When a business is considering contracting or partnering with your company, they want to know that you will be able to adequately support and deliver the promised product and services. In addition, decision makers feel more confident saying yes to an executive or business who is considered a thought leader in their field.
In the early stages of the buying process, a prospect starts doing research. They will look for proof points and data outside of your website by:
- searching for articles written about your company and concept
- asking colleagues if they know the founder and the company
- posting in their trade/industry discussion threads and asking if anyone has heard of/done business with your company
- asking for references
- looking for founder credentials and industry experience
They want to know who else has said yes.
The same thing is true for press/PR. Journalists will do the same.
This is a chicken or egg dilemma. In order to have metrics, results and case studies, we need actively engaged customers. Without any proof points or outside press, customers do not feel confident aligning with your company.
What can we do to make prospects feel comfortable in taking the leap of faith?
Because we know that our prospects will be searching for information about us, we have to lay out breadcrumbs for them to follow. We need to create information for our prospects to find and place it in their direct path.
How do we do this without the press coverage, metrics and proof points?
We position ourselves and our business as a thought leader. The practice of thought leadership can seem like an abstract concept. To shed light on how to begin positioning yourself or business as a thought leader, here are some useful tips:
- Understand your audience. Who are you trying to reach and what are their pain points? Once you have an understanding of their needs, you can start to share and create content that is relevant and useful.
- Be an expert in your field. You are entrenched in your field and have daily internal and external discussions. You interact with potential customers, colleagues and partners and learn about their challenges and concerns. You attend conferences and read up on the news and developments in your industry. Share what you know, summarize your learnings from conferences and events and put your personal spin on trending news and articles.
- Build your network. You know your audience. Start making connections with them through LinkedIn and other outlets where they hang out. This way they will see and interact with the content when you share it.
- Promote your content. Share your content on LinkedIn and other relevant social media outlets and forums, submit thought leadership pieces to industry publications, apply to be a speaker or panelist at conferences or tradeshow and reach out to journalists/bloggers.
- Be consistent. Thought leadership is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing commitment to sharing your knowledge and insights with your audience. To be successful, you need to be consistent with your content creation and promotion efforts.
While thought leadership practices help to engage new prospects, they also serve as an additional touchpoint for prospects that are further along in your sales pipeline. When a prospect frequently comes in contact with your name or brand in a positive light, the better the outcome.
If this seems out of your wheelhouse or too time consuming, consider having someone do it for you. Business leaders are often laser focused on generating top of funnel leads and it is difficult to prioritize other marketing initiatives. The reality is that without doing the legwork, it will be very difficult to nudge prospects over the finish line.
Feel free to get in touch: Ellen@ambroseconsultants.com