her collection agency and is instead making a living selling her books online.

This guest post is by Jim Kukral, the creator of the Author Marketing Club, a free book marketing resource for authors. Visit the site and join for free at www.authormarketingclub.com