Hate to Sell? Become a Thought Leader

For those looking to stretch their marketing budget, I can’t think of a more cost effective way to attract clients than Thought Leadership. The more a prospect can experience your writing or speaking, the more they perceive you as an expert, and the less “selling” you have to do. Here are some tips on positioning yourself, or Principals within your firm, as Thought Leaders.

1. Designate Ambassadors
Designate someone in your firm to be the Thought Leader for each vertical market sector in which you seek work. For example, Aquatic Design Group is a market leader in designing and engineering competitive swimming pools. They happen to have an Associate who is a former collegiate All-American swimmer. Combined with strong writing and speaking skills, he has instant credibility within this tribe.

2. Know Where Your Audience Is
Ask your best clients which market specific trade publications they read and which conferences they attend. Then introduce yourself to the editors of these journals as a resource for journalists looking for a quote. Once the relationship is established, inquire about submitting an article. For national conference speaking opportunities, you’ll need to respond to a RFP a year in advance. But there are plenty of local trade organizations hungry for great speakers. For example, I put together a panel and am emceed the SMPS San Diego Luncheon on Social Media. While it’s tempting to write or speak to your peers, remember to focus most of your efforts where potential clients, not competitors, congregate.

3. Create a Content Ecosystem
Start with writing to develop mastery in articulating your subject matter. Then move to speaking using content you’ve written about. Give away free samples of your knowledge. Leaders demonstrate confidence by sharing their abundant expertise, not hoarding it. Tell real success stories and don’t be afraid to offer up your failures and share lessons learned. This is what makes you human, and will draw people to you. Communicate that you care about your audience’s world and challenges, and you will be invited in.

Thought Leadership requires an investment of time. This guide should help you get started. Be sure to promote your speaking or writing wherever you can. Also, find multiple channels to distribute your content to maximize ROI. For example, an e-mail marketing blast shoud get repurposed into a blog so it’s archived and searchable by topic. You can also create a printable .PDF files to be distributed at events where you are speaking or given to clients you are courting. Whether writing or speaking, you will be perceived as an expert and clients like to hire expertise.